ed banger

It’s a wonder that for such a synthetic mode of musical expression, electronic music can produce a primal response. For French electro house artist SebastiAn, the solo releases and remixes of his six-year career offer a potent combination of sex and danger. It’s no wonder then that his first album, Total, has been such an anticipated one and he certainly hasn’t spared us any musical foreplay.

There’s the X-rated teaser video to title track ‘Total’ –a sexually violent montage of internet imagery –released in February, as well the more marketable clip to dance number ‘Embody’. With a whopping 22 songs on the album, you might believe that it comes as welcome compensation for making us wait so long for it. Yet, when many of those tracks barely make is past the 60-second mark, you get the feeling there’s a lot more to Total than a simple sum of Sebastian Akchoté’s very brilliant career.

Firstly, if the teaser featuring the warning sign of provocative content and possible epilepsy at the beginning of the ‘Total’ video is any indication, SebastiAn is an eponymous product of his (and our) time. Throwing an eclectic mix of influences, from his hip hop roots and slick R&B grooves to grunge sampling and early-millennial party-clubbing into that electro mince pioneered by fellow French dissidents Daft Punk and Justice, no sacred rock is left unturned in exploring the infinite possibilities of the digital era.

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