<< Return to the pressbook


10/09/2006 DJ Mag (Uk)

The French revolution ignites!

They led the scene towards the end of the '90s and now there's a rebirth again. Ifs a great time to be in Paris as the new French revolution ignites...

Situated to the left of Sacre Coeur, in the heart of the culturally mixed 18th Arrondissement of Paris, Ed Banger Records is in the midst of a musical revolution. Their roster, including UK chart entrants Justice, Sebastian, Vicarious Bliss, DJ Mehdi and Uffi, are at the heart of a new school of French electronic producers who are tearing up house, techno, rock and hip-hop creating an electronic assault that's making dancefloors into leg jerking, body rocking, head-banging mosh pits.
Just a stone's throw north, Record Makers, formerly assodated with Air but now even independent of that link, are busy redefining every genre of music as acts, such as Kavinsky, Sebastian Tellier, I love UFO and Damian re-write the rule book. In a basement across town, the Kill The DJ imprint has split from Tigersushi to take its place as one of the world's top independenttechno labels, while another corner of Paris is challenging production line hip-hop as Beat Assailant, a 10-piece live act, throw down the best Parisian hip-hop since MC Solaar's "Qui Seme le Vent...".
Meanwhile old school masters I:Cube and Gilb'r have lined up with the superbly off-centre production wizard Joakim to connect the old and new Parisian scenes. It's fitting that amongst all the noise, I:Cube has produced the calmest LP of his career - in the shape of 'Live At The Planetarium' while simultaneously adding new acidic and techno strings to his bow with a salvo of 12"s. And while all manner of acts are being spawned in the underground, let us not forget globally renowned DJ Bob Sinclar, the impossibly good looking doyen of French house who has been hard to avoid ever since his hits 'Love Generation' and 'World, Hold On' were unveiled at this year's Miami Winter Music Conference.
Even the city's notoriously timid club scene is bursting with new energy. The Rex is under new management, and in the process of being equipped with one of the most sophisticated sound systems in the world, as is the Batofar, while newer clubs Point Ephemere, La Fleche D'Or and Le Triptyque are breathing fresh fire into the city. For the ultra hip, the tiny ParisParis is the place to spot new dance stars - provided you can get in. Sleaze clubbing is centred on Pulp, where Kill The DJ and Lust hold court, while the Kitsune art collective and underground party organisers, such as Toxic, keep the scene fresh with their monthly and one-off parties. Linking all this together is the legacy of Daft Punk and the ubiquitous touch of Monsieur Oiseau, whose influence is felt at every turn throughout city. Add to this Eric Morand's return to F Communications, and it's clear the lights are back on in Paris. Here's DJmag's guide to those flicking the switch...

