After much thought...well, not really, but it was definitely coming, you know...I've decided to do a piece about one of my all-time favorite producers: Sebastien Leger. This is part three in a continuing look at why France is always at the forefront of some realm of electronic music, but more specifically it's a quick look at a wonderful producer and his efforts thus far.
In my last post, I highlighted one of his best tracks, Earth, but the album on which it appears, Planets, is such a masterpiece of rhythms and atmospheric tech house that I can't NOT talk about a few other key tracks on the LP. But first, a little background on Seb Leger and the album itself.
Leger has been DJing and producing since 1999, and although his early efforts such as Diametrik Acidness and Midnight in Galaxy reflect a faster, more acid approach to house, he began to approach his now signature sound, in my opinion, with releases like Little Bug, Take Your Pills, Hit Girl, Bad Clock, Goulden Moulden, and Hypnotized, all released between 2005 and 2006 on labels Circle Music, Intec Records, Black Jack, and Rising Music. I think that Leger's style is characterized by deliciously varied rhythms, sonically rich and vibrant atmospheres, catchy, simplistic melodies for the head, and subtle textural shifts and changes that require more than one listen.
What personally drew me to further investigate Sebastien Leger was a collaboration he did with Rising Music head Chris Lake, "Word". It's a bouncing, wavering tech house joint with a cascading synth line that eventually wraps around itself into a wonderfully scooping, almost stressful circuit of a riff. Perfectly timed gasps and a great variety of drum sounds keep this track interesting all the way through, and it never once lets up at all. I also love another one of their collabs, "Aqualight", which sounds concurrently aquatic and structurally sound, rolling along with another addictive synth line and Leger-esque drums.
Sebastien Leger & Chris Lake - Word
Leger also runs his own imprint, Mistakes Music, on which he (generally) solely releases his own material, and it's here that you'll find, in my opinion, the best Leger stuff ever. Let's start with Planets.
Released in 2007, Planets sets aside a track for each planet, including the moon and the sun. Every single track, while retaining similar elements that are all Leger in sound and style, sounds different, bringing different textures, rhythms, and melodic elements to the table. While there's something to be said for every track, I'd like to specificaly spotlight "Sun", "Saturn", "Mars", and "Uranus".
"Sun" clocks in at just over ten minutes, but it's worth the wait. A very atmospheric tech house cut, the drums and tambourine keep time very...interestingly, and give the impression that this will not be your average tech house track. The synths hover and float, delayed to give a dreamy, otherworldly feeling to it. But then...the violin kicks in, and you realize it: the Middle-Eastern influences here are unmistakable, and because of this, the track takes on a wavering, sensual groove that in maintains through the majority of the rest of play. Those drums...they perfectly compliment the bubbling, rhythmic synth line to an almost-trancelike sound. It's a beauty of a track that sways, moves, grooves, and makes it very difficult to NOT bob your head at least a little bit. And that arpeggio near the end? Just a little icing on the cake.
Sebastien Leger - Sun
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Next we hit "Saturn". an equally atmospheric piece that immediately lays the template Leger wants it to: rhythmic, grooving tech house at its best. The spastic synth only adds to the fun, while the second, two-note synth develops structure and purpose, slowly growing and teasing through the first half of the track, before finally unleashing its warm, head-filling melody onto the listener. Similar to "Sun" (even has an electronic string part!) but it's more about the groove here, as not of the synths ever give an inch, always existing either in the foreground or background, and it might get a little cluttered at times, but the mood never lets up, and in the end, the track might be as good as "Sun" or "Earth", but it delivers a solid groove that pleases both the body and the head.
Sebastien Leger - Saturn
I'm gonna call it quits here, this is too much text! I'll finish it later today with the rest of Leger's best. Enjoy for now!
-NL
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