Cassius is a French musical duo that records and releases music in the house
music, alternative dance and synthpop genres. The group consists of producers
Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard, better known as Philippe
Zdar and Boom Bass. History
Zdar and Boom Bass started working together in 1988, producing albums for
the French hip-hop artist MC Solaar. In 1991, they created their first project,
called La Funk Mob, and the following year, they started to increasingly
experiment with electronic sounds. Zdar's experience with electronic music
was influential in his involvement with Étienne de Crécy in the project
Motorbass, who released a sole full-length album, Pansoul.
In 1996, Zdar and Boom Bass then created "Foxxy", their first self-published
house music track, under the name Cassius, and the moderate success that
followed lead to them remixing tracks for acts such as Air and Daft Punk. In
January 1999, they released their first single to become a mainstream hit,
"Cassius 1999". It was published by Virgin Records, and entered the UK
Singles Chart at #7. This was soon followed by their debut album, 1999,
which had two more singles released from it, "Feeling For You" and "La Mouche".
The music videos for "Cassius 1999" and "Feeling for You" portrayed the
character Deadman, from DC Comics, as a DJ superhero.
2002 saw their second album release, Au Rêve. This featured the "empowered
female disco" track "I'm a Woman", with Jocelyn Brown on vocals, as well as the
hit single "The Sound of Violence", featuring Steve Edwards on vocals. This
album also had collaborations with Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah and
Leroy Burgess. Cassius returned to the studio in 2006,
for the more experimental single "Toop Toop", but the next album, titled 15
Again, featured more vocal collaborations than the duo had done
with Au Rêve. While rehearsing their 15 Again album
tour, Cassius provided the community with the a cappella track of their
single "Toop Toop" and encouraged fans and friends to start remixing the song.
It became an immediate success: the band started the Cassius Workshop project and
released more a cappellas for remixing purposes. They claim to have received
more than 400 remixes. Cassius's song "I Love You So" was
sampled on the track "Why I Love You" on Jay-Z and Kanye West's 2011
collaboration album Watch the Throne. They're currently working on a new
album. Discography
Albums The Mighty Bop Meets DJ Cam Et La Funk
Mob 1999 – UK No. 28
Au Rêve The Bad Seeds 1993–1997
15 Again CASSIUSPLAY: Nike+ Original Run
EPs The Rawkers E.P.
DJ mixes I Love Techno
Singles Cassius
La Funk Mob "Tribulations Extra Sensorielles"
"Casse Les Frontières, Fou Les Têtes En L'Air"
"357 Magnum Force" Production for other artists
MC Solaar – "Nouveau Western", with Jimmy Jay
MC Solaar – "Obsolète", with Jimmy Jay Sinclair – "Tranquille"
Melaaz – "Je Marche En Solitaire" MC Solaar – "La Concubine De
L'Hémoglobine", with Jimmy Jay MC Solaar – Paradisiaque
Phoenix – United Cut Copy – Bright Like Neon Love
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Chromeo – Business Casual
Two Door Cinema Club – Tourist History The Rapture – In the Grace of Your Love
Kindness – "World, You Need a Change of Mind"
OneRepublic – "Burning Bridges" OneRepublic – "Something's Gotta Give"
Drake – "Nothing Was the Same" References
External links Philippe Zdar RBMA video lecture session
Pi-Pole - Cassius DJ booking Cassius discography at Discogs