BOB SINCLAR
You possibly know Monsieur Sinclar as the man who pioneered the late '90s French Touch revolution with his debut single 'Space Funk', before achieving Top 10 success with the Jane Fonda sampling Thomas Bangalter collaboration 'Gym Tonic'. It is also possible that you know that Bob Sinclar is in fact a pseudonym for Parisian DJ Chris Le Friant. What you probably don't know, however, is that without Le Friant, the French dance scene would be a very different beast today. Without his groundbreaking forays into production and his pioneering independent record label the media spotlight may never have shone on Paris back in 1996. Put simply, Chris Le Friant is the unsung hero of French dance music.
"I don't do this for recognition: explains Chris when DJmag puts this suggestion to him. "I'm a DJ first and foremost and the only recognition I need comes from the people in the clubs when I play out. It's a moment of rare humility from the man who, in 1994, launched Yellow Productions, the first independent record label in Paris with the intention of highlighting the burgeoning local scene.
"Back then there wasn't anything really, not like in the UK," says Chris who launched the label in partnership with Alain Ho (DJ Yellow). "There was no distribution or promotion. We used to have to drive to Belgium to get the records pressed and then drive them over to the UK to get into the shops." Yellow Productions arrived in the UK looking like a fully fledged and perfectly conceived label thanks to the striking cover designs and the high quality of the musical output, which included Chris' acclaimed musical forays as both live cut up crew Reminiscence Quartet and instrumental hip hop outfit The Mighty Bop.
But it was with his artist signings that Chris really brought Yellow to the world's attention, with DJ Cam, La Funk Mob and Kid Loco and Dimitri From Paris, whose cocktail lounge house classic 'Sacrebleu' was a huge international hit in 1996. Yellow Productions drew the eyes of the UK press towards Paris and opened the way for other independent labels to follow.
In 1997, Chris launched his house alter ego Bob Sinclar - a move that would bring him international acclaim with his genre defining mash-up of Cerrone's sexually charged disco and house music's hands-in-the-air madness. Today Bob Sinclar is one of the best known names on the club circuit. The name has translated across to the world beyond club culture thanks to the round the clock radio play of his recent, whistle blowing summer anthems. In fact, 'Love Generation' even infiltrated the World Cup festivities as the official theme tune for the tournament's mascot. As a result, Bob Sinclar was played before every match and even soundtracked the trophy presentation. It's all a long way from his days carving out recognition for the Paris underground.
"People have criticised me for being commercial, but I don't see it this way," Chris argues. "I like it when a track crosses over from the support of DJs around the world - which is what has happened for me. It's more honest. "For me, it feels very good after 12 years to have success," he concludes. "We have a saying in France, 'It takes 10 years to become known from day to day'. I had to learn everything myself to get this far. For fans of Chris's less commercial output there is another of his brilliant Africanism collections coming soon. While the next Bob Sinclar single is 'I’m Gonna Make You Sweat', his version of dance classic 'Everybody Dance Now' by C&C Music Factory. "The music I love is black music," explains Chris "It's the link between all of my own music. Even though the popular club sound at the moment is a very white '80s sound, I will continue to find my inspiration from black music - it has that vibe."

JUSTICE
With only a few record releases and a handful of remixes under their belts, Justice, aka Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Auge, have already been dubbed the new Da Punk. The hype may be premature and the duo aren't keen on exploiting the comparison, but their debut single, 'Never Alone', went straight into the UK Top 30 (re-entitled 'We Are Your Friends') and is destined to become the dance anthem ofthe summer. There's an undeniable edge to their music that sums up the current cut and splatter production running through Paris. It's a powerful inner-city sound, but not one reflected in their upbringing. Hailing from comfortable, well-to-do countryside suburbs, their formative years were socially and culturally light years from the concrete jungles that sparked last year's riots. Both grew up playing in bands. "I used to have a disco funk band in high school. It was just horrible," says Xavier. But it wasn't until they met through mutual friends while studying graphic arts that they began playing together.
"We played in a band called Also Staring when we started, but we quit," says Gaspard "'Never Alone' was the first proper song we recorded together. We did one before, for some friends who were running a small label called Mister Records." Their influences are hardly traditional dance music fare, eschewing Detroit or Berlin sounds in favour of brash '90s big beat and naff '80s films - the sounds of their childhood. "We're no longer ashamed about Big Beat." says Xavier. "I think people are ready for it. It's time for the '80s and '90s generation." Equally, even if they dislike the comparison, they can't hide from trail blazed by France's main dance duo Daft Punk (not least because their record label boss, Pedro, is also DP's manager). "Even if we want to escape from Daft Punk, we were influenced by them. They understood that English and American people don't want to hear bands trying to sound like a UK band. They were one of the first acts to sound French and we are trying to do the same," says Xavier. "The first Daft Punk album was really raw and minimal and that's what we're like," says Gaspard. "But we also like the pop side, because they were the first to let their real influences be visible - they don't care about bad taste. "We work with a minimal set up, everything is real. We love it when you hear it's a beat box plugged into a sampler and you can hear the instrument breath. "The scene in Paris at the moment is going through a rebirth, with Jackson, Feadz, Sebastian, Para One - even if we don't produce the same music, it is all a bit cut up."

