20. Demon vs Heartbreaker – You Are My High (2000)
French touch is a distinct style of dance music from France that emerged in the mid-90s and continued through the late 00s. It incorporates elements such as house rhythms, funk and disco basslines, chopped-up vocal samples, and heavy use of EQing to create a trippy sound. The song “You Are My High” embodies all of these elements, with the iconic snippet of Stevie Wonder’s vocals used for dramatic and sentimental moments on the dance floor.
The song “Minuit Jacuzzi” by Tepr, remixed by datA, was released in 2007.
During the 2000s, Daft Punk rose to become the most influential and popular artists in the scene. This led to a shift in French touch music, as it gradually moved away from house and towards electro. This new style, known as “blog house”, was often played by individuals wearing American Apparel hoodies, who appeared to have not consumed any vegetables in weeks. Some may argue about its authenticity, but to me, this style is an integral part of French touch. It maintains its funk roots and features samples that are more finely chopped than ever before. This deep cut track, with its brilliantly catchy melody, is a prime example of how this era embraced tinny compression as a unique feature. For the ultimate nostalgic experience, play this track as a 128kbps mp3 file.
In 2007, Surkin created a remix called “Midnight Swim” for Para One’s song “Drowning”.
Using a chopped and distorted vocal that mimics a heated argument over a shaky telephone connection, a traditional piano-house beat, and a lengthy breakdown that builds up to a climactic moment, this track is a hidden gem from the modern era of French electronic music. Para One gained recognition for his remix of Daft Punk’s “Prime Time of Your Life” which has become the definitive version, and has since become a frequent musical partner for director Céline Sciamma, contributing the captivating Latin chant in Portrait of a Lady on Fire and the grandiose choral synthwave ballad in Petite Maman.
The 2010 song “ADD SUV” by Uffie featuring Pharrell has been remixed by Armand Van Helden with added vocals.
Uffie, a Parisian club kid with a touch of French flair, was a precursor to Kesha, blending rap with electro and Velvet Underground samples. Armand Van Helden, a US producer, was heavily influenced by French touch when he created the disco-infused UK chart-topper “You Don’t Know Me”. In this fantastic remix collaboration, Van Helden boldly replaces the original beat with a one-bar loop from Black Ivory’s “Mainline”, giving it a powerful boost that adds a touch of distortion. The sped-up verse from Pharrell adds to the greatness of the track and serves as a reminder of the strong connection between French touch and hip-hop, with J Dilla famously sampling Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter’s “Extra Dry”.
16. Mr Oizo – Patrick 122 (2007)
Specializing primarily in electronic music, including his popular UK hit “Flat Beat” used in Levi’s advertisements, Mr Oizo is also the creator of this track that will make you lose control. His remix of “Do It at the Disco” by Gary’s Gang incorporates choppy editing techniques, as if using safety scissors suitable for young children. The result is a stuttering, glitchy track that may sound like it’s falling apart, but ultimately adds to its funky charm.
15. DJ Falcon – First (1999)
A more refined disco sample, highlighted by a fantastic half-second of disco-funk group Dynasty bringing the crowd together with their signature chant, “Everybody!” Falcon is a minimalist in the French touch scene, relying on the quality of his source material and his ability to extract deep grooves from it. One of his notable remixes is Cassius’s La Mouche, which is constructed from just one bar of the original track. After taking a break to pursue surfing and photography, Falcon made a triumphant comeback in 2022 with the ballad Step By Step, a collaboration with Alan Braxe and Panda Bear.
Bob Sinclar released the song “Gym Tonic” in 1998.
Bob Sinclar became known for incorporating charmingly cheesy whistled melodies into his popular songs, including “Love Generation.” He was often associated with the more corny side of the French touch genre, but his early disco tracks like “I Feel For You,” which sampled Cerrone, also showcased a strong intensity. Another stand-out track is “Gym Tonic,” where he enlisted the help of Bangalter as co-producer and used a Jane Fonda workout video to create a high-energy dancefloor anthem.
13. Le Knight Club – Santa Claus (1997)
Both members of Daft Punk have created music separately from the duo. Bangalter’s tracks tend to receive more attention, but those made by his partner Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo with Eric Chedeville as Le Knight Club are also incredibly impressive. Songs like “Intergalaktik Disco,” “Chérie D’Amoure,” and “Hysteria” are all noteworthy, but the best is still “Santa Claus,” which was the first release on Homem-Christo and Chedeville’s Crydamoure label. The French touch basslines in this song have a longing quality, while the disco guitar is filtered and chilled to create a cool, icy sound.
12. Superfunk – Lucky Star (2000)
Unfortunately, it was unjustly excluded from the UK Top 40. This song had the potential to be just as successful as Modjo’s “Lady (Hear Me Tonight)”, a French crossover hit that topped the charts in the same year. Modjo sampled Chic’s “Soup For One” in a superficial manner, and Superfunk did the same with Chris Rea’s Balearic classic, “Josephine”. However, the execution is skillful with a powerful bass and Ron Carroll’s heartfelt vocals.
The album “Grandlife” by We in Music was released in 2001.
We in Music sat at the heart of the Parisian scene – the vocals are by an uncredited Benjamin “Music Sounds Better With You” Diamond and Homem-Christo’s younger brother Paul co-produces – and they meld the sample-spotting of Falcon or Bangalter with pure pop songwriting. It results in an ecstatic track that got unfairly lost in the post-Daft Punk major label scramble.
