Cassius

Cassius is a French electro and house duo from Paris, consisting of Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass, the producer aliases of Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard. Active since 1996, the group develops a sound across electro, electro house, electronic, electropop, French electro and French house.

History

Zdar and Blanc-Francard begin working together in 1994 on a hip-hop project called La Funk Mob. They first issue remixes under the Cassius name in 1997, working on material for artists including Air and Daft Punk, before moving on to original releases.

Their early background includes hard rock and funk, but Zdar also becomes interested in house music after attending raves. Alongside Étienne de Crécy, he founds Motorbass, and Motorbass’s album Pansoul is later selected by British media opinion surveys as one of the year’s best albums across all styles.

Releases and notable tracks

Cassius’s first single is Foxxy, a self-published track issued in 1996. In January 1999, they release Cassius 1999 on Virgin Records, and it enters the UK Top 40 at number seven. That single is followed by the debut album 1999, a collection of instrumental tracks recorded over the previous two years. The album also yields Feeling for You and La Mouche as singles.

Their second album, Au Rêve, appears in 2002. It includes I’m a Woman, featuring Jocelyn Brown, and The Sound of Violence, featuring Steve Edwards. The album also features collaborations with Ghostface Killah and Leroy Burgess.

In 2006 they return with the single Toop Toop, which is followed by the album 15 Again. This later record includes more vocal collaborations than Au Rêve.

Remix culture and later work

While rehearsing for the 15 Again tour, Cassius releases an a cappella version of Toop Toop and invites listeners to remix it. This leads to the Cassius Workshop project and a series of further a cappellas for remix use. The group says it receives more than 400 remixes.

Their fifth album, Dreems, is released in 2019. Philippe Zdar dies in Paris shortly before its release, and the group announces that Dreems is the final Cassius album.