DJ Mehdi

While guitar-slinging French youth dons a guardsman coat and learns ‘God Save The Queen’ (see page 32 for more), the old-school of the Parisian club scene have no need to ape their British neighbours. DJ Mehdi is a walking history of French breaks – a man who, alongside MC Solaar, first gave hip-hop a French twist. ‘Lucky Boy’ sees him drawing a disco-chic bloodline through big beat, funk and trip-hop and while not exactly innovative, at its best (‘Signatune’’s throbbing stew of seedy euphoria, ‘Survivol’’s synth-house, and ‘Saharian Break’’s aping of Soulsides-era DJ Shadow) this is the pulsing heart of the hipster – part B-boy, part club kid, all parts decadent deviant. Like Felix da Housecat passing out in a Parisian squat in his Y-fronts and a pair of €500 sunglasses.

Alex Miller