1.Prologue
In MUSIC & PARTIES #033 I wrote about the electronic dance music that came out of Germany in the 90s.
Detroit techno and acid house was imported into continental Europe in the 80s, followed by rave culture from the U.K. in the early 90s. In Germany, techno DJs like Sven Väth fostered an underground club scene that blossomed into German techno after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At the root of all of these currents is disco—both American disco and euro disco from Europ.
While electronic dance music took root relatively quickly in Germany, it wasn’t until the early 90s that “hardcore" forms like techno and acid house started to become popular in France. Part of that is due to the fact that euro disco—specifically space disco, an offshoot that mixed Italo disco, electro, and synth-pop and was characterized by futuristic synth melodies and the use of vocoder—remained popular in France throughout the 80s and into the 90s.
That disco influence would seep into the efforts of young French musicians and DJs who mimicked the house and techno styles of the U.S. and Europe. In addition, they would bring a certain panache to their music that would eventually set French house apart as its own distinct genre.
In the 2000s, musicians and DJs would rebel against the disco sounds of their parents. Instead they would introduce a punk rock and indie rock spirit that would lead to the development of a genre called electro house.
In this article we will be looking at the house and electro house music that came out of France.
2.The “French Touch" and Daft Punk
In the beginning of the 90s, when dance music genres like acid house and Detroit techno were beginning to draw the attention of young French kids, a new crop of musicians and DJs mimicking these sounds began to appear on the French music scene. Gradually, they began to make it their own, starting with a foundation in house music and heavily sampling disco, funk, and soul music. They also added a “French touch"—panache—to turn disco and house music from something you boogied out to on the dance floor into something that was cool and stylish to listen to. They made heavy use of analog synthesizer effects such as filters and phasers in order to create this sweeping sound that would sometimes be dubbed “filter house".
Around 1996, a new club night focusing on French house called Respect launched at Queen, a gay club in Paris. The duo Daft Punk performed on the inaugural night and on five other occasions thereafter. At the time, Daft Punk and the downtempo electronic music duo Air had just been signed to the Virgin Records in the U.K. Daft Punk and Air would become popular not just in their native France but in the U.K. and the U.S. as well, and for a while all eyes were on what would be coming out of French house next. French house producers would put an even glossier sheen on disco and funk music. In 1998 the scene had its two greatest international hits: “1999" by the duo Cassius and “Music Sounds Better With You" by Stardust. The former was released by Virgin Records, while the latter was released from Roule, a label run by Thomas Bangalter—1/2 of Daft Punk. The music video for “Music Sounds Better With You" was directed by French avant-garde video artist Michel Gondry.
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met in high school and started a punk band called Darlin’ in 1992. Darlin’ would release a number of singles and perform a handful of times live before quickly breaking up—but not before a negative review in U.K. music magazine Melody Maker dubbed their music “a daft punky thrash". Homem-Christo and Bangalter subsequently began experimenting with drum machines and synthesizers, and decided to call themselves Daft Punk.
Daft Punk released their first single “Da Funk" in 1995. Mixing elements of hip hop and big beat, the Chemical Brothers began including the track in their DJ sets, which gave Daft Punk increased visibility. This was further aided by the music video directed by Spike Jonze. Daft Punk began performing live as well as DJ sets at venues in Europe as well as the U.S. At this time the duo had yet to adapt their robot personas (that wouldn’t happen until 1999).
The duo would almost immediately break through internationally with their 1997 debut album Homework. The blend of disco danceability and big beat umph would turn French house into a worldwide phenomenon. Michel Gondry’s video for the track “Around the World" was groundbreaking in its simplicity and its ingenuity; it features several groups of dancers each representing a specific instrument synchronizing their movements to the music. The use of guitar and vocoder also became a trademark of Daft Punk’s music.
Daft Punk released their second album, Discovery, in 2001. In contrast to the house sound of their debut, Discovery is more overtly an homage to the disco, post-disco, and synth-pop of the 70s and 80s. The album’s most successful single was “One More Time", which received heavy play not only on the air but at the clubs. The music videos for the album were made in collaboration with Matsumoto Leiji, an anime director best known for Space Battleship Yamato and Galaxy Express 999. The videos were released as feature length “animated opera" Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the5ecret 5tar 5ystem in 2003.
●French House Picks
3.The Birth of Electro House
The success of Daft Punk brought French house to the global stage. In the 2000s, the second generation of artists would introduce a DIY feel and punk attitude to the genre, giving French house the edge that would form the basis for its evolution into the genre known as electro house.
In 2002, Frenchman Gildas Loaëc teamed up with Japanese Kuroki Masaya and the London-based graphic design firm Åbäke to create the independent record label/fashion brand Kitsuné (the Japanese word for “fox"). Gildas had worked as Daft Punk’s art director in its early years, and had also been the manager of Thomas Bangalter’s private label Roule. He had been living and breathing French house for years.
Kitsuné announced their arrival on the dance music scene with artists such as the German duo Digitalism and the English duo Autokratz, as well as with releases from artists like Simian Mobile Disco and Boys Noize. These groups took Daft Punk’s French house sound and emphasized the synth-pop and hip hop elements, creating a new style called electro house in the process. For those interested in Kitsuné, check out their annual label compilations.
