French house

History and character

The French variant of 1990s house, also called French touch, filter house or tekfunk; it is a form of Eurodisco. The term "French Touch" had been circulating in Paris since 1987 and was popularized in 1996 by Martin James in Melody Maker, reviewing Étienne de Crécy's Super Discount. Among the first examples are the tracks on Thomas Bangalter's Roulé, Motorbass — Pansoul (1996), then Daft Punk — Homework (1997), Cassius, Stardust (Music Sounds Better with You, 1998), Modjo (Lady, 2000), Bob Sinclar, Alan Braxe, Benjamin Diamond, St Germain (the jazz side) and Air (not strictly house).

The sound is based on samples of European and American disco from the late 1970s and early 1980s (Cerrone, Sheila & B. Devotion, space disco), funk and P-Funk (Clinton, Bootsy), Chicago's jack and 1970s French pop: heavily filtered loops (a low-pass that opens and closes), phaser, compression that "pumps" with the kick, vocoder and talk box. Commercial success arrived from 1997; its influence is later heard in Madonna (Confessions on a Dance Floor, 2005), in nu-disco and in the second Ed Banger wave (Justice, more electro).

Aesthetic: joyful, retro, sensual, ironic; hypnotic repetition of a sample that "breathes" thanks to the filter.

Scales and keys

Convention: Roman numerals refer to the major scale on the same tonic (uppercase = major, lowercase = minor, ° diminished, ø half-diminished, + augmented; b/# = degree lowered/raised relative to the major scale: in A minor F = bVI, G = bVII). The notes and chords below are calculated exactly from the formula.

Dorian (disco-funk)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7 — steps: T S T T T S T
• On E: E F# G A B C# D
• Diatonic triads: Em i · F#m ii · G bIII · A IV · Bm v · C#dim vi° · D bVII
• Seventh chords: Em7 i7 · F#m7 ii7 · Gmaj7 bIIImaj7 · A7 IV7 · Bm7 v7 · C#m7b5 viø7 · Dmaj7 bVIImaj7
• Characteristic note: the major sixth (C#): the i7–IV7 (Em7–A7) vamps that disco-funk uses and French touch samples.
• Use: two-seventh-chord loops, bass in octaves, funk guitar.
• Common mistakes: pads with C natural over the A7.

Major with sevenths (disco)

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 — steps: T T S T T T S
• On C: C D E F G A B
• Diatonic triads: C I · Dm ii · Em iii · F IV · G V · Am vi · Bdim vii°
• Seventh chords: Cmaj7 Imaj7 · Dm7 ii7 · Em7 iii7 · Fmaj7 IVmaj7 · G7 V7 · Am7 vi7 · Bm7b5 viiø7
• Characteristic note: maj7 and seventh chords everywhere (Cmaj7, Dm7, G7): the color of orchestral disco.
• Use: ii7–V7–Imaj7–vi7, IVmaj7–iii7–ii7–V7 (disco sample descents), strings and piano.
• Common mistakes: triads without sevenths: you lose the disco flavor immediately.

Mixolydian

• Formula: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 — steps: T T S T T S T
• On A: A B C# D E F# G
• Diatonic triads: A I · Bm ii · C#dim iii° · D IV · Em v · F#m vi · G bVII
• Seventh chords: A7 I7 · Bm7 ii7 · C#m7b5 iiiø7 · Dmaj7 IVmaj7 · Em7 v7 · F#m7 vi7 · Gmaj7 bVIImaj7
• Characteristic note: the b7 (G) over a major chord: A7 as a funk tonic.
• Use: I7–IV7 or I–bVII vamps, guitar and talk box riffs.
• Common mistakes: putting the leading tone G# in the bass.

Minor pentatonic and blues

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 — steps: T+S T T T+S T
• On E: E G A B D
• Characteristic note: funk sonority, no semitones.
• Use: disco bass riffs, vocoder and talk box melodies, guitar phrases.
• Common mistakes: phrases that are too dense: funk lives on rests.

How to choose between scales

In French touch the scale is often dictated by the sample: identify the key and mode of the loop (often Dorian or major with sevenths) and tune the rest (bass, vocoder) to the sample. For original productions: Dorian for funk, major with 7ths for elegant disco, Mixolydian for the P-Funk groove.

