DJs, style and turntables: 11 epic looks to discover

(Cover photo credit: the Justice duo in concert in Paris, AccorHotels Arena, 2017 - IMAGO / PanoramiC)

A little nostalgia sequence. A little over a year ago, I slipped the first episode of Pochette into the columns of BonneGueule, with the desire to weave links between music and clothing through the example of an iconic piece: the Perfecto . Since then, quite a few articles have followed, often around rock but not only. And it has sometimes even become a podcast topic.

Despite my background stamped "indie rock", it's not necessarily what I listen to the most at home. For example, I have a particular affection for ambient music and what is called IDM . If I had to start a playlist dedicated to electronic music, there would probably be records from the duo Boards Of Canada or the German label Kompakt and many other little things like this:

But this is not the playlist I'm going to present to you today . Because I'm not the only one interested in electronic music at BonneGueule.

My surprise guest, you know him well: his name is Ed Bangers Records.

They wore Electro, from Kraftwerk to Daft Punk" from the exhibition of the same name at the Philharmonie de Paris.

If we had to summarize Michel's passion in a dozen looks and pieces, it would give what you are about to discover now: evidence, discoveries and a few clothing surprises . Enough to perhaps break the Epinal images on the style of those who make electro music, here willingly explored on its epic side.

THE PLAYLIST, 11 LOOKS AND PIECES TO (RE)DISCOVER

1. JUSTICE

Justice is a French duo formed by Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. Their first album came out in 2007, driven by the hit " DANCE ". A whole program, which does not stop at the music: the aesthetic of the group is powerful and easily identifiable, especially in concerts.

Black, a luminous cross, and as you will (re)discover through Michel's words , a sense of style partly inherited from groups... with guitars . A heresy?

In fact, Justice has no trouble playing on the stages of rock festivals. Same energy. Since the French Touch inaugurated at the end of the 90s by Air, Daft Punk or Etienne de Crecy, French electronic music has also become very democratized. The style too.

However, if the French Touch shines internationally at the end of the 90s, fashion is not necessarily a major concern for everyone . Contacted for the needs of this article, Dimitri From Paris explains to us that he has " no real personal connection between music and clothing ".

Surprising? Maybe. After all, this regular on Bob Sinclar's Yellow Productions label regularly sports a suit and bow tie. There's no doubt, however, that the classic " Free ton style " could be made into a sort of national anthem for our GESAFFELSTEIN series.

Gesaffelstein is a DJ and producer from Lyon. His first album was released in 2008. Since then, he has worked with Kanye West, The Weeknd and Jean-Michel Jarre.

His dark and powerful electronics not only conquered the dancefloors but also by working with Balmain who made him an all-black costume (covering the head) with silver reflections. He shone brightly in the shadows on stage (a bit like a mirror). It was impressive!

3. THE KILLS REMIXED BY SEBASTIAN

SebastiAn is one of the most prominent electronic music producers of the moment. He is one of the current pillars of the Ed Bangers Records label and for the record, he discovered electro with the music of Daft Punk.

Since then, he has worked with, among others, Philippe Katerine, whose passion for Fair Isle sweaters is well-known, and with Charlotte Gainsbourg.

The CV of this young forty-something is impressive, and his connection with fashion is far from trivial : for example, he has been composing the soundtracks for Yves Saint Laurent fashion shows since 2017. "Cheap and cheerful", the track chosen by Michel, is a remix of SebastiAn by the Anglo-American duo The Kills:

In the early 90s, the practice of remixing was still considered an abomination by guitar rock purists. But things have changed: electronics are everywhere now. On the other hand, it's not certain that this avalanche of black in clothing is still to everyone's taste. Why this song, this artist?

"This song really sums up the SebastiAn spirit with the very compressed kicks and percussions, the "electro-rock" side. It's a style that we find in Justice's first album, by the way. Many people think that they worked together - which can be heard and understood.

And this build-up/drop combo... just epic!

SebastiAn, it's all black outfits. For example, we've seen him wear the bomber jacket, the denim jacket or the leather aviator jacket, with a sheepskin collar. All in black. All that suits him well, he has black hair. It's interesting that he locked himself into this color . He also explains why in OVERWERK

Overwerk is a Canadian DJ and producer . 32 years old and on the dancefloor for a good ten years now: he is also a regular on the catwalks, for luxury brands like Gucci or magazines like Vogue .

You've probably already noticed it yourself: electronic music is particularly popular in the fashion world . All the artists mentioned by Michel are connected to it in one way or another. Is this proof of good taste? Are electro artists Presence " in which we see him driving along a Californian road at the wheel of a vintage car. The pattern of the suit and the warm color of the turtleneck perfectly embody the retro spirit of the journey he offers us.

5. APASHE

John de Bucke aka Apashe is a Belgian DJ and producer. His first records were released in the early 2010s. He himself describes his style as "Majestic", a hybrid between classical music and electro. It's unique, very epic, with a lot of black clothes and all this is accompanied by a certain sense of staging.

What gradually emerges from some of the looks chosen by Michel is that electro is no longer just a simple story of music: some DJs are also characters in their own right . They have invented their own world, their own codes. Clothing is a tool, almost an element of decor. Michel confirms everything by explaining to us the singularity of the artist:

"What's interesting about Apashe is his musical style which mixes trap , symphonic music and electro with notes of drum'n bass and dubstep. He mixed things that had nothing to do with each other and it's very beautiful, especially on the track "Time Warp".

