| French house | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early to mid-1990s, France |
| Derivative forms | |
| Fusion genres | |
| French electro | |
| Other topics | |
French house (also referred to asFrench touch,filter house, ortekfunk) is a style ofhouse music devised byFrench musicians in the 1990s.[1] It is a form ofEurodisco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music scene. The defining characteristics of the genre arefilter andphaser effects both on and alongsidesamples from late 1970s and early 1980s Europeandisco tracks. Tracks sometimes contained originalhooks inspired by these samples, providing thicker harmonic foundations than the genre's forerunners.[2] Most tracks in this style are in4
4 time and feature steadyfour-on-the-floor beats in the tempo range of 110–130beats per minute. Purveyors of French house includeDaft Punk,[3]David Guetta,Bob Sinclar,Martin Solveig,Cassius,The Supermen Lovers,[4]Modjo,Justice,Air, andÉtienne de Crécy.
French house was influenced by American dance music,Euro disco, and thespace disco music styles.[5] Space disco was popular inFrance during the late 1970s and early 1980s, especially with artists such asCerrone andSheila and B. Devotion. AmericanP-Funk also influenced the genre's sound, especially the work ofGeorge Clinton andBootsy Collins.[6] P-Funk was played alongside disco in many Frenchdiscothèques, notably afterDisco Demolition Night took place in the United States.[6] TheJacking aspect ofChicago house was also incorporated into the French house scene with "jack house" becoming a short-lived descriptive term for the sound in the UK. The influence of 1970s French pop music, championed by musicians such asFrançois de Roubaix,Jean-Michel Jarre, andSerge Gainsbourg, is also apparent within the genre.[6]
Thomas Bangalter's tracks for hisRoulé label were some of the earliest examples of French house. His solo material, along with his work as a member ofDaft Punk andStardust, influenced the French house scene during the mid-to-late 1990s.[7] The French duoMotorbass were among the first in France to produce house tracks largely based around samples and filtered loops and released their seminal album,Pansoul in 1996. Parisian producerSt. Germain also producedjazz-inspired house tracks. Other known French producers during this time period, such asFrançois Kevorkian andLaurent Garnier, remained distant from the emerging French house label.
UK dance music and European DJs first recognized French house experiments in the mid-1990s with commercial success occurring in 1997.[8]Daft Punk,Cassius and laterStardust were the first internationally successful artists of the genre, and along withAir, signed toVirgin Records. Initial releases by all three garnered music videos directed bySpike Jonze,Michel Gondry andAlex & Martin. Thanks to a growing awareness of the clubbing scene, along with major label support, Daft Punk's debut albumHomework entered the top 10 of theUK Albums Chart upon its release. The duo would ultimately become the biggest-selling French act in the UK sinceJean-Michel Jarre.[9] The emergence of the French sound coincided with dance music's popularity in the UK market, which was also experiencing a surge of interest in generalelectronic music.[10]
Further international commercial success continued into the 2000s withBob Sinclar,Étienne de Crécy,Benjamin Diamond, andModjo achieving hit singles in Europe. In late 2005,Madonna releasedConfessions on a Dance Floor, an album with significant French house influences in several of its songs.[2]
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 DJLaurent Garnier, Guillaume la Tortue andDavid 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 asMelody Maker. He referred to the term in 1996 as a review ofÉtienne de Crécy's first albumSuper Discount. This term became favoured among the French media and was then widely used in the UK press by 1998.[8] The French newspaper, Liberation 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 asAir (a non-house act) andCassius. 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'sIbiza 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.
