Braxe + Falcon | |
|---|---|
 Alan Braxe (left) in 2019 andDJ Falcon (right) in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | French touch[1] |
| Years active |
|
| Labels | Smugglers Way |
| Member of | UFOs[a] |
| Members | |
Braxe + Falcon are aFrench touch music duo consisting of the cousins Alain and Stéphane Quême, known professionally asAlan Braxe andDJ Falcon. Each released music onThomas Bangalter's labelRoulé in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but were not aware of each other's music careers, having only sporadically met before at family gatherings. They started collaborating seriously in 2014, producing demos that they left untouched until 2020, when theDomino Records manager Peter Berard convinced them to finish their work. From this, they released in 2022 the tracks "Step by Step" withPanda Bear, "Creative Source", and "Elevation" withSunni Colón, supporting that year'sStep by StepEP.
Later, in 2023, they produced aremix of "Winter Solstice" for the bandPhoenix and appeared at some of Panda Bear's shows withSonic Boom. In 2024, they released the single "All This Love" withBibio and performed as part of the closing ceremony for theParis Paralympic Games. In 2025, they produced a remix ofJustice's "Mannequin Love", and Braxe + Falcon formed thesupergroup UFOs with Phoenix, releasing their debut single "UFO".
Braxe describes his use of musical equipment as minimalist, with Falcon being the opposite. Braxe describes himself and Falcon as "not real musicians" considering their lack of knowledge of conventional instruments like akeyboard instrument orguitar. The duo favourmodular synthesisers for their ability to producebass, playchords, samplewaveforms or make drums, and what Braxe describes as the opportunity to form a "relationship" with the musical instruments. The duo utilize theAbleton Live andDigital Performer software when recording.
Both musicians had careers in music; in 1997,Alan Braxe released the single "Vertigo" (1997) andDJ Falcon released theEPHello My Name Is DJ Falcon (1999), both onThomas Bangalter's labelRoulé.[3][1] Braxe had a hit with Bangalter and the vocalist Benjamin Diamond as Stardust with the track "Music Sounds Better with You" (1998), and Falcon with Bangalter asTogether, releasing the dance track "So Much Love to Give" (2002).[3][1] Braxe continued releasing music throughout the 2000s with Fred Falke.[3] Falcon co-produced the track "Contact" fromDaft Punk's 2013 albumRandom Access Memories, but was otherwise musically inactive, taking up surfing, DJing, and photography.[3] Around the time Falcon worked on the Daft Punk track, he and Braxe began to make music together.[4]
Braxe and Falcon are cousins, but had only met at family parties and did not know of each other's production careers. They became close once they learned of their work in common.[5] In 2014, the duo made several demos but nothing came of them. Around 2020, they spoke with theDomino Records manager Peter Berard, who convinced them to finish the demos.[5] Falcon described his return to music production akin to having children, saying that his return had to be for the right reason, and that he would be able to look back satisfied on his work in the future.[3] Falcon concluded that their choice to collaborate was made minding the goal of making "meaningful" material instead of "engaging in cultural pollution", doing so because of a love for making music.[3]
In March 2022, Braxe + Falcon released their first single, "Step by Step" / "Creative Source". "Creative Source" was described asdisco house withslap bass and cut-up vocals.[3] Aremix of "Creative Source" by the Canadian DJA-Trak was released in August 2022.[6] "Step By Step" was made withNoah "Panda Bear" Lennox ofAnimal Collective. Braxe noticed the band's work was similar to his and Falcon's, and initiated a collaboration. Lennox described the title phrase as a "hopeful mantra" present throughout the song.[3] In May, they released "Elevation", featuringSunni Colón.[7] On 24 June 2022, they released the EPStep by Step, and on 26 August they releasedvinyl pressings.[7] That August, they released a music video for "Step by Step", written, directed, and produced by Toru Tokikawa and starring the Japanese skaterGinwoo Onodera.[8] They announced two shows in November at Brooklyn's Elsewhere and El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.[8]
