Sinclair

French funk pioneer Sinclair ignited France’s mid-’90s blue-eyed R&B resurgence. Born Dominique Blanc-Francard, Jr. in 1971, he was the offspring of celebrated recording engineer Dominique Blanc-Francard, Sr. and the sibling of Hubert “Boom Bass” Blanc-Francard, an esteemed DJ and producer. A teenage studio virtuoso who adopted the Sinclair alias to step outside the family legacy, he mastered guitar and keyboards while absorbing the styles of Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, and Prince. On his 1993 debut album Que Justice Soit Faite he performed every instrument except drums, scoring the hit single “Votre Image.” Critical praise also greeted his dynamic stage shows, where the nine-piece Système Sinclair funk band supported him; their first Paris appearance took place in May 1993 and was followed by an international trek that reached Canada. After receiving the Best Newcomer trophy at the 1995 Victoires de la Musique, Sinclair streamlined his approach for the follow-up Au Mépris du Danger. A subsequent 250-date tour preceded the 1997 release La Bonne Attitude, which exchanged earlier American touchstones for a distinctly homegrown yet still groove-driven aesthetic. He spent nearly the entirety of 1998 on the road, documenting the experience with the 1999 live album Live. Growing friction with Virgin led him to EMI, where he issued Supernova Superstar in 2001. The ensuing years were devoted to touring and film scoring until he compiled the 1992–2002 retrospective Comme Je Suis, mixing established tracks with previously unheard material. In 2006 he returned with the single “Morphologique.”