The Producers of the French Touch

1. Dimitri From Paris – Sacré Français (1996, Yellow Productions)
It's impossible to talk about French Touch without hearing Sacré Français by Dimitri From Paris, taken from his album Sacrebleu, which was released by Bob Sinclar and DJ Yellow's label Yellow Productions in 1996. Over a very 60s esthetic, a bossa sample of Cal Tjader from 1965, and lyrics from 1964, it's a vintage notion of French-style elegance that appeals to the DJ, who has a penchant for disco and Philly Soul. The animations created by French artists Olivier Kuntzel and Florence Deygas, who have also made videos for St Germain, serve the subject matter perfectly, lying somewhere on the spectrum between the Pink Panther and Jacques Tati. Parts of the album were mixed by Zdar, too.

2. Alex Gopher – Le Turbo Personnel (Motorbass edit) (1995, Disques Solid)
With his second EP, the Gopher EP, Alex Gopher figured out his pseudonym, taken from the name of the chief purser in the TV series The Love Boat. It includes a remix of one of his first tracks—Le Turbo Personnel— by Motorbass, aka Etienne de Crécy and Zdar from Cassius. The EP came out on Solid, the label owned by Etienne de Crécy. Gopher is also a sound engineer by profession and still works as one to this day, so he is excellently placed to keep tabs on the French Touch sound.

4. I:Cube – Disco Cubism (1996, Versatile Records)
I:Cube is a very discreet but ubiquitous producer from the label Versatile, where he is undoubtedly the closest peer for founder DJ Gilb’R. His benchmark-setting productions were revered by his contemporaries, and on this funky sounding 1996 release Disco Cubizm it was Daft Punk themselves who took care of the remix. All the key elements were already in place on this track too: funky loops, filters, breaks in the middle of the track, and that sudden urge to dance right from the very first notes.

5. Air – Les Professionnels (1996, Disques Solid/Source Lab)
This track was included on Air's first EP, Casanova 70, released in 1996 on Etienne de Crécy's Solid and Source Lab, the first French Touch compilation to be distributed through Virgin. Their high school friend Etienne de Crécy performed production duties. The result is very cinematographic, with the vintage melodies for which Air became renowned and the languid pace set by de Crécy.

6. Château Flight – Discobole (Pépé 75cl Remix) (1997, Versatile Records)
This track provides proof of the comradeship between DJ Gilb’R and I:Cube, in the form of their duo Château Flight, releasing this in 1997 on the label Versatile, remixed by a friend, Pépé Bradock. Here, too, a certain dreaminess is pitted against a percussive rhythm, a curvy bassline, and breaks that wouldn't sound out of place on a hip hop track.

7. Pépé Bradock – Deep Burnt (1999, Kif Recordings)
Here again we have Pépé Bradock with his track Deep Burnt, a French Touch anthem that has been sadly denied a wider audience. After starting out as a jazz and funk guitarist, he got together with French producer Ark to form the duo Trankilou, before adopting his pseudonym of Pépé Bradock and setting up his own record label Atavisme. Deep Burnt was released in 1999 on French label Kif Recordings. With this long, hypnotic saga reminiscent of the dynamic melancholy from the famous Nervous Tracks by New York's Masters At Work released in 1993 or from Étienne de Crécy's Super Discount from 1996, he certainly deserves to appear among the pantheon of French Touch.

8. Thomas Bangalter – Club Soda (1998, Roulé Music)
In 1995, Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter set up his own label called Roulé, which came to be remembered for its 1998 release Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust, a group he put together for that one purpose, together with Benjamin Diamond and Alan Braxe. On Club Soda, which also came out in 1998, he demonstrates his love and knowledge of funk, accompanied by a sensual video shot by Seb Janiak, who is known for his videos for NTM, Sinclair, IAM, and of course for French Touch: Daft Punk, Alan Braxe, Fred Falke, Le Knight Club, and so on.

9. Cassius – See Me Now (2006, Virgin)
In 2006, Cassius returned with 15 Again (which could be their slogan) and in particular the hit song Toop Toop. As for See Me Now, with its Jagger-esque vibe, there was a real dream team on production: as well as Boombass and Zdar, the track was produced by Le Knight Club. Formed in 1997 by Guy-Manuel De Homem Christo (of Daft Punk) and Eric Chedeville (founder of the labels Crydamoure and Pumpking Records), they drew unreservedly from their passion for disco and funk samples.

10. Sebastien Tellier – My Poseidon (2012, Record Makers)
In 2012, the highly original Sébastien Tellier used his album My God Is Blue to offer an esoteric manifesto, trying to gather the faithful around a Blue Alliance and communion wafers in the shape of Pépito Bleu. On My Poseidon, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk was once again to be found on production duties.

11. Kanye West – Send It Up (2013, Def Jam)
Daft Punk seemed to be everywhere in 2013, the year their album Random Access Memories was released. They even crossed the Atlantic Ocean to produce half of Kanye West's Yeezus album. For Send It Up, with its razor-sharp urgency, the band brought with them two of the leading lights of contemporary Paris techno: the two buddies, Brodinski and Gesaffelstein.

12. Etienne De Crécy, Alex Gopher, Asher Roth ‎– Smile (Vocal Mix) (2015, A+LSO, Sony)
This track involved the reunion of a pair of French Touch friends from Versailles, 20 years after starting out, this time for the third edition of Super Discount, released in 2015. On Smile (Vocal Mix), Etienne de Crécy and Alex Gopher invited US rapper Asher Roth to lay down some lyrics in a style similar to Pharrell Williams on a track that was originally an instrumental.