Non Et Non? Oui, Anon!

An eighty minute French electro dance mix to soundtrack your Olympic weekend, as requested by Anonymous on Tuesday. 

To mix my metaphors, when Anon made this comment, it became an itch I had to scratch and I ended up going down a rabbit hole. But it was so much fun! So much so, that I've spent so much time deciding on the tracks and stitching them together that I've basically run out of time to write about it...!

Anyhoo, from my initial thought that I might not have much to play with, the reality is that I seem to have tonnes of the stuff. to the extent that I've had to leave out several artists that I like, such as The Hacker, i:Cube, Le Knight Club and Rone because I didn't have the room.

From a ridiculously long long list, I had to impose further rules to help me whittle it down to a CD-R friendly size. 

 

So, first of all, the artists all had to be French passport carriers, so that cut out Francophiles such as Classixx (sorry, Anon!) or Aeroplane.

Secondly, if I was choosing a remix - which ended up accounting for most of this playlist - it also had to be by a French artist. Great though they are, remixes by Justin Robertson, Adrian Sherwood or even chancers like Les Rythmes Digitales aka Jacques Lu Cont (Stuart Price to his mum) had to go.

Thirdly... well, that was enough to go on actually and what I ended up with is a 16-track selection that I think hangs together pretty well.

There are loads of familiar names, as per Anon's list: Daft Punk, M83, Justice, Air, Étienne De Crécy; others such as Miss Kittin, Fred Falke, Château Flight, Sébastien Tellier, Kid Loco and Cassius. 

 

Some might be less familiar: La Horse (Ivan Smagghe & Julien Brambilla), Para One (Jean-Baptiste De Laubier), Dombrance (Bertrand Lacombe) and Donovan (David Saïd & Nicolas Nekmouche); all worth checking out in their own right.

Unfortunately, my tardiness with this post means that I've blown any chance of getting a look in with Rol's Saturday Snapshots over at My Top Ten. I'll be lucky to get a certificate of attendance, let alone a bronze medal...!

 

1) Sexual Sportswear (Donovan Remix): Sébastien Tellier (2010)

2) D.A.N.C.E. (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix): Justice (2008)

3) Sexy Boy (Étienne De Crécy Et Les Flowers Pistols Remix): AIR (1998)

4) Hypercommunication (Joakim Cartoon Muscles Remix): Poni Hoax (2008)

5) Midnight City (Team Ghost Remix): M83 (2011) 

6) Les Antipodes (Joakim Remix): Château Flight & Bertrand Burgalat (2004)

7) Saké (Blackjoy Version): Jupiter (2011)

8) Maneki Neko (Château Marmont Remix): Miss Kittin (2013)

9) Tom Select (La Horse Remix): Discodeine (2009)

10) Patterns (Mondkopf Remix): Villeneuve (2009)

11) Gorgeous (Dombrance Remix): Yuksek ft. Confidence Man (2020)

12) Spinach Girl (The Family Remix By Villeneuve): Agoria ft. Sylvie Marks & Kofea (2003)

13) Prix Choc (Ultra Dark Mix): Étienne De Crécy (1998)

14) She's My Lover (A Revolution Sitting Stoned In A Field - Remix Edit): Kid Loco (1997)

15) Prime Time Of Your Life (Para One Remix): Daft Punk (2005)

16) Feeling For You (Edit): Cassius (1999)

 

1998: A Grand Love Story: 14

1998: Prix Choc EP: 13

1998: Sexy Boy EP: 3 

1999: Feeling For You EP: 16

2003: Spinach Girl EP: 12

2004: Les Antipodes Versions Speciales EP: 6 

2006: Human After All: Remixes: 15 

2008: D.A.N.C.E. EP: 2 

2008: Hypercommunication EP: 4

2009: Death Race EP: 10

2009: Sexuality Remix: 1

2009: Tom Select EP: 9

2011: Midnight City Remix EP: 5

2011: Saké EP: 7

2013: Maneki Neko EP: 8

2020: Nosso Ritmo EP: 11

 

Non Et Non? Oui, Anon! (1:20:25) (KF) (Mega)

Lucky Bastard

Responding to absolutely no demand whatsoever, here's another trip back twenty years to the sounds of 2003.

My original shortlist was 20 songs, 10 forming yesterday's selection and the remaining 10 (in my mind at least) working well enough to provide another selection, just shy of an hour.

After a bit of a red herring with the opening two tracks, yesterday's turned out to be more of a downtempo, relaxed affair. Not so today. You want beats? You've got them. Well, at least until the closing track. But then, it's a remix by Boards Of Canada. You didn't really expect a gabba rave country crossover, did you?

A few of the big guns brought out for this one: Justin Robertson gets things off to a rousing start, Trevor Jackson ramps it up in his Playgroup guise and Ian Pooley's Solid Dub of a Nick Holder track is, well, solid.

After yesterday's DFA remix of The Rapture, two other bands from that (kind of) dance punk scene in the early 2000s - did it ever have a label? - come together. Dance To The Underground by Radio 4 was originally produced by The DFA and remixed by Trevor Jackson/Playgroup, both versions are personal favourites. The Faint (who also appeared in yesterday's selection) take the song in a different direction yet again and I like it.

 

Dubhed hero Rob Smith gives a shout for Bristol, whilst the rest of the mix variously takes in Bamako, Berlin, Paris, Ravenna, Cincinnati, Toronto, New York and Hull.

Today's title is lifted from a song by French DJ and producer Agoria aka Sébastien Devaud. Don't be fooled by the innocent sounding name, Spinach Girl is pure smut.

Enjoy!

1) Do It Proper (Justin Robertson Remix): Chicken Lips (2003)

2) Strict Machine (Rowan's Remix By Rowan Oliver): Goldfrapp (2003)

3) Bucci Bag (Playgroup Remix By Trevor Jackson): Andrea Doria (2003)

4) Serious (Album Version): Da Lata ft. Mamani Keita & Bémbé Ségué (2003)

5) Spinach Girl (Album Version): Agoria ft. Sylvie Marks & Kofea (2003) 

6) Dance To The Underground (Prance Mix By The Faint): Radio 4 (2003)

7) On My Mind (Ian Pooley's Solid Dub): Nick Holder ft. Sacha Williamson (2003)

8) Dead Again (Shirner Dub) (Remix By Reiner Schirner): Billie Ray Martin (2003)

9) Rock Dope Stupid (R & R Mix): Rob Smith (2003)

10) Last Walk Around Mirror Lake (Boards Of Canada Remix): Boom Bip (2003)

 

Lucky Bastard (59:46) (Box) (Mega)