''Sacrebleu'' is the debut studio album by French

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

producer

Dimitri from Paris Dimitri from Paris (born Dimitrios Yerasimos, el, Δημήτριος Γεράσιμος; 27 October 1963) is a French music producer and DJ of Greek descent. His musical influences are rooted in 1970s funk and disco sounds that spawned contempo ...

. It was first released on 11 June 1996 by

Yellow Productions Yellow Productions is an independent record label specializing in electronic music. Based in Paris, France, it was founded in 1993 by DJ Yellow and Christophe Le Friant (more famous under Bob Sinclar alias). The label's roster represents Bob Sinc ...

in France and later released by Atlantic Records in North America and EastWest Records in Europe and Japan. Several of the album's tracks sample from

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

and bossa nova tracks of the 1950s and 1960s, as well as quotes from films such as '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', ''

La Dolce Vita ''La Dolce Vita'' (; Italian for "the sweet life" or "the good life"Kezich, 203) is a 1960 satirical comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Ennio Flaiano, Tullio Pinelli and Brunello Rondi) by Federico Fellini. The film stars Marcello ...

'', ''

8½ ' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by M ...

'' and '' The Party''.

Composition

*The ''Prologue'' opens: "Hello There and Welcome to the exciting world of Hip. This is a new departure in language instruction for English-speaking people who want to talk to – and be understood by – jazz musicians, hipsters, beatniks, juvenile delinquents and the criminal fringe." This is a sample from

Del Close Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...

John Brent's 1959 comedy spoken word album ''

How to Speak Hip ''How to Speak Hip'' is a comedy album by Del Close and John Brent, released by Mercury Records in 1959. Description The album is designed as a satire of language-learning records, where the secret language of the ' hipster' is treated as a f ...

''. *Track 2, ''Sacré Français!'' samples

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

's track ''João'' from his 1964 album ''

Soul Sauce ''Soul Sauce'' is an album by Latin jazz vibraphonist Cal Tjader recorded in late 1964 and released on the Verve label.

''. Quotes are taken from

Gillian Hills Gillian Hills (born 5 June 1944) is an English actress and singer. She first came to notice as a teenager in the 1960s in the British films '' Beat Girl'' (1960) and ''Blowup'' (1966). She also spent a number of years living in France, where sh ...

' 1960 track ''Cha Cha Stop'' and

Valéry The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name '' Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The ...

's 1964 track ''Vous Dansez Mademoiselle''. *Track 3, ''Monsieur Dimitri Joue Du Stylophone'' samples

The Three Suns The Three Suns was an American pop group, most popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Career history The group was formed in 1939 by brothers Al Nevins (guitar) and Morty Nevins (accordion) and their cousin, radio and vaudeville veteran Artie Dunn (v ...

's version of

Sleep Walk Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...

from the album ''Fever & Smoke''. *Track 4, ''Nothing to lose'', uses

Claudine Longet Claudine Georgette Longet (born 29 January 1942) is a Franco-American singer, actress, dancer, and recording artist popular during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to American singer and television entertainer Andy ...

's vocal performance from

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

' '' The Party''. *Track 6, ''Reveries'', samples "Half-Forgotten Daydreams" by British composer John Cameron . *Track 10, ''Une Very Stylish Fille'' samples

Teddy Randazzo Alessandro Carmelo "Teddy" Randazzo (May 13, 1935 – November 21, 2003) was an American pop songwriter, singer, arranger and producer, who composed hit songs such as " Goin' Out of My Head", "It's Gonna Take a Miracle", " Pretty Blue Eyes", ...

's 1966 track ''The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' Sampled quotes from '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' are also included on the track: the character Mrs. Failenson's (

Patricia Neal Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...

) quote "I am a very stylish girl" is heard throughout the track, as well as the character Holly Golightly ( Audrey Hepburn) asking "How do I look?" with the character Paul "Fred" Varjak (

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

) replying "Very good. I must say I'm amazed." This track was also used by Volvo for a commercial. *The second part of ''Nothing To Lose (Lounge Instrumentale)'', also titled separately as ''Toujours L'Amore'', samples this quote by character Sylvia Rankinfrom (

Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...

) from

Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

's ''

'',: "I like lots of things, but there are three things I like most: Love, love and love." The song ends with a sample from the beginning of Fellini's ''

'', which says, "Bella ragazza! Americana, eh?" *Free Ton Style samples Mysteries of the World by MFSB in 1980

Critical reception

In a contemporary review of ''Sacrebleu'',

Will Hermes Will Hermes (born December 27, 1960 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City) is an American author, broadcaster, journalist and critic who has written extensively about popular music. He is a longtime contributor to ''Rolling Stone'' and to National Pu ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' wrote, "Like French fromage, it often smells funny, but when it's good, it's marvelous." Retrospectively, John Bush of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

described the record as "a breezy collection of what could be loosely termed house music", albeit one "indebted to a variety of intriguing styles reminiscent of the Continent around the mid-part of the century", and praised it as an "immensely enjoyable album".

Track listing

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sacrebleu (Album) 1996 albums Dimitri from Paris albums Yellow Productions albums