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Electro Superhero
Etienne de Crécy Makes Super Discount 2
Paris
10/10/2004 -
In the closing years of the last century, Etienne de Crécy played an instrumental role in lighting the fuse of the French electro explosion (the ‘movement’ that was instantly hyped by the international media as the “French Touch.”) De Crécy’s hit album Super Discount caused a particular buzz at the time, but the electro superhero plays down his pioneer status. "I'm more of a popularizer than a precursor," he says modestly, perched at the controls of his Paris studio where he locks himself away to work. "I'm not into the idea of trying to sound modern no matter what, especially since sounding 'modern' is not always a mark of quality!"
The first chapter of the Super Discount success story dates back to 1996. "I'd originally intended to organise a bit of a marketing coup with the release of four maxi-singles,” De Crécy explains, “The idea was to market the maxis as a luxury product that people could treasure. I was going to have them pressed in heavy vinyl with gold covers. But when I looked into it, I found it was going to cost an absolute fortune, so I decided to have them pressed as 10 inches instead, featuring just one track on each side. A 10-inch has a touch of class about it because it's a format that's rarely used. It's a bit smaller than the usual 'maxi' – halfway between a normal single and a maxi single, in fact. As for the covers, I ended up dividing the overall visual between each maxi, so they each looked like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that could be fitted together."
French indie label PIAS heard of De Crécy’s project before it even reached the pressing stage and suggested he release his material in CD form, making it accessible to a much wider public than the DJ circuit it had originally been intended for. "What I did,” explains De Crécy, “was add on two extra tracks so there'd be enough content for an album and wham! bam! the record hit the stores. I'd invited a bunch of my mates (including Air and Alex Gopher) to work with me on certain tracks, so a lot of people actually thought the album was a compilation. The project ended up taking me over two years from start to finish. I initially got a lot of coverage from fanzines who ran reviews of the maxis, then the specialist music press followed. But then as the album started to snowball, the general media latched on. They often picked up on it very late in the day, though, months after the initial release. But I have to say, 'Super Discount' got a huge amount of media coverage considering the sales figures."
Super Discount 2: back to analogue
After Super Discount De Crécy went on to release Tempovision, an album "diametrically opposed to radio-formated house music!" (according to the press release). De Crécy preferred to describe the album as "blues," but no matter what label you put on it, Tempovision certainly marked a turning-point in the young producer’s career. From that point on, De Crécy turned his back on digital and began working exclusively with analogue machines, digging up vintage synthesisers, TB303s, TR808s, antediluvian sequencers and racks of prehistoric special effects. "I got really fed up with spending all day in front of a computer screen or messing about on a sampler,” he says, “Basically, I'd just run out of inspiration.” “Digital's a lot cheaper than analogue,” he continues, “but it really doesn't mix sound as well. I'd finally got to the point where I could afford to work the way I wanted and I didn't hesitate for a moment. All I can say is, I've never had a moment's regret!" After Tempovision, De Crécy came up with the idea of an album featuring a select list of guest vocalists (whose names he is keeping firmly under wraps until all contracts are signed!), but when the project started taking longer than expected he began casting around for new ideas.
De Crécy claims he never envisaged a follow-up to Super Discount, but, as the saying goes, “never say never!” Eight years later, the electro superhero ended up going back to the idea of Super Discount. As with the first Super Discount album, De Crécy set himself up at the production consoles and enlisted guest star help from his electro contacts (namely, Philippe Zdar, Hubert "Boombass", Alex Gopher, DJ Mehdi and Julien Delfaud). De Crécy admits he really enjoyed working as part of a team again. "When there's two of you decisions get made very quickly," he says, "Basically, you chuck out anything that doesn't work. But when you're working on your own, you drag your feet over things and waste a lot of time wavering."
The eleven tracks on Super Discount 2 play the diversity card to the hilt. Poisoned, the first track on the album (composed in collaboration with Philippe Zdar) pays a nod to the "old school" of electro, featuring a hearty organic sound mixed with acid swirls from a vintage TB303. Fast Track (recorded in collaboration with Julien Delfaud and his studio neighbour Alex Gopher) revolves around a thoroughly “new wave” bassline, while Bit Torrent (composed and mixed in just two days with the help of Hubert "Boombass") is a musical UFO of a track, wavering between psychedelia, slick crystalline layers and rave vibes. DJ Mehdi actually turned up at de Crécy’s studio with a guitar slung over his shoulder and his collaboration on Gifted conjures up memories of Vangelis and Mike Oldfield.
De Crécy is justifiably proud of his new album’s diversity and spontaneity. "I think Super Discount 2’s something very fresh and new,” he says, “It’s an album which speaks more directly to the senses than the intellect. It's classy, but not in an over-the-top ostentatious way - apart from maybe the next to last track 'Limewire!'"
Super Discount 2 (Solid /V2) 2004
Squaaly
Translation : Julie Street
25/10/2000 -
20/09/2004 -
