Biography
A French performer celebrated in the 1930s and 1940s for his portrayals of weary, disillusioned protagonists might have responded with ironic amusement upon discovering that two Italian musicians had later adopted his name for a new lounge project. Yet exposure to the resulting music would likely have clarified the choice, given its unhurried elegance, wistful tone, and refined atmosphere suited to a Parisian café or supper club, an impression reinforced by the frequent use of French in song titles and lyrics. Filippo Cary and Max Bottini, who brought sharply contrasting musical experiences to the collaboration, shaped the effort: Cary, a DJ who had overseen chill rooms at Rome’s leading venues throughout the 1990s, joined forces with Bottini, a jazz bassist whose prior ten years included performances alongside John Scofield and Billy Coghan. The pair produced a jazz-electro-lounge-world hybrid that resists easy classification while remaining immediately accessible; their self-titled debut, enriched by various guest musicians, has been characterized as downtempo, mellow house, and Latin jazz. Issued in Europe in 2002 on Virgin Records, the album attracted considerable notice within electronic circles, though its nearest approach to wider popularity occurred in Italy, where the jazzy house single “Doo Uap, Doo Uap, Doo Uap” reached number three on the national charts. The duo has still not entered the American market in a substantial way, yet a U.S. release appeared on the storied Astralwerks label near the end of 2002, where positive reviews and radio airplay began to build awareness among domestic listeners.
Singles
