Meet L’Étranger, Vanguard and Alan Braxe. They produce French Touch, also known as French House. My lack of vocabulary will probably butcher the genre of French Touch/French house, but it’s the funky hooks, those disco sounds – you know what I mean – and groovy vocals that puts you in dance mode pronto. French house is also sometimes referred to as neu-disco and I think that name describes more aptly what this genre is – new disco music for our generation.
First up, L’Étranger otherwise known as Ben Thomas is a producer/DJ from the UK, and he was the one who got me into French Touch. I heard his track Touch and felt that there was something unique and different about him. So I followed him down the rabbit hole to his soundcloud and fell in love. His remix of Slowly by Dubwiser is the embodiment of chilled-out good vibes with just the right amount of groove. I needed more of this stuff. So I searched for other French Touch artists and quickly came across VanGuard. VanGuard is a duo made up of Tom Morgan and James Thomas from Wales, who draw their inspiration from their favorite artists, Daft Punk, SebastiAn and Mr Oizo. They say that ”Justice’s ‘Cross’ was the album that made us really want to produce in a french house style but bringing our modern Welsh influence to it.” Their latest mix Venus is my current obsession with a surprise appearance of a track by Star Slinger, and the mix only gets better and better thereafter. Finally, meet Sir Alan Braxe. Alan Braxe is a French producer/DJ based in Paris, and his music is pretty magical. His recent mixes and tracks aren’t too obviously grooved up, but he is a genius at combining funk and chill vibes. He’s been around since the 90′s and is considered as one of the pioneers of French house.
L’Étranger – Falling For You
L’Étranger - Touch
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Dubwiser – Slowly (L’Étranger Remix)
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Fred Falke – Back To Stay (VanGuard Remix)
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VanGuard – LeJeune
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Venus Mix – VanGuard
Alan Braxe & Fred Falke – You’ll Stay In My Heart
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