Another prominent label in the French house scene of the 2000s was Ed Banger Records, founded in 2003 by Pedro Winter, who was Daft Punk’s manager between 1996 and 2008. Winter had been a fan of heavy metal and hip hop growing up, and those sensibilities would shape the sound of his label and subsequently the direction of electro house.
The biggest name to come out of Ed Banger Records is the French duo Justice. Justice came to the attention of internet users—and Pedro Winter—with their remix of “Never be Alone" by U.K. rock band Simian, which they retitled “We Are Your Friends". The music video for the song won the Best New Video award at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards. Justice would subsequently remix songs for a variety of artists, including Britney Spears, N.E.R.D, Fatboy Slim, and Daft Punk.
Like Daft Punk before them, Justice’s international breakthrough was their 2007 debut album Cross. Conceived of as an “opera disco", the album contains “microsamples"—samples so short that they are essentially unrecognizable—taken from hundreds of songs spanning rock, heavy metal, hip hop, pop, and more. Justice’s blend of silky French house with a rugged rock edge would come to define the electro house aesthetic. The album’s singles, including the Michael Jackson homage “D.A.N.C.E." and the epic synth opera “Phantom Pt. II" received heavy radio airplay in the U.K. and throughout Europe. The cover design, featuring the outline of a cross against a black background, makes it feel like the album belongs in the heavy metal section of the record store.
In 2008, Justice released A Cross the Universe, a live album centered on the material from their first album. Their grand finale contains a prominent sample of “Master of Puppets” by Metallica—an audacious “French touch”.
●Electro House Picks
4.Other Electronic Music Duos from Europe and Japan
The electro house of Daft Punk and labels like Kitsuné and Ed Banger inspired the rise of similar groups throughout Europe, as well as in Japan.
The Belgian duo Soulwax is a prime example. Soulwax began as an alternative rock band in the mid-90s, but gradually shifted to electronic music and synth-pop in the 2000s. The pair is also known for their DJ sets under their 2manyDJs moniker, and their live album As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt. 2 sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. The album is not so much a DJ mix as it is a mashup of 45 songs from genres as wide-ranging as progressive rock, country music, soul music, hip hop, new wave, and more.
In Japan, the electro unit 80Kidz formed in 2006 and made waves with their 2009 debut album This is My Shit, which rose to No. 32 on the Oricon Album Chart—an unprecedented feat for such an act in Japan. The track “Miss Mars” became the first work by a Japanese artist to be featured on a Kitsuné compilation album. Much like Daft Punk, Justice, and 2manyDJs, 80Kidz performs both live as a band and DJ sets. Practically all of their official promo photos feature the duo covering their faces with their hands—again, a trick they likely learned from groups like Daft Punk and the punk rock attitude of electro house.
It’s interesting to note that so many of the artists active on the French house and electro house scenes in the 2000s were duos. Perhaps it was the influence of duos like Underworld, the Chemical Brothers, and Daft Punk. Alternatively, perhaps it was that they had been unsuccessful as a band, and their individual members were not gifted or charismatic enough to make it as a solo DJ act. Though some may chalk it up to their commitment to the punk rock attitude, 2manyDJs has a DJing style that is rough around the edges, to say the least.
Another iconic dance music duo is Royksopp, which formed in Norway in 1998. Despite being from a region of the world that is known for long winters and very little sun, Roysopp is known for its bubbly, downtempo music. One of their best known songs is “Happy Up Here".
Royksopp’s 2001 debut album Melody A.M. sold over 1 million copies worldwide, and is considered a masterpiece of chill out music. The album’s success was bolstered by the duo’s experimental, avant-garde music videos, which were put on heavy rotation on MTV. The video for “Remind me” won Best Video at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards, and was used in a popular automobile insurance commercial in the U.S.
Royksopp is also known for songs featuring female vocalists. Notable examples include “Do it Again" with the Swedish pop singer Robyn, and “Never Ever", with Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør. The music video for “Never Ever" features an homage to Daft Punk in the form of a robot DJ.
●Album Picks
5.Epilogue
In MUSIC & PARTIES #026, I wrote that disco died at the end of the 70s. But its spirit was carried on in house music, and then when Daft Punk came around in the second half of the 90s disco experienced a full-blown revival. The disco revival affected not just underground music but mainstream music as well; disco and French house were strong influences on both Kylie Minogue’s 2001 album Fever and Madonna’s 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Daft Punk itself released its first original album in eight years (if you don’t count the Tron: Legacy soundtrack) with 2013’s Random Access Memories. The album, which unabashedly taps into the spirit of 70s and 80s disco and dance pop, sparked a disco re-revival of sorts. The album was a massive critical and commercial success, and even won Grammys for Best Album and Best Dance/Electronica Album, among others. Clearly, music trends are cyclical.
It’s also notable that Daft Punk collaborated with Giorgio Moroder—the father of euro disco—as well as Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers on the album.
The disco re-revival has greatly shaped the pop music landscape of the past decade. So many of the songs on the Billboard pop charts feel like they are either inspired by or are direct remakes of songs from the 70s and 80s. Canadian hip hop singer The Weeknd’s 2016 album Starboy is a great example—not to mention the fact that he collaborated with Daft Punk on what are two of the album’s standout tracks. Then there’s the English singer Dua Lipa, whose 2020 album Future Nostalgia’s title pretty much says it all. It’s a disco record, and it’s not ashamed to admit it.
When you look at these trends, you begin to realize that disco never really died. If anything, it became the basis for much of pop music around the world in the decades that followed.
