Justice for French Touch: The Gallic movement's essential tracks

Today drops ‘Hyperdrama’, the new album by French electro duo Justice – their first record in more than seven years.

Having listened to some of it, it’s a welcome return to form, with some live-tailored hooks that show the band have still got it, even if the album's hit and miss moments of downsized French house may disappoint earlier fans of Justice and the heavier beats present on their best album – 2007's ‘Cross’.

Still, it sounds like their strongest work since their debut, and the eagerly anticipated comeback of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay signals that despite the retirement of Daft Punk in 2021, French Touch isn’t dead.

Mostly defined by its geographical situation, as opposed to adherence to a specific sound, the 90s form of European EDM, spearheaded by the likes of Daft Punk, Étienne de Crécy, AIR, Cassius and many more, spanned various genres – from house, dance, electro, old school disco to jazz and plenty of glorious sampling.

Ever since Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter and his tracks for his Roulé label – some of the earliest examples of French Touch – to more recent tracks by m83, Duck Sauce and Phoenix, the Gallic sound’s popularity has waned since the 90s and 00s, but still endearingly simmers.

Here’s our (non-exhaustive) ranked picks of the seminal French Touch songs to get you in the mood before (and after) giving Justice’s ‘Hyperdrama’ a few spins.

10) Bob Sinclar – Gym Tonic (1998)

Christophe Le Friant aka: Bob Sinclar, named after the super spy played by Jean-Paul Belmondo in one of the greatest French comedies of all time Le Magnifique, is an inescapable name in French Touch. Co-produced by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, the track became a hit due to the perfectly calibrated disco samples and is credited