[JUNE PLAYLIST] WHAT’S NEXT? FRENCH ELECTRO

What’s next? is the name of our new playlist series, highlighting emerging French artists who are currently reinventing and redefining the borders of their respective genres. First of the name: electronic music.

When thinking of French electro, the first band that comes to mind is usually Daft Punk – which makes sense, as after over 20 years of existence, the duo is still the best ambassador of French music abroad and was recently awarded no less than five Grammys for their latest album.

After (or with) Daft Punk comes the famous French Touch, a generic term that designates the prolific wave of French house music in the late 1990s, early 2000s – you probably know who Air, Cassius and Laurent Garnier are. In the wake of this generation of artists came a second wave of French Touch, embodied in record labels such as Kitsuné, Ed Banger (Justice, SebastiAn, Kavinsky, Breakbot…) and also the Reims scene (Brodinski, Yuksek, The Shoes…). Not to mention ovnis like M83, who have also done a lot for the French electronic scene.

No need to state the obvious: the French definitely have a thing for electronic music. But what has been called the French Touch is not all: our electronic music scene is much larger, lively and diverse that it appears. Electronic music has been encountering a growing success few years throughout the world, and France is no exception. A new generation of French electronic musicians has emerged, in all genres, and are currently making the French electro scene at least as exciting as it used to be in the late 1990’s.

From Dream Koala’s poppy chillwave to Bambounou’s hybrid techno, through DeBruit and Acid Arab’s world influenced dance music, not forgetting Souleance’s disco house and Vendredi’s experimental electronica, this (non-exhaustive) playlist will give you a general idea of “what’s next” in the French electro scene.

Dream Koala – Earth / Yndi Ferreira aka Dream Koala grew up in Paris to Brazilian parents. Mixing his delicate electronic productions with his aerial guitar and voice, Yndi caught the attention of an international public when his first EP “Blur” was released in 2012 – he was just 18. Earth is taken from his latest EP “Earth. Home. Destroyed.” in which he continues to develop his singular and unexpected “chillwave”. https://soundcloud.com/dreamkoala 

Rone – Bye Bye Macadam / Rone, otherwise known as Erwan Castex, is one of the most acclaimed French musicians on the electronic scene. Signed on the avant-gardist French label InFiné, he came to prominence with his second album “Tohu Bohu” (2012), from which Bye Bye Macadam is extracted. Check out his latest EP “Apache”, if you want to understand the true meaning of Intelligent Dance Music… https://soundcloud.com/rone-music

Vendredi – Le Vide et la Lumière / Vendredi – Friday in French – is the unlikely meeting of two twenty-somethings in an electronica duo. Taking their influences techno and dubstep as much as in Russian romantic composers, they also like to sample daily noises and melt them into their music, just like the pioneers of the musique concrète in the 1950s. Their first EP “Veneris Dies” went out this year on No Format! – listen to Le Vide et la Lumière for a glimpse of this unexpected musical blending. https://soundcloud.com/vendredimusic

Fakear – Morning in Japan / In Fakear’s point of view, electro is a permanent journey without destination. Inspired by music from all parts of the world, the young man has shaped a unique sound since his first releases in 2010. He has been opening for reknown artists such as Wax Tailor or Flume during their tours. Morning In Japan will give you an idea of how Fakear takes an exotic remote universe and makes it his, just by the power of his MPCs. https://soundcloud.com/fakear

Larcier ft. Isaac Delusion – Sometimes I See / Young producer from Bordeaux, Larcier is part of the Cracki Records roster, as well as Isaac Delusion who does the vocals on this track. A DIY record label who also organizes parties, Cracki has done a lot to revive the Parisian nights and produce atypical and unclassifiable young artists. You should keep an eye on all of the artists of this young record label…
https://soundcloud.com/larcier
https://soundcloud.com/isaac-delusion
https://soundcloud.com/crackirecords

