St Germain

Twenty years ago, Ludovic Navarre released the most important album of his career. After making a name for himself as St Germain on the F Communications label, he was recruited by the legendary Blue Note label, which was attracted by the way the Parisian manipulated and hybridised jazz and electronic production. Tourist, for which he recorded musicians one-by-one before mixing everything on his computer, would be his masterpiece and a commercial and critical success, bringing him three Victoires de la Musique in addition to 4 million copies sold, thanks in particular to the unstoppable single Rose Rouge. Based on the vocal sample “I want you to get together”, which opens Marlena Shaw's song Woman of the Ghetto, and the cymbal playing of Joe Morello, the drummer of the Dave Brubeck Quartet (on the standard Take Five), backed by a danceable kick, with intertwining brass and flutes, Rose Rouge is a jazz-house jam that opened the doors of perception to an entire generation.Naturally, when asked by St Germain to pick a favourite track from the album to remix, producers gravitated towards this piece. Atjazz, who collaborated on the 2015 album St Germain, takes up Galaxy Aart Remix, which accentuates the jazz side while adding a little hypnosis (with a synth in the background that goes up and down), while Parisian Terry Laird renders it in a Maloya style. Jovonn, forgotten pioneer of New York house, makes it an Old Skool 90s remix, a very New York sound, while Nightmares On Wax reshapes it into a techno track. But it is the God of Chicago House, Ron Trent, who wins the palm with his JazzFunkSuite Remix: lascivious percussion, a cosmic piano, an ultra-mellow groove, the result is just magical. Also worth noting is the Amapiano Remix of So Flute by Ludovic de Navarre himself, who has developed a passion for this downtempo style between deep house and R&B which is in vogue in South Africa, and the funky house remix of Sure Thing by DJ Deep that concludes a record that oozes artistic pleasure. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz

Without doubt one of the most anticipated albums of 2015. A new record from St Germain! The announcement seems unlikely, as fans of Ludovic Navarre have had to wait for fifteen years to taste a sequel to the famous Tourist, which shook planet electronica as long as fifteen years ago. Obviously, nothing has really changed in the content of this album except for Real Blues, delivered in May, where single spellbinding African rhythms mingled with blues sounds and the voice of the great Lightnin’ Hopkins. Good things come to those who wait. © CM / Qobuz

St. Germain kennen we vooral van een crossover van jazz, house en loungemuziek. Voor zijn album St. Germain uit 2015 laat de Franse muzikant Ludovic Navarre zich echter ook inspireren door Afrikaanse muziek. Het album voorziet in een samenwerking met Afrikaanse muzikanten. En bij de instrumentatie kiest Navarre ditmaal niet alleen voor elektronische muziek, maar ook voor Malinese instrumenten als de kora, balafoon en n'goni. © TiVo