10. The album “Prix Choc” by Etienne de Crecy was released in 1998.
If blog house was what French touch became, it originally emerged from a very different style – a kind of lounge-y, Afro-Latin, rare-groove music in the 1990s, with tracks such as Alex Gopher’s The Child, DJ Gregory’s Elle, Pepe Bradock’s Deep Burnt and St Germain’s album Boulevard. It’s more tasteful cocktail bar than nightclub – but Prix Choc is undeniably great, with a hard-hitting house beat under the organ chords while the “sensimilla, marijuana” vocal fills the air with fragrant smoke.
The song “Cheek – Venus (Sunshine People)” was remixed by DJ Gregory in 1996.
The elegant atmosphere of the early French touch is elevated to its peak here, as a DJ Falcon-style guitar rhythm is combined with the cheerful proclamation of “sunshine people we are!” reminiscent of henna-adorned hippies at an Ibizan yoga retreat. Even the most pale goth-techno fan may find themselves nodding along approvingly in a beach bar they’ve been coerced into visiting on vacation.
8. Justice – Stress (2007)
The band Justice is making a comeback this year with a highly anticipated performance at Coachella. They are known for their punk-rock style, in contrast to the popular disco-influenced French touch genre. However, their first album still holds elements of this sound, as seen in their standout track “Waters of Nazareth” which has a dark electro vibe. Their songs “Genesis” and “Phantom Pt II” also incorporate disco elements through the use of strings. One of their songs, “Stress,” combines both moods, with tense violins reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann’s film scores, but also a groovy beat similar to the Bee Gees, creating a unique blend of styles. The iconic French touch vocal samples are also present in this track.
7. SebastiAn – Walkman (2006)
The later era of blog house music may have had some less-than-stellar tracks, but this gem has been overlooked and underappreciated. It showcases masterful sound design, incorporating complex elements while still maintaining a heavy, funky vibe. The disco-inspired bassline is distorted, while a repetitive noise riff dances over the top, adding to the chaotic energy. Although it may seem disfigured, the remnants of French touch are scattered throughout, with vocal samples reduced to gasps and cries of pain. (If this interests you, check out SebastiAn’s remix of Revl9n’s “Walking Machine,” another one of his masterpieces.)
Cassius released a radio edit of their song “Cassius 1999” in 1998.
The intro of 1999 is reminiscent of snorkeling around the beat, with a subtle bassline and a faint outline like a jellyfish. The sped-up and filtered Donna Summer sample adds to the experience. However, the announcement of “Cassius in the house!” brings you back to reality and the funky house rhythm takes over, evoking feelings of pure sunshine and sensuality. This is the epitome of French touch, with a touch of psychedelia.
5. Alan Braxe and Fred Falke – Intro (2000)
Almost a sister track to 1999, using those filter-effects to access an eldritch and spectral mirrorworld. The intro to the Jets’s US Top 3 hit Crush on You is played as if in an echoing haunted house, the singers moving wraithlike around the rafters and crawling up your back – only for one of history’s great basslines to kick in and get the ghosts grooving. Surely a huge influence on Dua Lipa’s Don’t Start Now, too.
4. Together – So Much Love to Give (2002)
The collaboration between DJ Falcon and Bangalter resulted in the release of only two tracks, both of which have become legendary in the world of dance music. Their self-titled single features a flawless bassline and an irresistible charm, even amidst its cosmic sound. However, “So Much Love to Give” takes the lead with its 10-minute long burst of overwhelming euphoria. The track utilizes a maximalist arrangement of intense synths and repeated proclamations of love, followed by the same arrangement but with the addition of a powerful bass drum. When this song is played, the intellectual capacity of an entire dancefloor is replaced with pure instinctual pleasure.
The song “Music Sounds Better With You” by Stardust was released in 1998.
In August of 1998, the trio of Bangalter, Braxe, and Diamond were unfairly held off from reaching the number one spot by Boyzone’s song “No Matter What”. However, their track, which features Diamond’s energetic vocals and a catchy sample from Chaka Khan’s “Fate”, has still secured a place in pop history. The production by Bangalter and Braxe, with its filtered background and cosmic sound, adds a unique element to the song. Even if you try to play it cool on the dancefloor, you won’t be able to resist air guitaring along to the infectious beat.
2. DJ Mehdi – Signatune (Thomas Bangalter edit) (2007)
A reminder of the multiverses of sound contained in every recorded song, and the infinite possibility in sampling them. Ten seconds of Strokin’ by disco-funk group Dynasty (them again) becomes three-and-a-half of the most unhinged minutes in dance music history, as the late DJ Mehdi burns the sample until it’s collapsing and spitting out sparks, then Bangalter straps a kick drum to it and sends it skyward. The video was set among warring boy racers, and the track itself is an expression of gloriously overstimulated machinery.
The song “One More Time” by Daft Punk was released in the year 2000.
It requires exceptional intelligence or even supernatural foresight to recognize a sample in the way Daft Punk did in this instance: they took a one-second brass chord from Eddie Johns’ 1979 disco track More Spell on You, cut it out, and changed its pitch to create the entire backbone of One More Time. Unlike the purely artificial tropical house and EDM that followed French touch, those trumpets, despite being manipulated, still contain a sense of breath, effort, and enthusiasm, bringing a human element to the track even as its creators presented themselves as robots. Vocalist Romanthony also straddles the line between man and machine, using a vocoder but exhaling forcefully – “you can’t stop-AH!” – as dancers catch their breath during the long breakdown. The beat itself is precisely quantized, yet still fluid. As the lyrics emphasize, One More Time showcases the liberating, endlessly repeating, and deeply humanizing power of music.
Source: theguardian.com