It is a style that is unique to him, which can be found in all his sounds. In the same way, he has created a very personal visual universe, with illustrations that echo Greek sculptures, classical music...

Clothing wise, Apashe often wears KAVINSKY

If you've seen "Drive" with Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, you probably know Kavinsky: he composed the iconic song that appears in the film . Close to Daft Punk and Quentin Dupieux, Vincent Belorgey aka Kavinsky has created a character suitable for cosplay, sometimes close to anime .

His style is a kind of uniform. That is to say, it is no longer just a combination of clothes but a business card . Michel thus distinguishes between the artists mentioned so far and those who will follow:

"With Kavinsky, we enter a second phase of this playlist where the clothing revolves more around disguise rather than a style of dress applicable to everyday life. But it's still a bit in between: faded jeans, sweatshirt, Nike Dunk-type sneakers, sunglasses (very practical for driving at night) and his iconic red Varsity jacket .

With its famous racing car, it is very attached to the synthwave universe and to the American imagery of audiovisual monuments like " DANGER

Frank Rivoire has been operating under the code name Danger since 2007. In addition to synthesizers and electronic music, he is also passionate about video games. His special feature? He wears a mask and his first album was released ten years after his debut, in 2017. And the clothing in all this? It's rather dark.

"Danger falls into the category of masked electro artists . It's a mask he takes from "Final Fantasy". I think I remember that it's a little mage in the video game. It's a nice link that we find in his songs in which we often hear sounds from video games.

He wears this mask under a hood, with an explorer outfit with an almost DAFT PUNK aura.

Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo need no introduction. Daft Punk may be long gone, but their music has been making the entire planet dance since 1995. While it is still too early to truly appreciate the contours of the duo's musical legacy, we can say that, while their looks may not be entirely wearable on the street, they have never really left anyone indifferent.

Costumes, helmets, leather outfits and even cellophane to hide their faces, the members of Daft Punk have managed to preserve their image by inventing their own, halfway between the worlds of manga, motorcycling and space exploration . You will notice that Michel's choice of music is particularly precise. He explains why:

"There would be a lot to say about Daft Punk's clothing, but I would simply say here that my favorite outfit from them is really the one from their 2007 tour. They wore leather jackets with the Daft Punk logo studded on the back, a bit like a rocker's belt. Once again, genres meet.

As for the song I chose, "One More Time / Aerodynamic" from that same tour, it's a very epic mash-up, just beautiful. When you listen to that, you just want to close your eyes and be there, in the middle of a concert. Maybe in 2027, then, who knows?"

9. FOOL

Another masked avenger? Swedish Rasmus Hermansen also plays electro music with a covered face. His universe is very imaginative, urban and never far from science fiction .

Those who have seen Brian de Palma's "Phantom Of Paradise" may not be surprised by this avalanche of helmets and masks of all kinds in this fringe of contemporary electronics. The influence of video games and manga is also very present.

Style-wise, there are military influences, techwear and by extension quite a bit of black . Does this mean that we have definitely moved to the dark side of the force?

"FOOL is a mix of several things already discussed above: he wears an anti-hero mask, which is reminiscent of a gas mask, with an explorer outfit a bit like Danger. But in an urban environment this time, often graphically represented on his album covers in a dystopian world like Cyberpunks.

In fact, from a style point of view, it's almost a mix between Danger and Kavinsky. There is also a very identifiable universe there. I really like the song "Escape Plan" for its synthwave influences, mixed in passages that remind us of the complextro of the 2010s.

10. KLOUD

When Michel announced a second part more conducive to disguise and staging , he wasn't joking: we don't know much about Kloud except that he also advances masked. In a way, this trend follows the anonymous approach of early electronic music. Except that there is a (big) sense of spectacle at work here.

It's dark, as if Darth Vader was back on the decks only. And of course, it's not forbidden to draw a parallel with the futuristic looks of VLADIMIR CAUCHEMAR

Last stop on this epic journey through electronic lands: here too we play the mystery card although we know the identity of Vladimir Cachemar. His name is Guillaume Brière and he is close to a number of prominent musicians on the contemporary French scene such as Lomepal or Orelsan .

In the song selected by Michel, you will discover snippets of Mickael Jackson's "Thriller". As for the character, imagine a horror and Halloween type mask worn with luxury streetwear-inspired clothing and Nike or Converse . Should we see this as an allegory of the luxury and fashion industry?

"Vladimir Cauchemar is very present at the moment on the French electro scene. In terms of clothing, he has also created his identity with a skull mask that he never takes off, not without playing on his anonymity.

Besides that, he wears a very streetwear style, which gravitates around luxury and hype culture . We can mention brands like Etudes and Vêtement, or the Dior scarf he wears on the cover of his EP "Brrr".

It's a very different clothing universe from that of BonneGueule but I find it interesting to take a look at it, to see how it is representative of its musical codes.

Because he works a lot with the French rap scene. The mix between streetwear/hype style and mask translates well the meeting between rap (whose bling culture is never far away) and electro (often represented by masked artists) in his music.

"Dancer" is a song composed with a Ukrainian rapper. The meeting is perfect and the music gives off something unique.

It's certain: we are sailing here very far from the usual stylistic universe of BonneGueule. But like the previous Pochette dedicated to the metal genre and as Michel rightly points out, we always gain from being interested in other forms of musical and clothing cultures. In short, to better understand the clothes and styles that surround us, let's stay curious : let's keep our eyes and ears open.