Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Internationally successful bands like Daft Punk and Justice head up the scene. Daft Punk
(
www.daftalive.com
)
, originally from Versailles, adapts first-wave acid house and techno to
its younger roots in pop and indie rock. Its debut album,
Homework
(1997), fused disco,
house funk and techno, while the latest,
Random Access Memories
(2013), boldly ditched
computer-generated sound for a strong disco beat played by session musicians. Opening
track 'Give Life Back to Music' came out as a single in 2014.
Electronica band Justice, aka talented duo Gaspard Michel Andre Augé and Xavier de
Rosnay, burst onto the dance scene in 2007 with a debut album that used the band's signa-
ture crucifix as its title. Raved about for its rock and indie influences, Justice has released
three albums since, most recently live album
Access All Arenas
(2013). Electronica duo
from Versailles AIR (an acronym for 'Amour, Imagination, Rêve' meaning 'Love, Imagina-
tion, Dream') is another band to listen for.
David Guetta, Laurent Garnier (
www.laurentgarnier.com
)
, Martin Solveig and Bon Sin-
clair (
www.bobsinclar.com
) - originally nicknamed 'Chris the French Kiss' - are top Parisi-
an electronica producers and DJs who travel the international circuit. In the late 1990s
David Guetta, with his wife, Cathy, directed Paris' legendary nightclub Les Bains Douches
(now hotel, Les Bains) in Le Marais.
Musical Pilgrimages
Serge Gainsbourg's grave, Cimetière du Montparnasse
Jim Morrison's grave, Cimetière du Père Lachaise
La Cigale, Montmartre
Les Bains, Le Marais
Aux Folies and Musée de Édith Piaf, Belleville
World
Paris' world beat is strong: think Algerian
rai
(artists include Cheb Khaled, Natacha Atlas,
Jamel, Cheb Mami), Senegalese
mbalax
(Youssou N'Dour), West Indian zouk (Kassav',
Zouk Machine) and Cuban salsa. In the late 1980s, bands Mano Negra and Les Négresses
Vertes combined many of these elements with brilliant results, as did Manu Chao (b 1961;
formerly frontman for Mano Negra;
www.manuchao.net
), the Paris-born son of Spanish par-
ents.
