bertrand burgalat

This man is probably my favorite current producer (also a respected composer and musician). Perhaps the most obvious and oft-stated label I've heard in reference to him is "the French Phil Spector," with which I agree, although from what I've read he seems somewhat less insane. He does seem to lead a debonair and interesting lifestyle nonetheless, dating striking Azzaro designer Vanessa Seward, who called him "a real dandy" in a Bazaar article. He started the Tricatel record label in 1995, releasing albums by artists such as the High Llamas, April March, Valerie Lemercier, Andre Popp and Etienne Charry, as well as his own solo releases and film soundtracks. The label's roster, similar to his own musical and production affinities, specialize in a sort of modernized take on space-age bachelor pad music, with soaring electronic string arrangements, lounge flourishes, and nods to krautrock, owing debts (while maintaining a modern approach that saves him from derivativeness) to Bacharach and Spector, French pop mainstays Serge Gainsbourg, Jacques Dutronc & Francoise Hardy, as well as 20th century French classical composers. One of his major influences (similar to artists like Air, whom he's produced) appears to be 60's & 70's French cinematic and library music. He's also lent his production skills to artists such as Pizzicato Five, Ladytron, AS Dragon, Nick Cave and many others. A good intro to his style can be found on the Tricatel comp Au Coeur de Tricatel, as well as the solo Burgalat album The SSSound of MMMusic.



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