Founded in 2016, Pont Neuf is an independent label with a mission to encourage the emergence of France’s burgeoning electronic community. Its origins can be traced back to an early compilation, the likes of which included productions from Sweely and Folamour. This opened the door to Rex Club, where they held their very first party before going on to host a two-year residency at Boulevard Poissoniere between 2018 - 2020. Add to that past showcases at Concrete, Badaboum, Djoon, Sacre, Java and Batofar and you’ll soon start to see that Pont Neuf’s standing in the city runs deep. Recognised in 2019 by Mixmag as “one of the French scene’s most essential labels”, the Paris-based imprint is spearheading a cultural movement, developing the careers of several artists in the process including Tour-Maubourg, Vitess, Cosmonection, KX9000 and many more besides.
Review: French DJ/producer Mira Lo shot to international fame with her debut Pont Neuf EP 'Memories' last year. Now she's back with the five-track 'Tribute To Chicago', which was apparently inspired by "an artistic and personal retreat at the heart of the mythical city where house music was born". But don't expect reverential old skool Chi-town house vibes here: instead, the EP's five tracks mix and match influences from house, nu-disco, synth-pop and juke/footwork, all rollicking along at a fair old lick and all sporting Ms Lo's own vocals. The standout for yours truly is 'A Night In Chicago', which does have something of a Larry Heard-ish feel but has hints, too, of UK garage.
Review: Pont Neuf, a pivotal player in the vibrant French house scene, stands as an independent music label with some 40 releases over seven years. Notable artists like Tour-Maubourg, Oden & Fatzo, Mira Ló, THEOS, Cosmonection, and Vitess have graced the label - for starters. Marking their seventh anniversary, this annual compilation series, Hexagonal Club, spotlights both established and emerging artists who define the evolving French house wave - leafing heavily from classic American genres like disco, ballroom and mid-western house to B-boy electro and deep, modern swoon to boot. Get Hexagonal
Review: Mira Lo has been making waves in her native France for some time, with a trademark production style that effortlessly blurs the boundaries between squelchy, synth-heavy nu-disco, deep house and the classy end of synth-pop (think Junior Boys or Tracey Thorn's early 2000s solo work). There's plenty to admire on her first EP for Point Neuf. Check first the house tempo synth-pop deepness of 'Sparks', before immersing yourself in the pitched-up beats, mid-80s video game melodies and slipped R&B vocals of 'Away From You'. Elsewhere, Lou Martini provides lead vocals and the kaleidoscopic nu-disco squelch of 'My Best Memory', 'I Think You Worth It' is a synth strings-laden analogue house workout, and 'Hope' is a slap bass-propelled trip through hybrid deep nu-disco/boogie-house territory.
Review: Inspired by his belief in the similarities between his day job as an architect and his approach to music-making, Berzingue's second solo EP for Pont Neuf is a self-confessed showcase for the producer's love of exploring "different genres and formats, while staying true" to his "trademark sound". It's an undeniably attractive affair, with highlights including the dreamy two-step-goes-deep house loveliness of 'Panorama', the rolling, melody-rich deep house bump of 'Dehli' and the more sci-fi-sounding, early morning bump of 'Mausolee'. Elsewhere, 'Night Cruise' is an attractive roller built around a darting, squelchy-sounding bassline, crunchy drums and immersive pads, and 'One' joins the dots between electro, organ bassline-propelled garage and tactile deep house sonics.
Review: Pont Neuf regular Tour-Maubourg is undoubtedly an artist on the rise. There are gems aplenty in his back catalogue, which supplements dusty, jazz-flecked deep house with blazed electronica and hazy downtempo gems. 'Spaces of Silence', his second album, is exceptionally strong, too, with the French producer sashaying between immersive ambient ('Intro'), organic, loose-limbed deep jazz-house (the fabulous 'Just Believe'), head-nodding instrumental hip-hop ('Why (Life)'), sun-splashed warm-up shufflers ('I Never Will'), nostalgic New Jersey style deep house ('Paradise'), horizontal electronica ('L'Hiver'), deep space workouts (the deep house goes ambient techno haze of 'Solaced') and nods towards the vintage early works of St Germain ('You (feat Ismael Ndir)'). Impeccable.
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