In January 2023, Swedish DJAxel Boman released a remix of "Step by Step".[9] In May, the bandPhoenix released Braxe + Falcon's remix of their song "Winter Solstice". The band described it as the summary of their experience with theCOVID-19 pandemic, and it was made since they had stayed in touch with Falcon during that time. Braxe described it as the result of Falcon's friendship with the band, and said the twelve-bar loop was "where it's easy to get lost in a very pleasant way", keeping the song downtempo to preserveThomas Mars's voice.[10] In July, they performed at three shows of Panda Bear andSonic Boom's tour, atParadise Rock Club,9:30 Club, andKnockdown Center.[11] In July 2024, they released "All This Love", featuringBibio. Braxe had received a remix request from Warp Records for Bibio's "S.O.L.", and the two chatted until they decided to collaborate, with Braxe sending Bibio a demo produced by himself and Falcon. Bibio was familiar with the duo's work on Roulé, and worked with them on the track based on the theme ofaddiction.[12] On 8 September 2024, the duo performed at theParis 2024 Paralympic Games closing ceremony.[13] They performed back-to-back withPedro Winter atPortola Music Festival 2024, which took place on 28–29 September.[14]
On 28 June 2025, afolk rock cover of "Step by Step" was released byYouth Lagoon forSiriusXMU.[15] Braxe + Falcon's remix ofJustice's "Mannequin Love" was released on 16 July on a remix EP including two other artists.[16] The duo formed thesupergroup UFOs with Phoenix, which released their debut single "UFO" on 23 September.[2] It was released via Domino Records and Smugglers Way,[17] with a limited edition 12" vinyl released at select independent record stores.[2]Stereogum commented on the debut of the group that if this were just a one-off affair akin to Stardust with "Music Sounds Better with You", they felt "UFO" was a great song, feeling Mars's singing and the "percolating haze of keyboards" were lovely.[17]Les Inrockuptibles wrote the supergroup's debut single mixed the dance style of Braxe + Falcon with the pop of Phoenix, creating a "definitive masterstroke".[18]Warren Fu directed the music video, which features alien spaceships and vintage photos, including images of the members of Braxe + Falcon and Phoenix as children.[17][18]
"Modular [synthesisers] can be used for everything and that's interesting to us because the possibilities are endless within a closed world. You can create leads,bass, effects, playchords, samplewaveforms or make drums, and you also put yourself in a situation where you can finally have a relationship with a specific instrument, just like a guitar player with his guitar."
Alan Braxe and DJ Falcon are considered influential toFrench touch anddance music as a whole.[3][1] Describing the establishment of dance music in relation to their work together, Braxe described "the formula" for it as generally relying on technically-perfected production; the duo do not value this notion, instead they strive to place "sincerity" at the forefront of their artistry, which they described as creatively freeing.[3]Pitchfork described their meticuloussampling techniques as time-consuming, more so than those of other quicker, less "judicious" producers.[3] The duo's "painstaking" production style is due to them not having advanced technical prowess.[3] Braxe describes himself and Falcon as "not real musicians" considering their lack of knowledge of conventional instruments like akeyboard instrument orguitar.[5]
Braxe described his use of musical equipment as minimal, while Falcon was the opposite.[5] Much of their work is achieved bymodular synthesisers, a process described as satisfying and stimulating for its many usages and especially for its way to manipulate mistakes when used in tandem with aMIDI box orsampler.[5] Braxe said they favour modular synthesisers for their ability to producebass, playchords, samplewaveforms, or make drums, and what Braxe describes as the opportunity to form a "relationship" with the musical instruments.[5] Falcon usually uses theEurorack and Cwejman modules, and works with the Electro-Music Assimil8or sampler.[5] Braxe and Falcon both use theStrymon Magneto processing device on their music because of its delay,reverb, andpitch shifting effects.[5] The duo usually try to begin with a modular synth loop or a few chords they came across spontaneously when composing music,[5] with their production described byPitchfork as setting up "optimal conditions for magic to strike".[3] Typically, the duo useAbleton Live initially when recording, though once they compile all the parts in a song, they export the files toDigital Performer because of the favourable audio quality and easier editing ability.[5]
Singles | EPs |
Braxe + Falcon remixes | Other artists' remixes/versions |