Urban Junkies | Music | French Electronic Music is All About Air and Daft Punk, Right? Wrong

...Air and Daft Punk right? Wrong…

Long gone are the days when DJs and dance buffs looked to Chicago, Detroit and New York for inspiration. Now you are far better off grabbing a Eurostar and heading to Paris to hear the latest ear splitting, arse wobbling crazy sounds.

France does indeed continue to be a source of talented dance producers who seem determined to push the boundaries of dance music by incorporating sexed-up disco, electro and rock riffs.

Air and Daft Punk are fine and you've heard 'We Are Your Friends' a million times, but it's Digitalism, SebastiAn, DJ Mehdi, Uffie and Justice who will be coming to a speaker near you soon, much of it courtesy of the Ed Banger record label around which a lot of this creativity is centred.

If all dance music was this inspiring, we wouldn't need guitars...

Digitalism

Digitalism are the true inheritors of Daft Punk's crown. Their 'Idealism' album comes out in June and is set to be this summer's dance soundtrack. Catch them at festivals such as Lovebox.

http://www.myspace.com/digitalism

SebastiAn

Snapping at their heals is SebastiAn - a brilliantly unpredictable producer who has remixed the likes of Kelis and seems to get better with every release he turns his hand to. A good starting point would be to sonically inspect the almighty ‘Walkman‘ and weep with fear as your body is taken over by ‘Ross Ross Ross‘. This music is simply filthy and all the better for it.

http://www.myspace.com/0sebastian0

DJ Mehdi

Next up is DJ Mehdi who does a glorious line in frenzied electro and hip hop. He’s the young blood in the camp. Check out 'Le Cirque' or 'I Am Somebody' for proof of his complete disregard of the rules.

http://www.myspace.com/djmehdi

Uffie

Uffie meanwhile is a foul-mouthed rapper from Paris via Miami who specialises in gangsta shtick over grime beats. Give'‘Pop The Glock' and 'Hot Chick' a blast.

http://www.myspace.com/uffie

Justice

What's more, Justice's forthcoming album is going to be bigger than an extended remix of the Tour D'Eiffel. It all starts with the single 'D.A.N.C.E.' - a mob rousing, chart-busting celebration of, er, dance music and ends all over nightclubs and radios everywhere.

http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous

So it's berets off to the Frenchies for keeping dance music alive with their disco je-ne-sais-quoi par excellence.

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