Cassius (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = Cassius


Img_capt = Boom Bass and Philippe Zdar as illustrated on the cover of "15 Again"
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Background = group_or_band
Alias = La Funk Mob
Origin = France
Genre = House
Years_active = 1988 - present
Label = Virgin Records
Associated_acts = MC Solaar
URL = http://www.cassius.fm/
Current_members = Philippe Zdar
Boom Bass
Past_members =

Cassius is a French house music duo consisting of producers Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard, better known as Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass.

History

Zdar and Boom Bass started working together in 1988, producing albums for French hip-hop artist MC Solaar. In 1991 they created their first project, called La Funk Mob, and the following year, they started experimenting with a more electronic sound, which lead to Zdar joining Etienne de Crécy in the project Motorbass.

Zdar and Boom Bass then created "Foxxy", their first self-published house music track, in 1996, 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 Top 40 chart at number seven. 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", features 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 [http://www.myspace.com/cassiusworkshop Cassius Workshop project] and released more a cappellas for remixing purposes. They claim to have received more than 400 remixes [ [http://www.myspace.com/cassius15again Cassius MySpace page] ] since October 2006.

Discography

Albums

* 1995 "The Mighty Bop Meets DJ Cam Et La Funk Mob", as "La Funk Mob", with Bob Sinclar and DJ Cam
* 1999 "1999"
* 2002 "Au Rêve"
* 2004 "The Bad Seeds 1993-1997", as La Funk Mob
* 2006 "15 Again"

ingles

;Cassius
* 1996 "Foxxy"
* 1999 "Cassius 1999"
* 1999 "Feeling For You"
* 1999 "La Mouche"
* 1999 "Club Soixante Treize" (Promo)
* 2002 "The Dream Songs" (Promo)
* 2002 "I'm a Woman", with Jocelyn Brown
* 2002 "The Sound of Violence", with Steve Edwards
* 2003 "Thrilla", with Ghostface Killah
* 2006 "Toop Toop"
* 2007 "Rock Number One"

;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"
* 2004 Cut Copy - Bright Like Neon Love

ee also

*List of number-one dance hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

* [http://www.cassius.fm/ Official website]
* [http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/TUTORS.9.0.html?act_session=110 Philippe Zdar RBMA video lecture session]
* [http://www.pi-pole.com/ Pi-Pole - Cassius DJ booking]
* [http://www.astralwerks.com/cassius/default.html Cassius on Astralwerks]
* [http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lobby/1543/cassius.html Fan site]
* [http://musique.ados.fr/Cassius-art1280.html Musical site in french]
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