Digitalism

Fittingly for a duo that met while browsing in a record store, Digitalism’s Jens "Jence" Moelle and İsmail "Isi" Tüfekçi have never been shy about their influences: Their second single, 2005’s “Zdarlight”, paid explicit homage to Philippe Zdar, one of the architects of the ‘90s sound known as French Touch. In keeping with their francophilia, the Hamburg duo signed to Paris’ Kitsuné for its first couple of singles and also its 2007 debut album, Idealism, where the two fused the jackhammer drums and buzzsaw synths of French electro with the rockier aggression associated with New York’s DFA label. Alongside groups like Justice, Digitalism were staples of the indie-dance scene in the late 2000s and early 2010s. After balancing French disco with German minimalism on 2012’s DJ-Kicks, they dove further into their inspirations on 2016’s Mirage and 2019’s JPEG, busting out Miami bass and strobe-lit techno alongside New Wave and Italo disco.