Merci, France!

As a French speaker, I feel as though I've spent a disproportionate amount of time singing the praises of my adoptive culture (the British) while neglecting my butter loving (!) chain-smoking family. Despite my lack of attention, I will officially go on the record and say that in addition to being responsible for some seriously decent music (as well as unparalleled decadent desserts), the French are on the forefront when it comes to music discovery, with labels like Kitsune being an excellent example. Their compilations are consistently light years ahead of the US and manage to blend tomorrow's sounds into a pastiche of hipness that tend to inspire dancing and bouts of obsessive music hunting and buying.

As it turns out, this month just so happens to be one fraught with artists that Kitsune pioneered. Artists like artist Phoenix, whose next album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is dropping within the next couple months. What bad can you say about a band where member Laurent Brancowitz once collaborated with everyone's favorite French dance musicians Daft Punk? It's clear that these two acts were friends - Phoenix consistently churns out synthy 80's indie pop with a surprising amount of sweetness that move fluidly through the gamut of emotions while remaining comfortably in the genre. From the super jangly "Listzomania" and the jagged "1901," to the more atsmospheric and cinematic "Love Like a Sunset (Parts 1 and 2)" the whole album reminds me why I loved this band to begin with.

And then there is British artist La Roux; sexy, synthy, paraded about the Kitsune compilations and with such hot remixers that they might as well be as French as their name. This duo coaxes sounds deep and dark from their synths, reminiscent of Depeche Mode, but with cool detached female vocals to make them sound infinitely more sensual. Their singles "Quicksand" and "In the Kill" are solid tunes; however, someone at either Kitsune or Polydor (their domestic label for the forthcoming 2009 release) is doing some killer A&R because each remix released thus far truly showcases a different element of La Roux's sound.

Mad Decent do a great reworking of "Quicksand" really framing Eleanor Jackson's vocals, while the autoKratz Drags to Riches remix takes the tune to the dancefloor with a driving electro rhythm that belongs in a set with dirty Frenchies such as Sebastian, Justice and the like. "In the Kill" is a mellower, angstier song, driven deeper by the silvery touch of producer Lifelike whose remix allows the synths to roll through like sweet love, while Skream's "Let's Get Ravey Remix" is an intense soul searching end of the night / early morning hazy trip hop perfection.

Phoenix "1901"

La Roux remixes