Pop goes Parisien

The French have always given great lessons in utilizing technology – from Jean Michel Jarre to Laurent Garnier, Daft Punk to Etienne de Crecy, Dimitri from Paris to Modjo to Air to Cassius. It wouldn’t be another year without another fresh French sensation – so make way for the Parisian answer to Massive Attack – Telepopmusik.

The core of Telepopmusik is a triumvirate of expert knob-twiddlers: Stephan, Fabrice and Christophe. A stellar cast of vocal collaborators joins them on their debut album Genetic World: Billie Holiday-esque chanteuse Angela McClusky, ex-Earthling rapper Mau, Peaches and Gonzales and Juice Aleem.

Stephan explains the genesis of Telepopmusik over a very bad line from his mobile while walking the very noisy streets of Paris. “We started six years when we were asked to write one song for a SourceLab compilation from the Source label,” he begins. “At this stage we were playing in pop bands playing real instruments. It was a complete accident. We had no intention of doing a new band. After that song we did a small EP and some remixes and we kept going and did an album and so here we are! I don’t know how many French electronic bands you know, but you can be almost sure that anyone who is known outside France did some recording on SourceLab. It was a good laboratory for us to start in because its often very hard to release a first song.”

Telepopmusik’s debut is a fantastic exercise in genre-blending, from jazz to hip-hop and back. Do Telepopmusik owe their sound the extremely eclectic scene in and around their native city? “Paris has become a lot like London in that every record label has a base here now,” Stephan answers. “I think in England it works a little better because they have a tradition of great musical cities like Manchester and Bristol. That’s less true in France. Outside Paris you have a lot of dub and hardcore and techno. A lot of people come from the other cities or the countryside to Paris – like Air coming from Versailles. Also, the music the French are making now is very different. Daft Punk sound completely different to Air for example. We in turn are very different from both Daft Punk and Air.”

Finally, with France getting an excellent World Cup draw in Group A with Senegal, Uruguay and Denmark, how does Stephan rate the defending champions’ chances of doing a double whammy? “I think Argentina are going to be very good. There is a good French mood this time as well, so I think its very possible that France might win again. To be honest, I’m not that crazy about football. Only when the World Cup is on. I am not a real fan. I am like the girls. Only every four years!”