Harmony

Function

Cyclical and sample-based: a 1–4 bar disco or funk loop repeated for the whole track; the harmony is that of the sample. Variations come from the filter, not from the chords.

Techniques

• Seventh-chord loops (ii7–V7–Imaj7–vi7, IVmaj7–iii7–ii7–V7).
• Two-chord Dorian or Mixolydian vamps.
• Pitch shifting the sample to change key (and tempo).
• Rebuilding the sample's chords with synths to reinforce it (a Rhodes or pad layer under the filter).

Harmonic rhythm

1 chord per bar or 2 per bar (disco); 2- or 4-bar loops.

Examples

• Dm7–G7–Cmaj7–Am7 (ii–V–I–vi) from a disco sample.
• Em7–A7 (i7–IV7) funk vamp.
• Bbmaj7–Am7–Gm7–C7 (IVmaj7–iii7–ii7–V7 in F) disco descent.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Feel: disco groove: slightly swung sixteenth notes (52–56% MPC), continuous sixteenth-note hi-hats, open hat on the offbeat.
• Pumping: compressing (or sidechaining) the loop with the kick creates the typical rhythmic "breath": the sample ducks on the downbeat and re-emerges on the offbeat.
• Accents: strong kick, snare/clap on 2 and 4, tambourine on the offbeat.
• Microtiming: the sample carries the microtiming of the original band; the programmed drums must adapt (similar swing).

Drums

Kick

On the quarter notes, big and compressed, often a 909 or disco sample with a lot of body; fundamental 55–70 Hz.

Snare and clap

Disco snare + clap on 2 and 4, sometimes the sample's original drums with a 909 on top.

Hi-hat

Continuous closed hats in sixteenth notes (disco style), open hat on the offbeat, tambourine on the offbeat.

Percussion

Few: tambourine, shaker, congas from the sample; occasional cowbell.

Dynamics and groove

The groove comes from bus compression: all the drums + sample compressed together with a tempo-timed release produce the "pumping". Fairly constant velocities.

Interaction with bass and vocals

The bass (often from the sample or played) goes in disco octaves; vocals and vocoder above the filter.

Sections

Introduction with filtered loop and kick; filter opening; break with sample only and vocoder; drop with filter open.

Fills and transitions

Drum fills from the original disco record, filter closing suddenly, phaser sweep, 1-bar stop.

Sound choice

909, disco break samples, 1980s drum machines; everything saturated and compressed.

Typical mistakes

Clean, modern drums that don't blend with the sample; no bus compression; swing different from the sample.

Bass

• Sound: funk electric bass (sampled), Moog/Juno synth bass, sometimes the sample's bass filtered underneath.
• Range: E1–E3.
• With the kick: disco octave lines (low note on the downbeat, octave on the offbeat) or funk syncopation; shared sidechain/pumping with the sample.
• Notes: root and octave, fifth, b7; chromatic walks between chords.
• Rhythm: sixteenth notes with ghost notes, eighth-note octaves.
• Examples: the big, compressed bass of "Around the World"; the disco octaves of "Music Sounds Better with You".

Harmonic instruments

• Filtered disco/funk sample (strings, guitar, piano, brass).
• Rhodes and clavinet: funk chords, stabs.
• Funk guitar: muted sixteenth-note rhythms.
• Strings: from the sample or synthetic.
• Pads: few; sometimes a pad under the filter to give continuity.

Melody and vocals

• Vocals: sampled from disco and soul, repeated and filtered; vocoder and talk box (Daft Punk); male and female disco voices.
• Backing vocals: from the sample.
• Melodies: simple synth riffs, vocoder leads, guitar.
• Effects: filters, phaser, flanger, extreme compression, tape delay.

Instruments

Samplers (E-mu SP-1200, Akai S-series and MPC, Roland W-30), TR-909, Juno-106, Minimoog, talk box, vocoders (Roland SVC-350, DigiTech Talker), hardware filters (DOD FX25 envelope filter, Mutron, DJ mixer filters), phaser (MXR Phase 90), compressors (dbx), guitar, bass.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Vocoder V — Robotic vocoder: Carrier: a harmonically rich saw (or a Jun-6 V pad), 16–20 bands, slightly shifted formants; play chords or melodies while singing.
• Clavinet V — Funk riff: Clavinet with bright pickups and wah/autofilter for sixteenth-note rhythms.
• Jun-6 V — Pad and bass: Pad with Chorus II under the sample; round bass with sub.
• Mini V — Funk bass: Saw + square, filter 40%, moderate envelope, short glide for octave passages.
• Stage-73 V — Rhodes: Seventh chords to reinforce or replace the sample, with phaser.
• Solina V — Disco strings: Ensemble strings to filter like a disco sample.

