Gotta quick post for this Friday evening. It’s a nifty electro groove titled “Autonomic” from Parisian fourpiece DBFC. They describe themselves as a club, not a band. They also refuse to choose between making dance records vs. rock records. Of course, I’m paraphrasing. There’s a lot more to their manifesto, which can be gleaned on their Facebook page, if you’re curious. Otherwise, that’s all the background you need to know.
I actually intended to kick this one out last week, but got sidetracked by The Chemical Brothers, and a few other artists that made it onto the blog in its place. No matter, it’s here now. And after putting some distance between my original intentions and today, “Autonomic” still holds up quite nicely. In other words, I still really like it.
This one’s not the typical dance track. It’s got a fair share of ’70s funk and disco laced in its sequenced rhythm. It feels warmer, more au natural, analog to a degree, even though it’s clearly infused with electro flourishes and house beats. I wouldn’t call it rock, but it’s clearly inspired by the Mancunian Madchester bands of the psychedelic past … Primal Scream, Happy Mondays, that sort of thing. There’s also a bit of the modern British throwback in their sound … Django Django, Hot Chip, etc.
Honestly, though, DBFC’s “Autonomic” reminds me most of stateside East Coasters Holy Ghost!, who offer a similar flair for dance-based affairs, with plenty of live instrumentation to complement the electronics. Their vocal styles are similar too, slightly downplayed, smooth and slick, yet still upbeat, subdued in a hazy daze-y euphoric wash and roll. Also, it’s definitely sung, not sampled.
“Autonomic” comes from DBFC’s 2017 album “Jenks,” which curiously skews a bit more in the indie rock direction, particularly of the psychedelic variety. I guess if you choose not to choose, you can do both. And that’s certainly the case here.
As I mentioned before, DBFC is a fourpiece. But there’s a core duo that drives them forward. First is Bertrand Lacombe, aka Dombrance, who’s a renown French electro-pop producer. His partner is Paris-based, Mancunian-born artist David Shaw, who’s perhaps best known for his work in Vitalic. The remaining members are Guillaume Rossel and Vincent Choquet. I don’t know who plays what. But judging from some of their live performances, of which there’s a few floating around in the online ether, there’s definitely a live rhythm section and guitar, in addition to all the synths.
That about does it for DBFC, who’s name I still haven’t deciphered. I think the FC might abbreviate Fan Club, which makes a sort of sense, considering their attitude on clubs vs bands. The DB could be Dombrance. But your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, here’s the Spotify embed of “Autonomic.” Enjoy!
“Automomic” from 2017 album “Jenks.”
I also stumbled upon this music video for “Autonomic,” with all types of random vintage stock footage, edited together in a somewhat artistic way.
