- See all the Ratings
- Add my Rating now
Frenchman Stéphane Pompougnac is best known for his stunning ‘Hotel Costes’ mix series which have sold in their hundred’s of thousands world wide. His down tempo mixes provide a cool soundtrack to chill out or warm up to, blending hip hop, down tempo, nu jazz and house. In his second artist release, ‘Hello Mademoiselle’, Pompougnac provides much of the same blend, his inimitable style strong with jazz influences, touches on the aforementioned styles with a decidedly French twist. Pompougnac enlists many different artists to complete his album, including eight separate vocalists among them French legend Alain Chamfort.
We dive head first into the subtle beats of ‘Ghosts & Roses’, Noemi’s light dreamy vocals drift across a deep house groove. Without further ado we head into more laidback vibes with the smooth downbeat track ‘Sunday Drive’, featuring the silky smooth vocals of Charles Schillings. This track is as beautiful as it is simple, soft beats and touches of instrumentation leave it open for the distinctive vocal track that has strong Röyksopp influences. It isn’t all laidback vibes on here however, the solid drum break in ‘Better Days’ is excellent as is the vocal work from Tiger Lily. Her scatting is hot and it would be nice to see this in more tracks these days. Very cool nu jazz styles, fans of Micatone will definitely dig this one. Another up tempo vibe is the tribal influenced deep house number ‘L’Oiseau’, some clever use of jungle sounds sit on a great canvas of tom toms and subtle keys.
The title track features some very Barry White vocals from Anthony Bambury that sit on a deep house beat and interesting instrumentation. Not really to my tastes but some will get a kick out of its fun vibe. One of my favourites on the album is ‘On The Road Again’, which samples the Canned Heat record of the same name. It’s all harmonica and mumbling here and is extremely cool when set to an electronic riff and vocoded vocals. Would love to see this put out as a 12” with remixes. Pompougnac moves in a different direction with ‘Mondes Paralleles’, featuring some nice scratching from O. de Saint Nicolas and solid MCing from Neho, this track is a good respite from the house beats and downbeat grooves. It would be even better if I knew what he was rapping about. The nu jazz number ‘Clock’ also deserves a mention, great vibes in this one.
I liked this album for the most part, there are definite highlights but a handful of tracks that are used as fillers bring the package down a notch. Pomopugnac shows his range, excelling in particular in the nu jazz and deep house genres, but you may find yourself skipping through some of the weaker moments. In a word: Bon.