I:CUBE
Known for solid house grooves under his own moniker and releasing eclectic grooves with Versatile label head Gilb'r as Chateau Flight, I:Cube is amongst a handful of first generation French producers who survived with their credibility intact - avoiding the swamp of the French filtered sound that sucked so many in. Growing up in Paris, I:Cube, aka Nicholas . Chaix, began making music while studying art. After graduating he promptly dropped art to concentrate on music and secured his first release - the disco house classic 'Disco Cubism' - featuring an early Daft Punk remix on the B-side.
'Disco Cubism' was instantly successful and its status was assured because Gilb'r, keen not to be swamped by the burgeoning French touch scene, decided to broaden the label's horizons away from filtered house. I:Cube's latest album is an ambient electronic instrumental that was recorded live as one song and defies easy categorisation. "I've always been into downtempo and ambient music but I've never managed to include it in my sound until I was asked to play at Planetarium," he says. "I wanted it to mix things up, so it's not justa laptop clicks and glitch album. Sometimes I use pads or strings, sometimes it can be cheesy, but there's always an edge that gives it a different aspect.
"The location for this music is 60"10 of the show. In England I performed for Noise of Art at the National Film Theatre and the Tate Gallery in london, not the usual places, and for me that's important because the whole experience means people are listening to music differently."

SEBASTIAN
The next in line to Justice on the Ed Banger label. Sebastian first grabbed attention with a cut-up version of Annie's 'Happy Without You'. Following this up with an assault on Daft Punk's 'Human After All' and a mashed rework of Benjamin Theves 'Texas', he was on a rollas confirmed by his debut single 'Smoking Kills' and the stunning follow-up 'Ross Ross Ross'. Sebastian started DJing as a precocious 12-year-old and began making music when he was 16 - mostly doing hip-hop beats for rappers.
"Electronic music only began to interest me a couple of years ago," he says. "But for me, there isn't a big difference between hip-hop and electronic music.
"Annie was my first remix. I knew her music because she had a hit song, but I'd never met her. Pedro Winter (Ed Banger's boss and former Daft Punk manager) called me and said Annie wanted me to remix her tune. I did it in an hour and a half.
"A lot of my remixes are done in one or two hours because I think it's better to use the first thought that comes into my head. And I don't use separate parts they give me, I use the whole song, in the same way that anyone can do a remix by using the song as it is on record. "The remix of Daft Punk's 'Human After All' was the most fun, because I had lots of ideas for that. So I made it into four parts. And I did Revl9n's 'Walking Machine' remix in one hour, but because it was a good song, everyone says it's my best one."

KILL THE DJ
At the core of the techno and electro scene in Paris is a close band of friends that includes Fanny Coral. Jennifer Cardini, DJ Chloe and Ivan Smagghe. Over the last decade they've nurtured their love of beats and bleeps into a loosely structured network of club nights, record shops and labels - at the hub of which is DJ Clement's shop and its basement, where Chloe has her studio and Fanny runs the Kill The DJ label. "We started as a small party at Pulp, a lesbian club. It was like my family with Ivan Smagghe as resident and Sophie, who was managing Pulp," explains Fanny, co-founder of Kill club nights and record label.
The idea for the night developed in the early '90s when Radio Nova, where she'd been working on shows, bookings and compilations with Ivan Smagghe, suddenly decided to ditch all its dance DJs - including Laurent Garnier and DJ Deep. Devastated by the cull. they wanted to call the new club 'Radio Killed The DJ Star'. "It was too long, so we thought 'Kill the DJ' was better," Fanny explains, although there was another reason for the name. "Deep house was really big and dance music was really boring at the time."
The label side of Kill The DJ followed naturally. She'd released four compilations with Ivan at Radio Nova, so she hooked up with Tigersushi and released another compilation with Ivan and a second one with Glasgow's Optimo duo. With DJ Chloe now also on board, the success of the compilations inspired their desire to release on vinyl- something Tigersushi was unable to do. Undaunted, KTDJ went their own way - releasing Jennifer Cardini's 'Amoureaux Solitaire' as their first proper vinyl release.

KAVINSKY
Signed to Record Makers, like manydthe current crop of Parisian producers, Kavinsky's background is in hip-hop, although this is far less prominent in his music than his passion for film scores and an unschooled approach to production. "I grew up in a grey concrete suburb in the east of Paris. Lots of my friends were into music and at first I was into funk and then hip-hop," he says of his formative years. His introduction to electronic music came after he met 'Flat Beat' creator Monsieur Diseau at a party and the two became friends. "I met him one night and we ended up talking until morning. We connected very quickly and now we're always together. "My name also comes from Monsieur Oiseau. My real name is Vincent and the 100th derivation of Vincent is Kavinsky. We're always coming up with new names for each other.
"The first techno I heard was Apparat's first album. I was listening to rap and Monsieur Oiseau bought me Apparat. I hated it. I thought it was very cold and metallic. But I was intrigued so then I asked Monsieur Oiseau to give me more and now I love it." With his 'Teddy Boy' single already causing a brouhaha on the Parisian underground, an album ready to roll and a stage act that promises to see him dressed as a zombie, there's little reason to doubt Kavinsky's time has come. "Some people are calling what is happening the French Revolution, but from my point of view there's always been French guys making electronic music. It's quite a spontaneous thing, friends of friends. At the moment we're getting a new shit rock band every day. But all the guys doing electronic music have been doing it for years and it's good stuff."

