International record label Because Music will travel back to the future this fall with Cosmic Machine: A Voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde (1970-1980), a compilation exploring the forward-thinking French electronica of the ’70s.
Out October 15, the upcoming collection cherry-picks 20 songs by some of the most innovative artists of that long-gone (but still very influential) era. Among the honorees: Serge Gainsbourg, DVWB (a.k.a. Daniel Vangarde, a.k.a. father to Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter), film composer François de Roubaix, and Frédéric Mercier, whose trance-y “Spirit” (featured here) was sampled on Jay Z’s Blueprint 3 opening track “What We Talkin’ About.”
Rounding out the Space Age retrospective are two remixes: DJ Prins Thomas’ take on Mercier’s “Spirit” and an extended edit of Pierre Bachelet’s squelchy “Motel Show” done by Uncle O, the curator behind the forthcoming comp. Both of those reworkings also appear on the recently released Cosmic Machine (Remixes EP), alongside the original tracks that inspired them.
The forthcoming Voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde also includes an interview with Gaspard Augé of electro-experts Justice. Cosmic Machine comes in digital, CD, and vinyl replica formats, and pre-orders are currently available through iTunes. Stream snippets of the synth-heavy set over at Because Music’s website and scroll down for the full track list, followed by cover art.
Cosmic Machine: A Voyage Across French Cosmic & Electronic Avantgarde (1970-1980) track list:
1. Patrick Juvet – “Le rêve”
2. Didier Marouani – “Temps X”
3. Droids – “Shanti Dance Part. 1”
4. François de Roubaix – “Survol”
5. Space – “Magic Fly”
6. Universal Energy – “Disco Energy I”
7. Pierre Bachelet – “Motel Show”
8. Space Art – “Love Machine”
9. The Atomic Crocus – “Ombilic Contact”
10. Jean-Michel Jarre – “Blackbird”
11. Bernard Fevre – “That Is to Be”
12. Cerrone – “Générique (Début)”
13. Frédéric Mercier – “Spirit”
14. Quartz – “Chaos”
15. René Roussel – “Caramel Is”
16. Serge Gainsbourg – “Le Physique et le Figuré”
17. DVWB – “Aqua”
18. Alain Goraguer – “Le bracelet”
19. Jean-Jacques Perrey – “E.V.A.”
20. Rockets – “Rocket Man (Instrumental)”
21. Frédéric Mercier – “Spirit (Prins Thomas Diskomiks Remix)”
22. Pierre Bachelet – “Motel Show (Uncle O Disco-Tek 78 Extended Edit)”
