Cassius’ Philippe Zdar Dies In Tragic Accident
Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage
The French producer Philippe Zdar, one half of the house duo Cassius and an extremely important producer for a number of huge artists, has died. The BBC reports that Zdar fell from the window of a building in Paris. Paris police are investigating the accident. Zdar was 52.
Zdar, born Philippe Cerboneschi, and his fellow producer Hubert Blanc-Francard (otherwise known as Boom Bass) first started working together in 1988, producing tracks for the French rapper MC Solaar. They later started producing dance music, starting the project La Funk Mob. (Zdar was also half of a dance duo called Motorbass, who released one album in 1996.) Zdar and Boom Bass released “Foxxy,” their first single as Cassius, in 1996. Their 1999 single “Cassius 1999″ was a crossover top-10 hit in the UK. That same year, they released 1999, their first Cassius album. They were one of the bigger groups involved in the French Touch wave of French dance music. Cassius released five albums, the latest of which, Dreems, is scheduled for release tomorrow. He was booked to DJ at New York’s Central Park SummerStage this weekend.
Zdar was also an in-demand producer, working with artists like the Beastie Boys, Cut Copy, Cat Power, Chromeo, the Rapture, and Franz Ferdinand. He was most closely associated with Phoenix, co-producing their 2000 debut album United and working regularly with the group in the years that followed, including on their 2009 breakout album and Best Alternative Album Grammy winner Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Zdar also owned the Motorbass studio in Paris, where artists like Kanye West and Pharrell Williams recorded.
Below, watch some videos from Cassius.
Awful news about Phillipe Zdar, what an unbelievably lovely man with an incredible legacy. I was mesmerized by this record as a 15 year old https://t.co/H79OZ19Nxq
— Calvin Harris (@CalvinHarris) June 20, 2019
philippe zdar was such a huge inspiration. i remember spending weeks mastering ‘unbelievers’ — putting it up against phoenix’s ‘1901’ as the benchmark of an incredible mix, —nothing could touch it. we had to mix it over and over again just to get close.
— Rostam (@matsoR) June 20, 2019
every single mix on ‘wolfgang amadeus phoenix’ is a masterpiece— loud, exciting, wide as hell and never, ever harsh. #zdar
— Rostam (@matsoR) June 20, 2019
Totally devastated by the loss of my friend Phillipe Zdar.
Can’t really process it at the moment. Just feel awful.
— Αλεξ Καπράνος (@alkapranos) June 20, 2019
So fucking sad to learn about Philippe Zdar last night. A true, true legend whose influence hangs over not just dance but indie, hip hop, all of it. I remember buying Feeling For You when it first came out and being blown away… My condolences to his family and friends 💔💔💔
— Mark Ronson (@MarkRonson) June 20, 2019
He mixed Needy Girl & Rage for the Euro release of our 1st album. Then he mixed the entire Fancy Footwork album. Then Business Casual. He played a huge role in developing our sound. We’re devastated. RIP Philippe Zdar of Cassius, Motorbass & La Funk Mob, a true musical genius. pic.twitter.com/Y7pNmzREyt
— FUNKLORDZ (@Chromeo) June 20, 2019
