- A groovy introduction to the newest French Touch.
- If you've been keeping an eye on a certain corner of the dance music world, you may have noticed something bubbling up from the Seine. Spearheaded by a number of party crews-turned-labels—including Rakya, Forest Ill, Distrikt and RA + RE—there's a new sound taking shape in Paris. It's hard to describe, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better example than "MakeUrOwnMusic" from Charonne's 2019 EP, Moonstruck Zine. The duo struck gold (and so have the Discogs sharks) with swung drums, a barrage of unimaginably catchy synth hooks, a few uplifting chord progressions and some nonsensical vocoder vocals imploring us to, "Make your own music." The track is camp without being kitsch, retro without being nostalgic, banging without being overbearing. In other words, it's precisely what makes this new sound (seemingly just as influenced by '90s techno as '80s video games) so damn danceable. Now the duo turn their attention to the LP format, offering us our most comprehensive look at this nook of the Parisian underground.
Most of this record is house music, on paper at least. But the way it borrows liberally from a bit of everything—from breakbeat, Italo and jazz to techno and circus music—it might be hard to imagine a house DJ actually playing these tracks. The squishy saxophone and Italo cheese on "Freak Freak" will work for the boldest selectors and the Saturday Night Fever saunter of "Disco Nights" may well be a secret weapon for the aspiring Soundstreams of the world. But it's just as easy to picture the absurdist theater of "Move Me" clearing a dance floor as it is to imagine the song garnering a feeding frenzy in a Track ID Facebook group.
What makes these songs potentially divisive (and, in my opinion, totally moreish) is how multilayered they are. Just as soon as you think you've found a groove, the duo pull the rug from under your feet. Opener "Une Voix Inconnue" starts with a heavy ambient wash, but right on cue a sparkling synth crescendo and buoyant electro drum workout roll in. "Jinx" is built around a series of carnivalesque organs chattering excitedly with one another. "Odyssée" sounds like a whalesong filtered through a Moog. And if it wasn't for that rubbery bassline, it'd be hard to keep track of all the different harmonies, rave stabs and lead lines scampering across the high-end on "Pastel Paradise."
This is also true when the duo use more conventional forms. The ricocheting and wiry synths and sub shots that start "Future, Past, Present" are pure contemporary techno. But then an ascending lead—of what? A pan flute piped in from 2121?—and campy pads take over the mix. Even in songs primed for late-night parties, the duo aren't afraid to be big and brash. Just have a listen to the propulsive electro and teethy bass hits on "SpaceCity Funk" or the minor chords and nuclear arms race-era vocal samples on Khebian."
In an article I wrote last summer, I spoke with many of the people behind the labels driving this new French sound, including Rakya, RA + RE and Forest Ill. I was initially surprised by how often labels like Perlon and [a:rpia:r] were cited as jumping off points for these producers. But listening to Innervoice, there's something telling about this lineage. The duo clearly have learned a thing or two about humour from Perlon, but more than that, they do what minimal music is supposed to: make each discrete element in the mix shine. This is true for all 72 minutes of this triple-LP, a riotous circus of bleeps and bloops, none of which feel out of place.
TracklistA1 Une Voix Inconnue
A2 Jinx
B1 Odyssée
B2 Pastel Paradise
C1 In The Valley Of Feelings
C2 Move Me feat. Badbadtati Cosmic Vox
C3 Freak Freak
D1 Disco Nights
D2 Future, Past, Present
E1 SpaceCityFunk
E2 Khebian
F1 Utopia
F2 I Lost My Body
F3 Stay Close To Me