French DnB scene feature – ATM 2004

French Drum N Bass Scene – Published in ATM Magazine, 2004

In this constantly growing international dnb scene the “French touch” is not something that should be quickly overlooked. The French are slowly but surely making their presence felt in dnb after putting in years of hard work. The jungle and dnb scene in France took seemingly much longer to fully develop than many other countries. London exported its early rave and junglistic sounds to the mainland as far back as 1990-1991, but it wasn’t until the early 00s that these sounds would become ingrained into the French musical landscape and cross the channel back to the UK.

Let’s rewind and take a look at how it all started. Amongst the French innovators are two strong standing figures, Willyman (who died last year) and Otis, who then became part of the Junglist Posse (alongside DJAM and Science). Otis had come from the UK in the early 90s and has since been a figurehead for French dnb, packing in the biggest venues and playing abroad regularly. Willyman and Otis are widely credited for being the main originators of the early jungle sounds in France, when in 92 they set up France’s first jungle night, called Jungle Vibes in Paris, introducing the country to the jungle/ragga sound. The sound further expanded with the Jungle Vibes compilation CDs, which have sold over 10,000 and are still selling. Following Willyman and Otis’ first junglistic forays in Paris, the Junglist Posse continued pushing the jungle/ragga sound with Willyman in and around Paris with another crew called Expensive (with DJs Manu, Lexi and Gilb:R). After them people such as Volta and Sree & Soper, pioneered another aspect of the emerging dnb sound, often referred to as ‘intelligent dnb’. They also gave birth to one of the pioneering French labels, Vendome, which sadly closed down in the late 90s but not before spreading the jungle bug to many other parts of France.

These early beginnings centered principally around the capital, adding to the slow expansion of the sound which was also hindered by factors such as a lack of any real DJ culture in France, like the UK had in the 90s, and the stronghold that music such as Techno and House have had in France for years. All this means that dnb was for a long time, and still is in ways, the black sheep of French dance music. Nonetheless the sound traveled around the country, ironically aided in part by the growing appeal of free parties, which in the 90s spread on the continent following the law changes in the UK.

Between the mid to late 90s things changed in France. Otis hooked up with Piko and Bakkar to set up the Black Label shop in Paris (now 10 years old and an institution of the French scene with people travelling miles to come shop there) and things started happening out of the capital with the music spreading around the country. This was the catalyst the French scene needed so badly. Paris lost its status as the center of all things dnb with places like Toulouse becoming more influential in the spread and expansion of the sound as DJ Kush (who also runs 4th Pole recordings) and the Dragon Kru put on nights that rivaled and excelled those of the capital. In Rennes a young DJ Flow set up Suburbhan with some friends and started one of the first club nights dedicated to jungle outside of Paris that has now grown into one of the biggest French dnb nights, overtaking Techno and House in their native Britanny. And in the south east Freshly Cut (who had set up the Black Tambour label in Montpellier) have steadily pushed the sounds of jungle and dnb for years too, alongside people like Zhao and the Eliptik Corporation. By the end of the 90s things had really started blowing up for many people and the whole country had caught the bug. All the work put in by people in the ‘province’ further motivated those in Paris to keep working hard. In that time Paris saw an expansion too with people like Deoda, FX 909, Miss Ficel, Elisa Do Brasil, Rainmaker, Anakyne and Kolsik amongst many more all carving themselves a piece of the pie through DJing, production and labels.

By the end of the century things had improved but with the media claiming the death of the music and showing near to no support, and poor distribution affecting the sales of small burgeoning labels it still wasn’t easy for most. But the soldiers kept working hard at it. Anakyne set up Under Pressure records with Soper in Paris, now one of the leading labels which has just started two subsidiaries. His work with the labels, the Black Label shop and its monthly nights have all greatly helped producers and spread the music to a growing number of fans. But pitfalls are many and distribution is the key. “Running a dnb label in France is hard work because without a UK distributor you can’t hope to achieve more than minimal sales, and so expand the label and the music to better levels” Anakyne tells me. “This is one of the reasons I set up two new labels, to help me financially but to also open up the music more. Still though my UK distributor went down in 03 and I’ve found myself back at the starting point.”

Other artists and labels have found different ways around such situations. Flow worked with upcoming UK producers such as Raiden and Friction whilst over in Brighton, building his name here before going back home and using his connections to push his Suburbhan nights. He also got his name on labels like Renegade and Outbreak and works steadily on productions for French label Bcuts alongside labelmate Sweed. Kolsik, who runs the dnb section in Parisian shop Hokus Pokus, set up Haze Records this year releasing each single with a home grown producer’s track on one side and an international artist’s remix on the other, much like Under Pressure did for their first 3 releases. An ingenious way to spread the names of French producers and attract attention from foreign distributors. FX 909 set up his own label, Close Combat, and used his work on French labels such as Under Pressure and New Hope to get signings on UK labels like Jerona Fruits and Defunked. Miss Ficel and Elisa Do Brasil, two very popular female DJs, have used their very successful nights at the Rex Club in Paris, called Massive, to bring in international talents and pack the Rex once a month, while honing their production skills on French labels. Then you have Le Lutin another French pioneer of recent years, who also used his links to the UK to get some of his productions on British labels and to set up his own Metaphor records. Lastly Deoda put their names on the map thanks to four releases on Under Pressure, one of which got remixed by Friction and helped establish them further.

All this shows that even if the media, the culture and most of the public are still shunning dnb it hasn’t stopped the music’s growth in France and has only contributed to the determination of the French junglists to prove everyone wrong. It seems that now, nearly 15 years after its introduction in France, dnb is really starting to shine with more and more producers signing tracks to UK labels whilst keeping the output of French labels steady, international DJs touring the country and homegrown DJs touring Europe.

But what about the sound I hear you ask? Well the French do like it fast and hard with the tech-step sound proving most popular even if things are changing. The jungle/ragga sound is still popular too and liquid dnb is slowly proving more appealing especially in smaller clubs and bars. All the DJs I spoke to stated that even if the tendency is for techy sounds, the public will happily party all night long to the full spectrum of what dnb has to offer. Add to that pleasant licensing laws and cheap alcohol and it’s easy to see why French parties have become so successful.

We’ve mentioned that the media has played a fair part in putting dnb down in France and the attitude of the media is somewhat of a bugbear for many of the artists we spoke to. Even though no magazines like ATM exist in France and no radio stations offer regular dnb programs, the French have taken things into their own hands using the internet as a rallying point with the La Vibe site, a sort of French ‘DnB Arena’ giving the low down on the parties around the country, live mixes from said parties and showcasing French productions. On the magazine front, Nextep and BreakItUp are two fanzines that have been providing the French with some quality features and interviews running on small budgets and endless dedication.

So there you have it, the French are proving that even when all the odds are stacked against you, things can improve. Their scene has never been healthier with a very strong network between Paris and the rest of the country helping everyone further their work and the French presence on the international dnb scene. The productions are coming faster each year, the parties are getting bigger and the sound is expanding in many directions. Instead of merely following the French have truly made the music their own. Everyone harbors a belief that with enough strong work and dedication things can change for the better and really when you think about it, it’s not all that different to how it all started, is it?

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