Cassius

Cassius emerged around 1999 as a fresh force among the elite tier of French electronica, yet the long-running endeavor actually united two seasoned figures from the scene: Philippe Zdar and Hubert Blanc-Francart, the latter better known as Boombass. In addition to their La Funk Mob output on Mo' Wax, the pair had previously handled production duties on multiple strong albums by French rapper MC Solaar. Their paths first crossed during the late 1980s inside a shared studio, where Zdar served as engineer while Boombass was still acquiring production skills. After Boombass began collaborating with MC Solaar, he partnered with Zdar for two EPs issued on Mo' Wax under the La Funk Mob name in 1994. Zdar separately joined Etienne De Crecy of Super Discount for a full-length release credited to Motorbass. The two producers finally formed Cassius in 1996, merging Boombass’s jazzy hip-hop approach with Zdar’s distinctive phase’n’filter acid-disco textures. Their initial outing, the late-1998 single “Cassius 1999,” quickly became a club staple and reached the British Top 20. The accompanying album 1999 followed in early 1999. Cassius resurfaced with Au Rêve in 2002 and 15 Again in 2006 before entering a ten-year hiatus. Throughout that period Zdar remained active producing and remixing for artists including Chromeo, Phoenix, Cat Power, and the Beastie Boys. The last two of those acts reciprocated when the duo resurfaced in 2016 via the track “Action,” which included appearances by Cat Power and the Beastie Boys’ Mike D. That single appeared on the concept album Ibifornia, issued later the same year. Philippe Zdar passed away in June 2019 after falling from the window of a tall building.