by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

33 Tours Et Puis S’en Vont is the first album in eight years from Laurent Garnier, one of electronic music’s favourite sons. French dance music without Garnier would be unthinkable; indeed, house and techno without his input would be immensely poorer, even before considering his contribution to more jazzy quarters of the musical sphere.

In his career, Garnier’s output has been notable for its consistency. This bumper album, however, takes him back to the basics of making people dance, in a mixture of instrumental and vocal tracks operating predominantly at a fast tempo.

What’s the music like?

Propulsive. This is Garnier taking his music for the dancefloor back to first principles, with not a filler in sight.

There are many highlights. Au Claire De Ta Lune is excellent, a driving rhythm supporting shimmering textures and a long, arching drone-like figure. If anything In Your Phase is better, with a foreboding combination of slow siren, held notes of peril, a driving beat and an urgent vocal from 22Carbone. This combination of quick, driving rhythms and long, sustained notes serves Garnier really well, together with a sharp instinct for structuring the tracks just right.

Multiple Tributes (to multiple people, for multiple reasons) cools the temperature a little, while Reviens la Nuit is a powerhouse, driving and sharply edged. So too is Saturn Drive Triplex, topped by euphoric vocals and an incisive vocal from Alan Vega as Garnier cranks up the distortion. Trumping all these is The Real World, which gathers strength over 11 minutes to become a powerful and hypnotic masterpiece, Garnier pacing each layer to perfection.

Sado Miso is intriguing, a drum and bass-laced track that shows Garnier hasn’t lost the ability to experiment successfully on a record. This one is nippy to say the least!

Does it all work?

It does. These pieces have the same raw energy that Garnier has demonstrated in his club-based music ever since the late 1980s. A ‘back to basics’ album that reaps dancefloor rewards!

Is it recommended?

It certainly is. This is Laurent Garnier on peak form – and how wonderful it is to still be able to say that a mere 35 years after his debut!

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