Song structure

5–7 minute tracks (album/extended), 3:30 in the radio versions.

The track's "story" is the filter automation (cutoff and resonance) on the main loop.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Warm, compressed and "pumping": the sampled loop as protagonist, breathing with the kick; big bass; slightly rounded highs. References: Daft Punk — Around the World, Stardust — Music Sounds Better with You, Cassius — Feeling for You.

Kick

• EQ: HP 30 Hz; +2 dB at 60 Hz; −2 dB at 300 Hz; +1 dB at 2.5 kHz.
• Compression: VCA 4:1, attack 20 ms; then bus compression with the loop.
• Saturation: tape or tube.
• Stereo: mono.

Snare and clap

• EQ: HP 150 Hz, +2 dB at 200 Hz (disco body) and +1 dB at 5 kHz.
• Compression: FET 4:1, GR 4 dB.
• Space: short room, plate 1 s.

Hi-hat and percussion

• EQ: HP 400 Hz, LP 13 kHz (sampler flavor).
• Panning: hat 15% L, tambourine 25% R.
• Space: dry.

Sampled loop (the heart)

• EQ: HP 80–150 Hz if there is a separate bass; otherwise keep the sample's bass and remove the excess 200–300 Hz.
• Filter: resonant low-pass (Fruity Love Philter, Fruity Filter, FabFilter Volcano, Autofilter) automated: cutoff from 300 Hz to 20 kHz over 8–32 bars, resonance 20–40% for the typical "whistle".
• Phaser: Fruity Phaser or Soundtoys PhaseMistress with a slow rate (1/2–1 bar).
• "Pumping" compression: bus compressor (drums + loop) with ratio 4:1–8:1, attack 5–10 ms, tempo-synced release (≈ 1/8 at 122 BPM = 246 ms), GR 6–10 dB; or sidechain from the kick on the loop 6–10 dB.
• Saturation: tape, light bit reduction (12-bit, SP-1200 style).
• Stereo: often mono or not very wide, like the original samples.

Bass

• EQ: HP 30 Hz, +2 dB at 70–100 Hz, +2 dB at 800 Hz (fingers), LP 4 kHz.
• Compression: opto 4:1, GR 5 dB.
• Saturation: tube/tape.
• Stereo: mono. Sidechain: 3–6 dB.

Vocoder, talk box, sampled vocals

• EQ: HP 120–150 Hz; −2 dB at 400 Hz; +2 dB at 2–3 kHz; LP 10 kHz.
• Compression: 4:1, GR 5–6 dB.
• Effects: phaser, chorus, dotted 1/8 delay.
• Stereo: centered with wide chorus.

FX

Filter sweeps, phaser, noise; loop stops.

Buses and groups

"Pump bus" with drums + loop + bass compressed together (see above); vocal bus; tape on the master bus.

Sidechain

If you don't use bus compression, sidechain from the kick on the loop (6–10 dB), bass (3–6 dB), pads (6 dB).

Master

Chain: EQ (HP 25 Hz) → bus compressor 2:1 (2–3 dB GR, auto release) → tape → limiter. Target −9/−7 LUFS integrated, true peak −1 dBTP; the pumping must stay audible: don't squash it with the limiter.

Common mistakes

Sample out of tune or out of time; static filter; pumping so aggressive that the loop disappears; highs that are too bright and modern; sample bass and synth bass in conflict.

Mix reference tracks

• Daft Punk — Around the World (1997)
• Stardust — Music Sounds Better with You (1998)
• Modjo — Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (2000)

Reference listening

• Motorbass — Pansoul (1996, album)
• Étienne de Crécy — Super Discount (1996, album)
• Daft Punk — Around the World (1997)
• Stardust — Music Sounds Better with You (1998)
• Cassius — Feeling for You (1999)
• Modjo — Lady (Hear Me Tonight) (2000)
• Daft Punk — One More Time (2000)