DJ Chart: Lazare Hoche

A rising star of the Parisian scene, Lazare Hoche delivers seven tracks that have helped to shape the sound of his eponymous label

Feature by Daniel Jones | 14 Jul 2014

French house tradition goes way back, to a time when punks weren’t quite so daft. Cats like Cerrone and François K were pushing the dance music agenda in the late 70s, while Jean Michel Jarre was fiddling around with low-budget tape effects in a secluded bedroom somewhere on the outskirts of Lyon. Their efforts afforded a foundation for the 90s contingent – Zdar, Bangalter, de Crécy, Garnier – to build their sound on, making heavy use of filtered loops and eventually birthing labels like Roulé and FCom.

We’ve come a long way since then; Bob Sinclar has been and gone, whereas St. Germain and Pepe Bradock are now bona fide veterans down at the jazzier end of the spectrum. But fear not: a new dawn of French house is upon us, carried on the supple sampling shoulders of guys like S3A, Hold Youth, Varoslav and Charlie Naffah – aka Lazare Hoche.

Taking his name from an 18th century French Revolutionary general, Lazare Hoche’s campaign has been in full force for the past five years or so, pushing a wealth of tight little house numbers on his own eponymously named label. His best form is found in collaboration with Malin Génie on the I Don’t Sync So series, and with an eagerly anticipated reissue on the way, it’s shaping up to be a productive year for this young Parisian go-getter.

Here, we get to grips with the arcane musical processes at play in the Lazare Hoche machine, a journey that passes through chilled out chansons to Beastie Boys obsession.

Sun Ra  Door of the Cosmos [El Saturn]
Sun Ra was a US poet, jazz composer, philosopher and a quite cosmic artist. From the mid 50s, he led the Arkestra, but he often changed the name of this ensemble to reflect the change of his music. This record, Sleeping Beauty, was impossible to find; if you ever had the chance to get your hands on it was for $300 – it was reissued in 2005 on a UK label that I forgot the name of. The music speaks for itself in this case; no more words are needed to describe it. I can listen to it over and over, and there's always something new to discover.

Miles Davis  It's About That Time [Columbia]
This is an early, "electric" Miles Davis jam. The two keyboards are just Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock laying it down on a Rhodes Mk1, I guess. It was released in 1969 and recorded in one session, then edited by Teo Macero, the producer of the album. This jam is essential to me, and inspiring as hell because it has a quirkiness that I love in music. The vibe is next-level; I play this record maybe four times per week. Well, like lot of his work, Miles Davis is something else.

Serge Gainsbourg  Cargo Culte [Mercury]
Of course, Gainsbourg. From the album Histoire de Melody Nelson released in 1971 – for me, and for a lot of people, a masterpiece of French music. Spoken words, deep strings and choral arrangement by Jean-Claude Vannier. I listen mostly to non-electronic music at home because sometimes you have to step back and listen to everything, especially this kind of timeless record.

MD'Z Revenge  The Banger [Focus]
Here we have an esoteric jam by Mike Dunn, the well-known Chicago producer, from 2001. It was released in a single-sided 12" on Focus Records which is a sub label of Subliminal, so it makes the whole thing even weirder. It's actually a brilliant cut: straight, simple and efficient. The beat is tight, and it keeps rolling and rolling. The sound treatment and process here is a huge part of the music because there are no tonal elements.

Beastie Boys  Shake Your Rump [Capitol]
I'm definitely a Beastie Boys nerd – it's an obsession. That's basically what I'm listening to all day long. It's just straight hip-hop; no bitches, money or fancy ride bullshit. This cut called Shake Your Rump is from Paul's Boutique. Fun fact: Miles Davis actually said that he never got tired of listening to this album. It's like the Bible of sampling – Shake Your Rump is made up of more than 10 samples, for instance.

Lazare Hoche & Malin Génie  Pressure Baby (Vocal: Mar) [Lazare Hoche Records]
This track is from the first collaboration record I made with Malin Génie. It was released in 2012 for the first instalment of the I Don't Sync So series. It features vocals from the hugely talented singer Mar, a former Amsterdam-based artist. I recommend checking out his work as Full Crate & Mar if you want to know more about this great singer. A lot of good memories are attached to this song; we made it two years ago but it seems like ages. We've just re-released part one on Lazare Hoche Records, cop it while you can.

Nimbus Quartet - Your House Is Yours Parts II & III Simultaneously [Sounds]
Nimbus Quartet was a project of the Minneapolis acid legends Woody McBride & Dave Stevens. They just released two 2x12" back in 1995 on Woody's own imprint, Sounds. I immediately fell in love with this jam and I really wanted to give this music a second life – the original record was quite expensive and hard to find in good condition. I decided to contact Woody McBride to let him know that I want to reissue some of his works as Nimbus Quartet, and he told me very quickly, 'Yes!' – so here we go.

http://soundcloud.com/lazare-hoche