St Germain

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St Germain, whose albums Boulevard and Tourist originated a genre of French electronic music, has returned to the studio to create his first album in 15 years. The self-titled record marries percussive grooves, which have always been central to St Germain’s sound, with a new element: traditional Malian music. "The result," says NPR: "a timeless African sound reconfigured ever so slightly for the electronic age."

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St Germain (aka Ludovic Navarre), whose albums Boulevard (1995) and Tourist (2000) originated a genre of French electronic music that later included artists like Air, has returned to the studio to create his first album in 15 years. The self-titled record, due October 9, 2015, on Nonesuch Records in the United States, marries percussive grooves, which have always been central to St Germain’s sound, with a new element: traditional Malian music. 

Composed, produced, recorded, and mixed by Navarre at his Paris studio, the Magic House, and mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road, “Real Blues” features a vocal sample from Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "You Caused My Heart to Weep" and instrumental contributions from Brazilian percussionist Jorge Bezerra, Malian kora player Mamadou Cherif Soumano, Malian guitarist and n’goni player Guimba Kouyate, and keyboardist and longtime St Germain collaborator Didier Davidas, from Martinique.

St Germain’s move closer to the source of the jazz and blues elements that were essential ingredients in Boulevard and the internationally acclaimed Tourist led to his interest in those genres’ roots in West African music. Tourist, which sold nearly three million copies worldwide (more than 300,000 in the US alone), was equally beloved in jazz and electronic music circles, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and being named one of the Best Albums of the Year by Rolling Stone. In France, the album won three Victoires de la Musique awards (the French equivalent of Grammys), including Best Jazz Album, Best Electronic Album and Best Live Performance.

On the 250-show Tourist tour, St Germain performed at venues ranging from London’s historic Royal Albert Hall to the Glastonbury and Coachella festivals, with guests including Herbie Hancock, Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander and legendary French jazz vocalist Claude Nougaro. Following the release of St Germain, Navarre will return to the road, beginning a European in November. A US tour will be announced at a later date.

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Latest Release

  • October 9, 2015

    St Germain, whose albums Boulevard and Tourist originated a genre of French electronic music, returns with his first album in 15 years, and it's "well worth the wait," says the Independent. The self-titled record marries percussive grooves, which have always been central to his sound, with a new element: traditional Malian music. "The result," says NPR: "a timeless African sound reconfigured ever so slightly for the electronic age." A "remarkable album," exclaims All About Jazz. "It is really a rare occurrence that an electronic music is crafted with so much style and substance." It "deftly balances tradition and modernity and begs repeated listening," says Jazzwise. St Germain "continues to revolutionize electronic music."

Releases

News

  • April 1, 2016

    St Germain kicks off a North American tour featuring music from his new, self-titled album with a performance at Webster Hall in New York City on Saturday. The tour continues for the next three weeks with shows in Boston, Montreal, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, and more; KCRW calls him "a must see at this year's Coachella" festival.

  • March 9, 2016

    St Germain (Ludovic Navarre), in support of his recently released self-titled album, has embarked on a world tour, which comes to North America this spring. Today, St Germain debuts a live long-form video clip from his performance at The Bataclan in Paris on November 12, 2015. Filmed by Charlotte Vasseneix, who directed the video for his song "Real Blues," it highlights St Germain's first Parisian show in over a decade. You can watch the video, which premiered via Thump, here. A digital EP of four remixes of tracks from the new album this Friday.

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About St Germain

  • St Germain (aka Ludovic Navarre), whose albums Boulevard (1995) and Tourist (2000) originated a genre of French electronic music that later included artists like Air, has returned to the studio to create his first album in 15 years. The self-titled record, due October 9, 2015, on Nonesuch Records in the United States, marries percussive grooves, which have always been central to St Germain’s sound, with a new element: traditional Malian music. 

    Composed, produced, recorded, and mixed by Navarre at his Paris studio, the Magic House, and mastered by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road, “Real Blues” features a vocal sample from Lightnin’ Hopkins’ "You Caused My Heart to Weep" and instrumental contributions from Brazilian percussionist Jorge Bezerra, Malian kora player Mamadou Cherif Soumano, Malian guitarist and n’goni player Guimba Kouyate, and keyboardist and longtime St Germain collaborator Didier Davidas, from Martinique.

    St Germain’s move closer to the source of the jazz and blues elements that were essential ingredients in Boulevard and the internationally acclaimed Tourist led to his interest in those genres’ roots in West African music. Tourist, which sold nearly three million copies worldwide (more than 300,000 in the US alone), was equally beloved in jazz and electronic music circles, reaching #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and being named one of the Best Albums of the Year by Rolling Stone. In France, the album won three Victoires de la Musique awards (the French equivalent of Grammys), including Best Jazz Album, Best Electronic Album and Best Live Performance.

    On the 250-show Tourist tour, St Germain performed at venues ranging from London’s historic Royal Albert Hall to the Glastonbury and Coachella festivals, with guests including Herbie Hancock, Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin, Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander and legendary French jazz vocalist Claude Nougaro. Following the release of St Germain, Navarre will return to the road, beginning a European in November. A US tour will be announced at a later date.

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