St Germain is the stage name of Ludovic Navarre), born 10 April 1969 in Boulogne-Billancourt, a French musician. His style has been described as being a combination of house and nu jazz music.
Navarre’s album Boulevard was released in July 1995 and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. His United States debut, Tourist, was released in 2000 and sold 300,000 copies in the USA and 4 million copies worldwide. Bob Marley, Toots & the Maytals, Miles Davis and Kool and the Gang are among Ludovic’s early influences. He composed his first work under the name of Sub System with friend Guy Rabiller. He has released EPs under a number of aliases, among them Deepside, LN’S, Modus Vivendi, Nuages and Soofle.
St Germain is not associated with the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Café compilation series, though his song “Deep in It” is featured on its “Volume 1”.
His song “Rose Rouge” was featured in the official movie trailer for Joss Whedon’s 2013 Much Ado About Nothing.
His eponymous album, released on 9 October 2015, was recorded with the participation of African musicians, the album features traditional Malian instruments such as kora, balafon and n’goni, that mingle with electric guitars, pianos, saxophones and electronic loops. The first single, “Real Blues”, sets the voice of Lightnin’ Hopkins to the beat of wild, fiery drums and percussion.
The original single sleeve is decorated with a 3D mask conceived by Urban Art creator Gregos, known for his smiling and frowning faces stuck on walls throughout Paris and Europe.
St Germain was included in the line-up for Coachella 2016.
Tourist is the third studio album by French producer Ludovic Navarre, released under his stage name St Germain. The album’s musical style is described by AllMusic as “a synthesis of electronics with jazz soloing”.
As of 2018, Tourist has sold over four million copies worldwide.
Tourist formed the soundtrack of the 2001 French film Chaos. (by wikipedia)
Since the advent of acid jazz in the mid-’80s, the many electronic-jazz hybrids to come down the pipe have steadily grown more mature, closer to a balanced fusion that borrows the spontaneity and emphasis on group interaction of classic jazz while still emphasizing the groove and elastic sound of electronic music. For his second album, French producer Ludovic Navarre expanded the possibilities of his template for jazzy house by recruiting a sextet of musicians to solo over his earthy productions. The opener “Rose Rouge” is an immediate highlight, as an understated Marlena Shaw vocal sample (“I want you to get together/put your hands together one time”), trance-state piano lines, and a ride-on-the-rhythm drum program frames solos by trumpeter Pascal Ohse and baritone Claudio de Qeiroz.
For “Montego Bay Spleen,” Navarre pairs an angular guitar solo by Ernest Ranglin with a deep-groove dub track, complete with phased effects and echoey percussion. “Land Of…” moves from a Hammond- and horn-led soul-jazz stomp into Caribbean territory, marked by more hints of dub and the expressive Latin percussion of Carneiro. Occasionally, Navarre’s programming (sampled or otherwise) grows a bit repetitious — even for dance fans, to say nothing of the jazzbo crowd attracted by the album’s Blue Note tag. Though it is just another step on the way to a perfect blend of jazz and electronic, Tourist is an excellent one (by John Bush)
Personnel:
Edmundo Carneiro (percussion)
Alexandre Destrez (keyboards)
Idrissa Diop (talking drum)
Edouard Labor (saxophone, flute)
Pascal Ohsé (trumpet)
Claudio De Queiroz (saxophone)
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Ernest Ranglin (guitar on 02.)
Produced and arranged by Ludovic Navarre
Tracklist:
01. Rose Rouge 7.02
02. Montego Bay Spleen 5.42
03. So Flute 8.29
04. Land Of … 7.50
05. Latin Note 5.57
06. Sure Thing 6.22
07. Pont des Arts 7.25
08. La Goutte d’Or 6.17
09. What You Think About … 4.48
Music composed by Ludovic Navarre
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