Hold your breath...

u00c3u0083u00c2u00a2u00c3u0082u00c2u0080u00c3u0082u00c2u00a6because Antipop from Telepopmusik, the French act behind the hit Breathe, will play a gig in the city

In Montpellier on a holiday in 2013, while having dinner with our host and a group of her friends, we remember having said in conversation, "French music is awesome." This had elicited an immediate chortle from one of the persons at the table. "There is nothing called French music. We have African music here. We have American music. But there is no music we have that we can call our own," he had explained.

"But, what about the signature sound of Daft Punk? Didn't it give a different direction altogether to electronica in the mid-'90s? And what about the French new wave acts like Air and Phoenix? Wouldn't you call that sonic sensibility indigenous to your country?" we had asked silently, since we didn't think it was our place to contradict a local. But his assertion had made us think — is there indeed no style of music that the French can lay complete claim to? So when the opportunity arose two days ago, we voiced this unanswered question during a phone call with Christophe Hetier — who's part of a path-breaking French outfit called Telepopmusik — ahead of a solo DJ set he'll be playing in the city this evening.

A still from the video of Telepopmusik's Breathe

Just for some context here, when Telepopmusik released 2001's Grammy-nominated debut single, Breathe, the track had been an immediate precursor to the late-noughties musical phenomenon of chillwave — a genre that's meant to make the listener reminisce about sunbathing on a quiet beach. So, they were also a pioneering act in terms of producing a new sound. But when we ask him whether there really is nothing called "French music", Hetier, too, draws out a thoughtful "noooo" in answer.

"Daft Punk," he continues, "introduced something called the 'French touch' during their time. I think journalists sometimes need labels. But it was basically just electronic music. It was a bunch of different bands making songs at the same time, without the same influences. And it was called the 'French touch' because at that point, we had the ability to mix different inspirations. And we could do that because [as French musicians] we have a history of being experimental. So yeah, what happened is that we were many bands making different music — with jazz, pop, disco and electronic inputs — without realising that we were riding the same wave."

So, what he is getting at, then, is that our host's friend in Montpellier had been right all along — French music, as a concept, does not exist. Even the country's new wave movement was essentially a sonic khichdi of various other western influences.

In fact, Hetier himself used to play straight-up American pop before he formed Telepopmusik with Fabrice Dumont and Stephan Haeri. Did those early roots seep into the act's electronic backbone? "Oh yes, we keep the same structure as pop music, with verses, choruses and a bridge. And that's still the way we work, I think."

But how does he view more recent developments within the spectrum of electronica? "Sometimes, I feel that music is losing its way," Hetier confesses, adding, "EDM is a waste of time. It's more of a show than about music. I think that progress in technology is what makes music change, and all these new styles had different names before — like, drum 'n' bass was earlier called jungle. But EDM per se is starting to die, I feel."

That's a pretty damning indictment, though the producer feels that there is a resurgence of techno, a relatively old genre. He adds that Antipop, his solo avatar, involves a departure from the more dreamy structure of his core outfit. "Telepopmusik is more about what you'd listen to sitting at home, while my DJ sets are meant to make people dance," he says, giving us an idea of what shoes to wear tonight, when he will also be sampling Daft Punk, meaning that the Mumbai audience will get a taste of the original "French touch" at the gig.

ON Tonight, 9.30 pm
AT Khar Social, Rohan Plaza, Khar West.
Call 7506394243
Entry Rs 400

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