French house
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
French house | |
---|---|
Stylistic origins |
|
French house (also referred to as French touch, filter house, or tekfunk) is a style of
History and influences
French house was influenced by American dance music,
UK dance music and European DJs first recognized French house experiments in the mid-1990s with commercial success occurring in 1997.
Further international commercial success continued into the 2000s with
Terms, origins and variations
The term "French Touch" was first used in Paris in July 1987.[11] Jean-Claude Lagrèze, a photographer of parisians' nights created a couple of "French Touch" parties at The Palace in an effort to help people discover house music. The parties were driven by DJ Laurent Garnier, Guillaume la Tortue and David Guetta. The expression "We Give a French Touch to House" was printed on a bomber jacket by Éric Morand for Fnac Music Dance Division in 1991.[10]
Prior to 1996, "French house" had been referred to among Europeans as "nu-disco", "disco house" and "new disco".[12] The term "French touch" was popularised by music journalist Martin James in the weekly music paper known as Melody Maker. He referred to the term in 1996 as a review of Étienne de Crécy's first album Super Discount. This term became favoured among the French media and was then widely used in the UK press by 1998.[8] The French newspaper, Libertation and Radio NRJ acknowledged Martin James as the coiner of the "French Touch".[citation needed] The term was then used on an MTV News special, to describe a "French house explosion" phenomenon. Bob Sinclar was interviewed, as well as Air (a non-house act) and Cassius. This news special later aired on all MTV local variations worldwide, spreading the term and introducing the "French house" sound to the mainstream population.[2]
Between 1998 and 2001, local music shop Discobole Records imported the records directly from France and middle class clubs dedicated totally to the genre, such as City Groove. In Greece, this music style was promoted as "disco house".[13] During 1999, many events also took place on Spain's Ibiza island, and has continued to be a very popular destination for British tourists.[14]
French house can be described as a combination of three production styles. One is what the French refer to as 'French house' or 'French Touch,' heavily influenced by the space disco sound. The second style is a continuation and update of Euro disco, drawing inspiration from the productions of Alec R. Costandinos. The third style embodies the deep American house influence, evident in the similar treatment of samples and repetitive 'funky' hooks. Further variations and mutations naturally followed.[citation needed]
French house initially maintained the established 'French Touch' sound, emphasizing Euro disco-like vocals and downplaying the 'space disco' themes. However, over time, most successful acts have evolved their sound. For instance, Bob Sinclar's later work, including the hit single 'World, Hold On (Children of the Sky),' exhibits only a distant connection to the original French house sound. Similarly, both Daft Punk and Étienne de Crécy developed a harder synthetic sound more directly inspired by techno, electro, and pop.
Record labels associated with the style
- 20000st
- Astralwerks (U.S. market)
- Barclay (record label)
- Bromance
- Crydamoure
- Diamond Traxx
- Disques Solid
- Dynamic Recordings
- Ed Banger Records
- F Communications
- Fiat Lux
- Kitsuné
- Moveltraxx
- Pont Neuf Records
- Record Makers
- Roche Musique
- Roulé
- Smugglers Way
- Versatile Records
- Vulture Music
- We Rock Music
- Work It Baby
References
- ^ Hawkins, Stan. "Feel the Beat Come Down: HouseMusic As Rhetoric" (PDF). Analyzing Popular Music: 82–103 – via Academia.
- ^ a b c "Guide to French House Music: 4 Notable French House Acts". 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022.
- ^ "Village Voice: Daft Punk by Scott Woods". Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2007.
- ^ "Exposition "Electro" à La Philharmonie : 5 clips emblématiques de la French Touch". CNEWS (in French). 8 April 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- JSTOR 26391066.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5013-6638-3.
- ^ Suzanne Ely, "Return of the Cybermen" Mixmag, July 2006, pp. 94–98.
- ^ a b 'French Connections: From Discotheque to Discovery' by Martin James, 2002, Sanctuary Publishing
- ^ Meissner, Florian. "DAFT PUNK – HOMEWORK".
- ^ a b Musicpublished, Future (20 September 2019). "Everything you need to know about: French touch". MusicRadar. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "French touch – 10 of the best". The Guardian. 18 November 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ "Nu Disco Music Guide: A Brief History of Nu Disco".
- ^ "What defines French house?". 9 January 2021.
- ^ Tolentino, Christian (5 November 2019). "UK delivers highest number of overseas visitors to Ibiza". Travel Daily. Retrieved 9 August 2020.