Cassius (band)
| Cassius | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | La Funk Mob |
| Origin | Paris, France |
| Genres | Electronica, house, nu-disco, indie pop, synthpop, breakbeat |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Virgin, Ed Banger |
| Associated acts | MC Solaar, Motorbass, Phoenix |
| Website |
cassius |
| Members |
Philippe Zdar Boom Bass |
Cassius is a French musical duo that records and releases music in the house music, indie dance and synthpop genres. The group consists of producers Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francart, better known as Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass.[1][2]
History
Zdar and Boom Bass started working together in 1988, producing albums for the French hip-hop artist MC Solaar. In 1991, they created their first project, called "La Funk Mob", and the following year, they started to increasingly experiment with electronic sounds. Zdar's experience with electronic music was influential in his involvement with Étienne de Crécy in the project Motorbass.
In 1996, Zdar and Boom Bass then created "Foxxy", their first self-published house music track, under the name Cassius, and the moderate success that followed lead to them remixing tracks for acts such as Air and Daft Punk. In January 1999, they released their first single to become a mainstream hit, "Cassius 1999". It was published by Virgin Records, and entered the UK Singles Chart at #7.[1] This was soon followed by their debut album, 1999, which had two more singles released from it, "Feeling For You" and "La Mouche". The music videos for "Cassius 1999" and "Feeling for You" portrayed the character Deadman, from DC Comics, as a DJ superhero.
2002 saw their second album release, Au Rêve. This featured the "empowered female disco" track "I'm a Woman", with Jocelyn Brown on vocals, as well as the hit single "The Sound of Violence", featuring Steve Edwards on vocals. This album also had collaborations with Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah and Leroy Burgess.
Cassius returned to the studio in 2006, for the more experimental single "Toop Toop", but the next album, titled 15 Again, featured more vocal collaborations than the duo had done with Au Rêve.
While rehearsing their 15 Again album tour, Cassius provided the community with the a cappella track of their single "Toop Toop" and encouraged fans and friends to start remixing the song. It became an immediate success: the band started the Cassius Workshop project and released more a cappellas for remixing purposes. They claim to have received more than 400 remixes.[3]
Cassius's song "I Love You So" was sampled on the track "Why I Love You" on Jay-Z and Kanye West's 2011 collaboration album Watch the Throne.
They're currently working on a new album.[4]
Discography
Albums
- 1995 The Mighty Bop Meets DJ Cam Et La Funk Mob, as The La Funk Mob, with Bob Sinclar and DJ Cam
- 1999 1999 - UK #28[1]
- 2002 Au Rêve
- 2004 The Bad Seeds 1993-1997, as La Funk Mob
- 2006 15 Again
- 2008 CASSIUSPLAY: Nike+ Original Run
- 2010 The Rawkers E.P.
- 2011 I Love Techno (DJ mix)
Singles
- Cassius
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL [5] |
FRA [6] |
GER [7] |
IRE [8] |
NED [9] |
SUI [10] |
SWE [11] |
UK [1] |
U.S. Dance [12] | ||||||
| 1996 | "Foxxy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1999 | |||
| 1999 | "Cassius 1999" | 25 | 17 | — | 14 | 35 | — | 52 | 7 | 8 | ||||
| "Feeling for You" | 52 | 72 | 76 | — | 57 | — | 57 | 16 | 6 | |||||
| "La Mouche" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 53 | 27 | |||||
| 2002 | "I'm a Woman" (with Jocelyn Brown) | 55 | — | — | — | — | 63 | — | — | 7 | Au Rêve | |||
| "The Sound of Violence" (with Steve Edwards) | 58 | — | — | — | 29 | 79 | — | 49 | 1 | |||||
| 2003 | "Thrilla" (with Ghostface Killah) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2006 | "Toop Toop" | 52 | 39 | — | — | — | 76 | — | — | — | 15 Again | |||
| 2007 | "Rock Number One" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2009 | "Youth, Speed, Trouble, Cigarettes" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |||
| 2010 | "I Love You So" (I <3 U So)" | 15 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | 52 | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
- La Funk Mob
- 1994 "Tribulations Extra Sensorielles"
- 1994 "Casse Les Frontières, Fou Les Têtes En L'Air"
- 1996 "Casse Les Frontières, Fou Les Têtes En L'Air" (re-release)
- 2004 "357 Magnum Force"
Production for other artists
- 1993 MC Solaar - "Nouveau Western", with Jimmy Jay
- 1994 MC Solaar - "Obsolète", with Jimmy Jay
- 1994 Sinclair - "Tranquille"
- 1995 Melaaz - "Je Marche En Solitaire"
- 1995 MC Solaar - "La Concubine De L'Hémoglobine", with Jimmy Jay
- 1997 MC Solaar - Paradisiaque
- 2000 Phoenix - United
- 2004 Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love
- 2009 Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
- 2010 Chromeo - Business Casual
- 2010 Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History
- 2011 The Rapture - In The Grace of Your Love
- 2012 Kindness - "World, You Need a Change of Mind"
- 2013 OneRepublic - "Burning Bridges"
- 2013 OneRepublic - "Something's Gotta Give"
- 2013 Drake - "Nothing Was the Same"
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 97. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ IMO Records. "Cassius Biography", IMO Records, London, 25 January 2012. Retrieved on 25 January 2012.
- ↑ Cassius (30 November 2010). "CASSIUS". myspace. Myspace LLC. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/cassiusofficial/photos/a.10151875808375566.1073741825.7016995565/10152525371285566/?type=1&theater
- ↑ "Zoeken naar: cassius". ultratop (in Belgian and English). ULTRATOP & Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ↑ "Recherche pour: cassius". lescharts.com (in French and English). Hung Medien. 2003–2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ↑ German peaks
- ↑ Search for Irish peaks
- ↑ Dutch peaks
- ↑ Swiss peaks
- ↑ Swedish peaks
- ↑ US peaks