Monday, September 1, 2014

The French electronic music scene: crossing point of modern popular cultures.

France might be renown for its wine, its food or its Eiffel Tower, however France has recently succeeded at imposing itself in the music industry. In fact, the French electronic music scene has transformed the music industry in France and all the elements connected to this new cultural phenomenon.

French electronic music is one of my current addictions. The reason why I am passionate about this musical movement is because it has broken barriers; it gathers symbols and signs from various musical genres and it successfully unites different industries such as fashion, music, design, cinema, advertising and many more.

As part of this new musical genre, I have a particular preference for the French artist Gesaffelstein. This French artist has intelligently linked fashion, violence and power in his music and his artistic image. He is always wearing a suit and he looks quiet even though he plays a music that can be judged as violent, dark, repetitive and sometimes controversial. His music and live shows combine symbols from metal music, hip-hop music or even classical music. He also uses symbols of religion as part of his scenography. All these elements sometimes constitute antinomies. However Gesaffelstein successfully assembled an artistic image that relies on a good balance and an appropriate use of each element to constitute what he is today. This combination of such different cultural areas is what allowed Gesaffelstein to become part of today’s French (and soon international) popular culture. This is also why I do have a lot of respect for this artist and his work.


This example illustrates well the fact that the modern pop culture is a collection of various industries, various genres, and various ideologies, which are constantly evolving, allowing the birth of new movements that will define tomorrow’s culture. 

No comments:

Post a Comment