Souleance – Chemise / When Fulgeance and Soulist – two French producers inspired by funk, disco, soul music, Detroit techno, Chicago house, old school hip-hop and experimental electronics – come together, the result is called Souleance and makes you want to dance all night long. Their second EP, released in late 2013, is another proof of this perfect alchemy. https://soundcloud.com/souleance

Debruit – Nigeria What? / “Afro-beat surrealist, spaceship earth spine funk, synthetic grooves”, that’s how DeBruit describes himself on his Facebook page. And that is about right: inspired by pretty much any kind of music that is not from the Western world, Debruit explores new horizons everytime he releases a new album or EP. A good way to travel the world while dancing. https://soundcloud.com/debruit

Acid Arab – Berberian Wedding / Acid Arab has been the new sensation of Parisian dancefloors for a little more than a year. This duet of DJs (Guido Minisky and Herve Carvalho) has a simple goal: bringing all kind of Eastern musics (North Africa, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey, Indian…) into electronic sounds, from pioneering acid house to today’s powerful techno. https://soundcloud.com/acid-arab

Bambounou – Night / Like a voodoo sorcerer, Bambounou knows how to take you to another world with his unclassifiable DJ sets and productions. House music? Techno? Tech house? Bass music? Nobody knows. All that we know is that his debut album “Orbiting” has something mystical and shamanic to it. And that he is now one of the protégés of the reknown Modeselektor. https://soundcloud.com/bambounou

Gesaffelstein – Nameless / Mike Levy aka Gesaffelstein is probably the most famous name of this playlist. Coming from Reims, the French epicenter of electronic music, he came to prominence after producing two tracks on Kanye West last album, “Black Skinhead”. He has since worked with other American rappers such as A$AP Rocky. His debut album “Aleph”, released in 2013, will plunge you into his eerie and sometimes almost violent universe. https://soundcloud.com/gesaffelstein

Ben Vedren – Brick Lane / French musician, producer and DJ, Ben Vedren has been deeply involved in and behind the scenes, producing and engineering in partnership with various artists. It’s been a few years since he decided to introduce his own personal projects. He debut EP I know you know was well-received by the underground techno world, and his next releases will be on the young Parisian label Concrete Music… stay tuned. https://soundcloud.com/ben-vedren

Thylacine – Ne Me Quitte Pas / Originally a saxophone player, William Reze aka Thylacine started producing electronic music in 2012 and quickly gained attention on the Internet. Influenced by Massive Attack, Four Tet or Moderat, he also shows his connection and attachment to his French cultural legacy with this track, a remix of Ne Me Quitte Pas by legendary Jacques Brel https://soundcloud.com/thylacinew

Superpoze – The Fall / A 20 year old composer and beatmaker. Superpoze is mainly influenced by the French electronic music scene of the last decades (Air, Saint-Germain) and by the new ‘beat’ scene represented by Brainfeeder and Alpha Pup labels. Superpoze’s trademark is a well-crafted alloy of harmonious chords, jerky vocal loops, beats and basses, in which originality is in fierce competition with efficiency. He is part of the Kitsuné roster. https://soundcloud.com/superpoze

Joakim – On The Beach / Joakim is one of France’s foremost electronic musicians, but remains, stylistically, hard to pin down. With a background in classical music, indie rock and mid 90s electronic music it becomes apparent that his lineage has much to do with his breeding. He is also the founder of Tigersushi Records. On The Beach is taken from his last album “Tropics of Love”. https://soundcloud.com/joakimbouaziz

Mondkopf – We Watched The End / French producer Mondkopf (aka Paul Regimbeau) has always seemingly stood apart from the musical trends that surround him, since his arrival in 2008 with “The (Declaration of) Principles” EP. Three albums later, Mondkopf’s deep, orchestral and sophisticated productions earned him comparisons to Modeselektor. If you don’t want to choose between dance music, hip-hop beats, experimental electronics and melodic lines, then Mondkopf is for you. https://soundcloud.com/mondkopf