Apart from being a sexy beast (everyday was ‘dress like a porn star’ day with Cerrone – or maybe it was just the 70s), let’s start with this: He’s sold 30 million albums worldwide, his tracks have been remixed by huge DJs like Bob Sinclar, Dimitri From Paris and Alan Braxe (just to name a few), and have been sampled by some small local bands & artists you may have heard of, the likes of The Beastie Boys, Run D.M.C, Modjo and LL Cool J…
Curious yet? No?
And what if I told you he once organized an orgy in a studio to record every ‘aural detail’ and use them in his music…
What about now?
Of course you’re curious now, you saucy minx…
Although you may not recognise his name, you probably know his music (even if you don’t realise it). Cerrone is a French drummer / Composer / Producer whose influence on disco, dance and electro has been arguably as important as Giorgio Moroder’s or Kraftwerk’s. And these are funk legend Nile Rodgers of Disco royalty CHIC’s own words. (If you just thought to yourself ‘Who’s Nile Rogers and what is this ‘Chic’ thing?’ then I really can’t do much for you).
Sometimes it takes a lot of guts and a bit of luck, and when it comes to luck, Cerrone certainly has had some: being discovered in the street of Saint Tropez by Eddie Barclay while he was playing drums; years later being signed by the legendary Ahmet ErtegÜn, founder of Atlantic Records, after a box of his first solo LP ‘Love In C Minor’ was “accidentally” sent to the US in a music store shipping mix up. But luck gets you diddly squat if you don’t come up with the goods, and Cerrone certainly delivered.
In many ways he was a pioneer, and despite his tracks being turned down by labels several times, always persevered in his musical explorations. From the 16 minute long ‘Love In C Minor’ (perhaps Cerrone’s middle finger response to radio format? Who knows) to the futuristic ‘Supernature’, through the tribal beats of his first band Kongas, Cerrone experimented with new sounds and instruments. The drums were loud, the bass lines heavy and the voices soulful – and many of Cerrone’s tracks became cult classics.
But I can’t mention Cerrone without referring to his “marketing” techniques… when he started out on his solo career, his artworks relied on a weapon of choice to be noticed: naked women. Cerrone’s covers are famous for their erotic - albeit slightly cheesy – and surreal stagings. Feast your eyes:
Even today - Cerrone has just released a new Best Of, and it looks a little something like this:
Classic Cerrone…
Among others, they’ve added on this Best Of a new version of Cerrone’s iconic track “Supernature” by Beth Ditto (of The Gossip) and The Shoes, and it sounds pretty spectacular – that voice!
And if you want to hear more of Cerrone’s classic tracks and remixes…
Cerrone – The Best Of Cerrone Productions
I’ll leave you in the company of the man himself - Check out Cerrone’s YouTube page to watch several webisodes about his career and journey, with interviews of some of the biggest names in Disco and Dance. Here’s one about “Supernature”:
Cerrone’s Best Of is available now where all great records are sold | streamed.
D-I-S-C-O F-O-R-E-V-E-R
-Alex G
PS: Bob Sinclar did a whole album of Cerrone remixes (Cerrone By Bob Sinclar) - his version of ‘Give Me Love’ brings back one too many memories of alcohol-induced brain cell destructions at Uni parties, but sounding the people around me, it doesn’t look like this crowd pleaser quite made it down under – love disco sounds and heavy beats? Go on then, have a listen and do Cerrone proud… get up and dance!
