French Touch 2.0

1. DJ Mehdi – I Am Somebody feat. Chromeo (2006, Ed Banger)
The little prince of first rap and then electro, and travel companion to Pedro Winter (founder of the label Ed Banger), DJ Mehdi sadly left us all too soon, in September of 2011, at the age of 34. This track from 2006, recorded with US duo Chromeo, reflects the good vibes and funkiness that were ingrained in Mehdi. The video was produced by So_Me, the artistic director of Ed Banger.

2. Justice – D.A.N.C.E. (2007, Ed Banger)
It would have been hard for Justice to avoid comparisons with their elders Daft Punk: There are two of them, they are also supported by Pedro Winterm, and they created hype first in France and then globally via house, though in a more maximalist form. They don't wear masks, but in the video for their first hit, D.A.N.C.E., in 2007, they wore T-shirts decorated with creations by So_ME and animated by Jonas & François, who won the award for best video at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

3. David Guetta & Chris Willis – Love Is Gone (2007, Virgin)
Mentioning EDM star David Guetta in the same breath as French Touch could get a few pulses racing. However, the French DJ—who has been going for longer than the entire French Touch movement and even witnessed its birth—released the track Love Is Gone in 2007 and it has similar qualities: an unstoppable chorus tight basslines, and an amazing video. Directed by Denis Thybaud, who has collaborated with Bob Sinclar and Joachim Garraud, it features a bizarre assortment of people, among whom only Guetta seems impassive, lost in his book: Essentials of Trigonometry.

4. Breakbot – Baby I'm Yours (2010, Ed Banger)
Baby I’m Yours is an infectious anthem to joy, dedicated to love. An associate of Justice, who he has remixed, Breakbot joined Ed Banger in 2008 and scored a hit with this track, which was used in the French TV show Le Grand Journal on Canal+ as well as movies like Polisse and Les Tuche. The video made use of illuminated watercolors and was directed by Irina Dakeva.

5. Cassius – I Love U So (2011, Ed Banger)
Zdar and Boom Bass, the fun-loving duo Cassius, came to a tragic early end with the accidental death of Zdar in 2019. They have featured in every era of French Touch, having scored at least one hit in every decade, with a discography split between their own productions and those of other artists (Zdar has produced for the Beastie Boys, Cat Power, Phoenix, and The Rapture). With the track I Love U So on Ed Banger in 2011, they created both an anthem for a generation and a video with its own participatory mobile app. The video was made by We are from L.A.—a duo consisting of Clément Durou and Pierre Dupaquier, who have also done the honors for Kanye West, Yelle, and Pharrell Williams (Happy).

7. Justice – Stress (2007, Ed Banger)
With Stress, Justice showed that they have a dark side too. It's a track with a lot of tension, which veers toward hard techno and ear-splitting sounds. For the video, they called upon the Kourtrajmé collective, who are Ed Banger regulars—specifically founding member Romain Gavras, who is the son of movie director Costa-Gavras. The barely contained violence in the images of the Stress video, with its horde of delinquants in jackets that reflect the cover of Justice's debut album, Cross, was clearly going to be controversial, like a Clockwork Orange for the 21st century.

8. Busy P – Rainbow Man (2007, Ed Banger)
This list would not be complete without Rainbow Man by Pedro Winter, the man who—come rain or shine—has been calling the shots ever since French Touch emerged on the French electronic music scene. This friendly and pragmatic visionary, who is equally passionate about skating, rap, and rock, is also a DJ and producer, working under the name of Busy P. Indeed, it's easy to imagine him juggling an avalanche of work, yet always smiling. And with visuals provided by So_Me, of course.

9. Para One – Dudun-Dun (MSTRKRFT Remix) (2006, Institubes)
In parallel with Ed Banger, various other collectives and labels developed. Para One became one of the main acts of one of the biggest of these in the 2000s: Institubes. With a more syncopated esthetic, combining techno and hip hop, they entertained colorful partygoers, of the like sometimes referred to as fluokids, coming in the wake of Tacteel and Teki Latex from French rap group TTC. This aggressive remix of Dudun-Dun came courtesy of Canadian duo MSTRKRFT in 2006.

10. Tacteel – L'Hiver Vous Va Si Bien (Zdar a Bas Day Remix) (2006, Institubes)
Tacteel, another member of the Institubes label, added a generous sprinkle of French humor before launching this little bomb of house music, which Zdar from Cassius eagerly remixed in the style of a soundtrack to an accelerated aerobics class. It's a remix that seems to represent a handing over of the reins from one generation of French Touch to another.

11. Nôze – You Have To Dance (2008, Get Physical)
The duo Nôze, who set up the Circus Company label, show another side to the French electronic scene during the 2000s. Despite focusing more on the sounds of German minimalist techno—almost the antithesis of French Touch—they inject it with a very French spirit of lightness, humor, wild stage antics, and a real ear for melody, such as on You Have To Dance, released in 2008 on Berlin based label Get Physical.

12. Chloé – Suspended (2007, Kill The DJ)
DJ and producer Chloé is the co-founder with Ivan Smagghe of the label Kill The DJ, an emanation of the Pulp—the famous Parisian lesbian club next door to the Rex Club from 1997 to 2007. While her esthetic is sometimes referred to as electro clash and could be considered as the antithetical to the original French Touch, of which she is a contemporary, it is undeniable that Chloé awoke an entire generation to electronic music, over minimally crafted sounds, as on Suspended from 2007. She is also the only woman mentioned here, the electronic music scene having taken its time to make space for women. These days, she is busier than ever with her label Lumière Noire.

13. Sébastien Tellier – L'Amour Et La Violence (Boys Noize Euro Mix) (2009, Record Makers)
The larger than life Sébastien Tellier went as far as competing in Eurovision in 2008 with the song Divine, which he controversially performed in English. He fits in comfortably alongside Air, and more generally within the French school of educated electronic and pop songwriting, of which François de Roubaix could be considered a forefather. This remix of his hit L’Amour et La Violence by Boys Noize from Germany offers a good combination of an effective melody and techno rhythms, together with video directed by Johann Bertelli.

14. Kavinsky – Night Call (2010, Record Makers)
French producer Kavinsky released this track in 2010 and it enjoyed international success thanks to its appearance on the soundtrack to the movie Drive starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. Production duties were carried out by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk and the track was mixed by SebastiAn. It came out on Record Makers, the same label as Sébastien Tellier. Keeping it in the family!

15. Para One & Tacteel – Rome (2011, Fool’s Gold Records)
This collaboration between Para One and Tacteel rounds out our list for the second wave of French Touch electronic music. However, it was actually on Brooklyn based label Fool’s Gold that the Institubes labelmates released their EP Fair Enough from which this bouncy track Rome is taken. New York, Brooklyn, Rome … it's an invitation to travel for the members of the French Touch movement, who by now have gotten used to globe trotting.