BEAT ASSAILANT
The latest breakthrough French hip-hop act isn't keen on French hip-hop and, despite numbering 10 people, isn't even a band. Confused? So were we. "The story began when I. met Beat Assailant (aka BA) four years ago," explains producer and guitarist Max Lebidois. "I was creating my label. Twin Fiu, and BA was travelling. He had a hip-hop band in Atlanta, called Rebel Press BA and had opened for acts such as Outkast and GZA.
"BA and I started to work together. Our idea was to blend our mutual influences into something that would go further than hip-hop. Beat Assailant is not a band, but an artist. I am his co-composer. We do all the music together and we recorded the album ourselves, with the help of Thibault 'Genius' Renard on the trumpet and horns and Nicolas 'Goldfingers' Gueguen on most of the keyboards. We created the 10-musician set-up to reproduce what's on the record live and we're working on the second album. "We've been playlisted by Gilles Peterson and appeared on Norman Jay's last compilation. But we're not distributed in UK - at the moment."

JOAKIM
A classically trained musidan, Joakim took up piano when he was six-years-old and studied at the National Conservatory in Versailles. Rebelling at 17, he lapped-up indie andjau before taking to DJing, discovering electronic music and commandeering a mate's synthesizer. After releasing an ambient electro-jau album on Tigersushi, the label he founded with school friend Charles HageLsteen, he shifted radically, signed to Versatile and released 2003's 'Fantômes', featuring the club hit 'Come Into My Kitchen'.
His latest single, 'I Wish You Were Gone', is currently repeating the trick. "It's one of the first tracks from my next album. The single's got a dub mix on the B-side and I like doing dub mixes - putting everything away." Meanwhile, Joakim's cavalier remixes of other people's music have been overshadowing the original versions. "Really, remixes are a playground for me," he admits. "With my latest remix for Annie I tried new things like routing drum machines through synthesizers and it sounded great" Naturally, this filters through and his music is getting progressively dirtier, fitting neatly with the Parisian sound. "Paris, like everywhere, has a rock band revival going on - and often not good bands. The electronic scene is still there but it's different people now. It's much dirtier than it used to be. My next album is going to be noisier and more analogue sounding. I want an imperfect sound."

JENNIFER CARDINI
Growing up in the luxurious but musically stifling Monte Carlo, South of France, it didn't take long before Jennifer Cardini rebelled and ran away to DJ in the mid '90s. Her big break came almost immediately. "I started DJing at a big rave party called 'Panic In Detroit' with Luke Slater, Jeff Milts and Kevin, one of my best friends. Then I started playing these raves in the South of France and met this girl called Sex Toy, who was a big DJ. So we formed this band, Pussy Killers, mixing soundtracks with electronic music and dressing in a really strange way." Sex Toy was a huge glam fan and wanted to inject the rave scene with the flamboyance of a vintage Bowie performance. Surrounding Jennifer and herself with huge shows, involving dancers, extravagant costumes and people in masks, the central duo were less opulently clad.
"We had lots of tattoos and we were half naked," says Jennifer. "I wouldn't do it today - she died and it was really something special between her and me. You can't replace someone. Maybe she was the first techno artist who died having a rock 'n' roll life." Through Sex Toy, Jennifer secured gigs at Pulp and the Rex in Paris and by the time she moved to the capital she was able td gain residencies in both immediately - starting her now legendary Lust night at Pulp. Her dress style has calmed down since Pussy Killers, but her DJ sets still burst with energy. "I play everything that touches me without thinking whether it's ridiculous or not lots of people take it too seriously. I like to have fun."