Guide to French House Music: 4 Notable French House Acts

French house, also known as French touch and tekfunk, is a subgenre of electronic dance music (EDM) that merges disco, funk, and house elements. The music style originated in France during the 1990s. French house is characterized by funky basslines, filtered and phased effects on vocals, and funk and disco samples from the 1970s and 1980s. The effects, which also often extended to vocoded lyrics, led to the use of “filter house” as a descriptor for French house music.

The French house scene reached the apex of its popularity in the late 1990s, when bands like Daft Punk and Air enjoyed support from major American labels. For some time, it supplanted the UK electronic music scene on the charts and at raves, which had peaked on the global charts as the subgenre began emerging. Interest from dance floors dropped off in the new millennium, though it has since retained a loyal following among Italian and French DJs, and the lo-fi music community.

French house music drew inspiration from a few mainstream sounds. Here is an overview of the subgenre’s evolution:

• Beginnings. The origins of French house music can be traced back to a few sources: the original disco movement in America and Europe in the 1970s and 1980s, the interstellar funk of George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective, and later, elements of Chicago, Detroit, and New York house and electro. DJs such as Laurent Garnier, Ludovic Navarre (St. Germain), and David Guetta began experimenting with these sounds at clubs in Paris in the late 1980s. The style was initially labeled “nu-house” or “disco house” before journalists in the UK before referring to it as “French house” or “French touch.”
• Forming the sound. The first glimmer of original French house music came from French DJ and musician Thomas Bangalter, who would later team with Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo to form Daft Punk. His efforts for his indie record label, Roule, as well as those of Philippe Zdar and Etienne Crécy (also known as Superdiscount) of Motorbass, would feature the groove-heavy, disco-fueled house sound that would come to define French house. The latter group’s debut album, Pansoul (1996), was regarded as the first official French house LP. Other acts soon followed, including Daft Punk, the French duo Air, and Stardust, a short-lived French house supergroup that teamed Bangalter with DJ Alan Braxe and vocalist Benjamin Diamond.
• Daft Punk enters the mainstream. Despite the wealth of performers, French house remained a predominantly European music scene for much of the 1990s, enjoying considerable popularity in the UK, Greece, and the island of Ibiza, which was known as an EDM mecca. But with the release of Daft Punk’s debut US album, Homework, and its ascent to the Top 10 on the UK albums chart, French house enjoyed its first taste of global success.
• Decline. Other French music acts like Air and Stardust were signed to American labels, while DJs and groups like Bob Sinclar and Modjo scored European chart hits. Their time in the spotlight proved brief: after Madonna employed French house elements for her 2005 album Confessions on a Dance Floor, interest in new house tracks appeared to wane, though labels like Ed Banger Records—overseen by Daft Punk’s former manager, Pedro Winter—continue to employ and adapt the French house sound.

Several characteristics define the French house music sound:

1. 1. Disco grooves. French house draws heavily on its American and European influences: the heavy basslines in Stateside funk and disco and the synth-fueled pop sound of Italo disco and space disco. The synth sweep of Daft Punk’s hit “One More Time” exemplifies the disco heritage of French house.
2. 2. Filters and phases. Italo disco’s use of filters and phasing effects to process vocals and samples was also carried over by French house. Air’s hit “Sexy Boy,” from their 1998 debut album Moon Boy, and Daft Punk’s “Around the World,” are flush with vocoded choruses and samples.
3. 3. House elements. The sound of Chicago and New York house, which mixed four-on-the-floor beats and heavy use of repetitive samples adopted from hip-hop, also wielded a strong influence on French house music. You can hear it in the cyclical guitar and keyboard riffs at the heart of Starbass’s hit “Music Sounds Better with You.”

There are several notable French house artists. Among them are:

1. 1. Bob Sinclar. Born Christopher Le Friant, producer/DJ/label owner Bob Sinclar was influential in helping to make disco synths and string sections a key component of French house. He scored five No. 1 singles on the US Dance music chart, including the platinum-selling “Love Generation,” featuring Gary Pine, in 2005. He also produced remix tracks for Rihanna, Madonna, and Moby.
2. 2. Cassius. After departing Motorbass, producer Philippe Zdar (born Philippe Cerboneschi) formed the duo Cassius with Hubert Blanc-Francard (also known as Hubert Boombass). The pair scored a string of hits, including the Top 10 UK single “Cassius 1999,” and collaborated with artists ranging from Pharrell Williams to Ghostface Killah. The untimely death of Zdar in 2019 brought the group to an end that same year.
3. 3. Daft Punk. Former indie rockers Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo traded guitars for EDM beats and their signature robot garb to create Daft Punk, arguably one of the most successful dance music groups in history. Their substantial discography included two No. 1 US albums and the Grammy-winning Record of the Year “Get Lucky” before disbanding in 2020.
4. 4. Fred Falke. Producer and DJ Fred Falke made his recording debut with Alan Braxe on the 2000 single “Intro,” which led to a string of successful singles and remixes of tracks by Goldfrapp and Royksopp from the pair. Falke has since remixed songs by prominent acts like U2, Selena Gomez, Sia, and Pink.

There are many notable French house tracks released in the 1990s and 2000s, including:

1. 1. “Heatwave.” The French band Phoenix is a major pop-rock act in Europe and America, but in 1999, they released one of the catchiest French touch singles, “Heatwave.” The band—which features guitarist Laurent Brancowitz, who played with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo in their pre-Daft Punk band, Darlin’—digs deep into the dreamy synths and funk guitar licks for an epic dance floor track.
2. 2. “Music Sounds Better With You.” The sole release by French house super trio Starbass, featuring singer Benjamin Diamond, Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, and DJ Alan Braxe, “Music Sounds Better Than You” crystallizes all of the elements of French house, from disco samples—Chaka Khan’s 1981 track “Fate”—to insistent beats. It enjoyed substantial chart success worldwide, including a No. 1 US Dance Club hit in 1998.
3. 3. “Starlight.” This effortlessly funky 2001 single from composer/producer Guillaume Atlan under his stage name, The Supermen Lovers, was a Top 5 hit in France and the United Kingdom, and earned Atlan a nomination for Best French Artist at the 2001 MTV Europe Music Awards.
4. 4. “Together.” Thomas Bangalter and DJ Falcon issued just two singles as the duo Together, including this eponymous track from 2000. Its shimmering sound enjoyed chart success in Europe and later became a cornerstone of Daft Punk’s encore medley in live performances.

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