Thibaut Jean-Marie Michel Berland (born October 5, 1981), known professionally as Breakbot,
is a French musician, record producer and a DJ who has been signed with
Ed Banger Records
Ed Banger Records (sometimes referred to as Ed Rec) is a French electronic music record label founded by Pedro Winter in 2003 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. It focuses on house music, particularly French house, as well as alterna ...
since May 2009.
Career
Breakbot studied at
Supinfocom
Supinfocom (école SUPérieure d'INFOrmatique de COMmunication, roughly University of Communication Science) is a computer graphics university with campuses in Valenciennes, Arles (France) and Pune (India).
History
Founded in 1988 in Valencienne ...
, a computer graphics university. He co-directed the short film ''Overtime'' with Oury Atlan and Damien Ferrié. The short won the
Ottawa International Animation Festival
The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...
award for "Best Graduate Film" in 2005 and the Internationales Trickfilmfestival Stuttgart "Young Animation Award" in 2006. Thibaut Berland also prepared advertisements and videos.
In 2007, he participated in the graphic design of the spaceship present on the first album of the group
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, ''
Cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...
''. Through his involvement with the design, he was introduced to
Pedro Winter
Pedro Winter (born Pierre Winter; 21 April 1975), also known by the stage name Busy P, is a French record producer, DJ, record label owner, and former artist manager. After being the manager of Daft Punk from 1996 to 2008,[Ed Banger Records
Ed Banger Records (sometimes referred to as Ed Rec) is a French electronic music record label founded by Pedro Winter in 2003 as a division of Headbangers Entertainment. It focuses on house music, particularly French house, as well as alterna ...]
, who signed him.
Breakbot is most recognized for his remixes. His reworkings of songs by artists including
Röyksopp
Röyksopp (), a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø formed in 1998. The duo consists of Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland.
Berge and Brundtland were introduced to each other through a mutual friend in Tromsø, Norway. They enjoy ...
,
Digitalism, and
Chromeo
Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk.
, the band has rele ...
are among his most popular.
[ The music video of "Baby I'm Yours" featuring Irfane was directed by Irina Dakeva and became a summer hit ''MTV Pulse'', France. The music video was nominated for "Best budget pop/dance/urban video" and "Best animation in a video" during the UK Music Video Awards on October 12, 2010.
In February 2016, he released his second album, ''Still Waters'', composed and produced with his frequent collaborator, Christopher Irfane Khan-Acito ("Irfane"). His track ''Star Tripper'' was included in '']Star Wars Headspace
''Star Wars Headspace'' is an electronic music compilation album executively produced by Rick Rubin and Kevin Kusatsu. It compiles electronic dance tracks of acts including Claude VonStroke, Flying Lotus and Röyksopp. It featured sound effects ...
'', a Star-Wars themed music album released by Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
.
In popular culture
His 2008 remix of Pnau
Pnau ( ) is an Australian dance music trio originating from Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, production) and Sam Littlemore (production), with the latter j ...
's song "Baby" appears in ''Gran Turismo 5
is a 2010 racing video game developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was released for the PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010 in Europe and North America, and November 25, 2010 in Japan and Australasia, and ...
'', a racing video game. Another one of his songs, "Penelope Pitstop", also features in the game. The song "Get Lost" appears in the 2016 racing video game ''Forza Horizon 3
''Forza Horizon 3'' is a 2016 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One and Windows. It is the ninth instalment in the ''Forza'' series and the third instalment in its spinoff ''Forza ...
''.
Breakbot's position in popular culture is influenced by the similarities between "Baby I'm Yours" and 2012 chart hit "Treasure
Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions le ...
" by Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...
. "Treasure" was re-registered in ASCAP
The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...
with new writing credits, which included him and Irfane Khan-Acito, due to the similarities with the former song. In May 2013, during an interview in Tiny Mix Tapes
''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...
, Breakbot explained that the boss of Because Music had mentioned, a year previously, that Mars wanted to cover "Baby I'm Yours". As Breakbot was busy finishing the album, however, "it did not happen". Breakbot called "Treasure" a "rip-off" of his song, however, he was "cool with it"; he explained that he also had many influences on his music "with lots of bits taken from here and there".
In late 2018, his single "Baby I'm Yours" became an Internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
commonly paired with a voice clip of Paul Bremer
Lewis Paul Bremer III (born September 30, 1941) is an American diplomat. He led the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States, from May 2003 until June 2004.
Early life and education
Born on ...
announcing Saddam Hussein's capture, with his famous words: "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him." It was also paired with a clip known as "How to Smokebomb a Party" which parodies the breaching techniques of the FBI, though said clip has been renamed due to its breaching sequence becoming an Internet meme itself.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Songwriting and production credits
Remixes
Features and collaborations
Mixes
*Breakbot Summer mix @ Le Mouv' radio 2014
*Breakbot Beatport Live
*Breakbot MixTape: October 2012
*Disco Mini Mix: Dance on Glass
*BBC In New DJ we Trust Heroes Mix
*Valentine Mixtape
*Breakbot Le Mouv' radio 2012
*Annie Mac Minimix
*TILT! Megamix
*The Lazy Sunday Selecta Mixtape
*Ed Banger, part 3 avec Breakbot , Novaplanet Mix
*Bedtime Stories
*Another Mixtape 2018
*Lockdown Boogie
Filmography
*2005: ''Overtime'' (short) -- directed by Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland and Damien Ferrie
Notes
References
{{Authority control
Living people
1981 births
French DJs
French record producers
French house musicians
Electro musicians
Boogie musicians
Nu-disco musicians
Remixers
Because Music artists