Ariel Wizman (born 19 May 1962) is a French musician, DJ, and journalist born in Casablanca, Morocco.[1][2][3]
His family, as many Sephardic Jews North-African families, left Morocco after the Six-Day War and settled in France.[2] In Paris, Wizman met the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas and thanks to him, he attended the École Normale Israélite Orientale.[2] At a gypsy party, he met Édouard Baer, and they co-presented a radio show on Radio Nova.[2][4]
Wizman has worked for Actuel, Vogue Homme and 20 Ans,[2] and produced several programs for France Culture.[3] In 1995, he was chief director of >Interactif and is currently a popular DJ.
Wizman has also appeared as a writer in Nulle part ailleurs. From September 2003 to June 2005, with Stéphane Bern, he presented Tentations.06 on Canal+.[5]
He is half of the electronic music duo Grand Popo Football Club along with Nicolas Errèra, with an album, Shampoo Victims, released in 2000,[5] and a second, Venom in the grass, due for release in February 2010.[6]
Wizman controversially became the voice of a French Ministry of Industry campaign against internet music piracy in 2004, although he later claimed that he was misled into taking part.[7][8][9][10]
In 2009, special editions of Nickel "Morning After Recue-Gel" were produced, featuring designs showing Wizman or his initials.[11]