Once experimental and marginal, electronic music has “invaded the world” up to the Paris Olympic Games, which will consecrate this French “living heritage” capable of making crowds dance during the closing ceremony of the Paralympics on Sunday.
Stade de France, Saint-Denis. In this city north of Paris, necropolis of the kings of France, 24 DJs are preparing to crown their art on a global scale during a musical and visual finale lasting about an hour.
Like a “wave journey” desired by Victor le Masne, musical director of the ceremonies, these artists from different worlds will form a soundtrack of the French touch — a banner that brings together internationally recognized and exported French electro — and its trends.
“French electronic music has a place in France and in the world and I am happy that it has the place it deserves (…) in a mainstream event,” Valentin Brunel, stage name Kungs, who is one of those selected, told AFP.
This musical movement had already carved out a prominent place for itself during the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games on August 11, marked by performances by the group Air and Kavinsky, accompanied by the singer Angèle for a cover of “Nightcall”. Earlier in the evening, several songs by the duo Justice had resonated in the stadium speakers.
On Sunday, Kavinsky will be on stage again, alongside a panel of renowned DJs — Martin Solveig, Cassius — or more confidential ones — like Chloé Caillet or Tatyana Jane. All introduced by Jean-Michel Jarre, maestro of electro and also its living memory.
– 1928, the Martenot waves –
“Electronic music was born in France and Europe” about a century ago, recounts Jean-Michel Jarre, heir to the composer Pierre Henry, among the pioneers of electro through concrete music, in which sound materials are subjected to experiments.
In the 1920s, Maurice Martenot, musician and musicologist, sought to develop new forms of musical expression: in 1928, the Martenot ondes were born, one of the oldest electronic musical instruments along with the Russian theremin.
Music and technological innovation intertwine, electro leaves the labs and conservatories to invite itself into parties, until it shifts into a new dimension in the era of synthesizers and computers. The English have White Noise, the Germans brandish Kraftwerk and France shines, with Daft Punk as its standard.
“We could say that, just as rock is an American ethnic music that has invaded the world, electronic music is a French and European music that has invaded the world,” compares Jean-Michel Jarre, who underlines “its true legitimacy” compared to other artistic forms such as cinema or literature.
At the same time, in the 2000s, electro dance appeared, the first and only urban dance born in France, popularized via the internet.
– “In motion” –
To establish its success, electro also benefits from an unstoppable recipe: a rhythm between 120 and 140 bpm (beats per minute), which is close to the heart rate during moderate effort, coupled with songs that are sparing in words, when they are not completely absent. Practical for dancing and spreading beyond borders.
“I think that electronic music belongs in an athletics stadium, it’s a very physical music because the +kick+ (bass drum sound, editor’s note), the bass, pierces our bodies and makes us want to move,” says César de Rummel, one half of Ofenbach, who intends to prove it on Sunday.
“It’s living heritage,” summarizes Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the Olympic Games ceremonies. “Celebrating it is not only festive, but it is also part of our cultural history.”
fan/pel/tmt
