Stéphane Pompougnac defined his high-class and elegant version of the French Touch throughout his 25-year international career. First a DJ in Paris’ most prestigious electro clubs, he was then recruited to invent the Costes compilations. Over fifteen years, he has assembled sounds to distill unique atmospheres that were first dedicated to the luxury Costes hotels but eventually took on the world. Lounge music, as it happens, was Pompougnac’s invention ! Seven million CDs sold and fourteen gold records later, Pompougnac was at the top of the pops, Djing for Mick Jagger, remixing Madonna, working with R.E.M.’s frontman Michael Stipe. A spot he would never leave.

As a symbol of French elegance and chic, Mr Pompougnac works along with the best-know luxury brands from Gucci to Bulgari, not to mention the much hyped and effortlessly classy W Hotels. Last year Caron called him to create the music for its new perfume ad, while the jewelry maison Savelli asked him to do the sound design for its latest cellphone. Atop all this Pompougnac is a regular DJ in Ibiza for the Sunset sessions, and at Hong Kong’s trendy Kee Club. The French DJ exports his precursor vision of style and partying from Los Angeles to Jakarta, from the Cannes Festival to Formula One all over the world.

It’s been ten years now that Stéphane Pompougnac laid aside the compilations to focus on his own albums. After two acclaimed LPs, Living On The Edge and Hello Mademoiselle, his third opus marks a real shift in perspective.

« Bloody French » is the name his English boss would call the young Stéphane, when he was working in a London pub ... While he didn’t really understand what it meant at that time, he kept that ironic nickname all his life, transforming his Parisian origin into a distinctive and valuable mark.

After two years of hard work, this self-produced album is one of a full-fledged and experimented artist, who has skillfully reinvented the lounge style of his earlier compilations. The French DJ wrote ten upbeat pieces of deep-house music, that go from tribal rhythms to cosmopolitan accents. Reload, a track he composed with the help of Nicolas Voulzy (son of the famous French singer Laurent Voulzy) and Raphaëlle Audin, stands out as THE big hit of the album. The dreamy Cala Bassa and Open Space evoke exotic landscapes; the fascinating Desert Palm sounds like a trip to an opulent and distant Orient... Some of the tracks also feature feminine or masculine vocals, along with their remarkable beats and melodies. Charles Schillings, the forefront DJ of the 1990-2000 Parisian scene, ends up singing on Stop Running!