365 DAYS OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC IN 365 DAYS
Day 5: Super Discount — Étienne de Crécy
Genres: French Touch / Deep House / Chillout
Year: 1996
Country: France
(This is completely a personal opinion. I’m not a musician and I don't have technical knowledge of music theory; I simply love electronic music and wanted to share this journey.)
Long before I became obsessed with producing Future Funk between 2017 and 2019, I was deeply in love with something I like to call "the French way" of making House music. Looping samples, minimalist drum patterns, simple yet effective basslines, and a creative spirit that seemed to prove you could build something memorable with very limited resources.
A lot of that fascination came from spending countless hours exploring Reddit, Napster, Taringa, Last.fm, and all those corners of the internet that ultimately turned me into the musical tourist I am today.
And, much like Porfirio Díaz admiring Europe from afar, I eventually fell in love with the French approach to House music.
Over time, I discovered many of the masters of the French Touch movement. Don't worry—we'll get to Daft Punk eventually. But today belongs to one of the movement's key architects: monsieur Étienne Bernard Marie de Crécy, known to most of us simply as Étienne de Crécy.
I listened to Super Discount shortly before eight in the morning while heading to school. Watching the city slowly wake up through the bus window, this album became the perfect soundtrack to an ordinary morning.
One of the most interesting things about Super Discount is that it doesn't feel like the work of a single artist. Although Étienne de Crécy is at the center of the project, the album also features contributions from several other major figures of the French electronic scene. Everyone operates within that unmistakable French Touch philosophy, yet each track brings enough personality to keep the experience fresh.
Artists such as AIR and Alex Gopher appear throughout the record, helping shape what would become one of the defining sounds of 1990s French electronic music. The result is a collection of tracks that constantly make you tap your feet, nod your head, or simply lose yourself in the groove. Some songs are relaxed and sophisticated; others make you want to dance immediately.
As I watched the city pass by outside the bus window, I found myself unable to sit still.
I simply can't resist French House.
Between the European music samples, fragments of French television broadcasts, carefully crafted rhythms, and an unmistakable sense of elegance, the album kept me engaged for its entire runtime. It's one of those records that reminds you that creativity often matters more than budget.
Maybe one day I'll return to this album and try to create something inspired by it.
Maybe.
PERSONAL CONCLUSIONS
French electronic music managed to change many of the assumptions that had become standard within traditional American House music.
Alongside a certain world-famous French duo that doesn't need to be named, an entire generation of producers emerged armed with second-hand equipment, inexpensive samplers, and a tremendous amount of imagination. What they created with those limited resources ended up redefining the sound of an era.
I've always believed that one of the best ways to explore electronic music beyond the mainstream is to look at what was happening in Europe during the 1990s. Something truly special was being created there.
Super Discount is one of the albums that perfectly demonstrates why.
It's accessible, fun, sophisticated, and highly influential. And who knows? Just as it did for me years ago, it might inspire you to explore a sound that one day you'll want to create yourself.
An excellent album.
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