Here at The French Shuffle, it’s obvious that we take a liking to all things french house, electro, nu disco, funk, and techno – and we hope you do too. With such a wide array of artists in these genres, it’s sometimes hard to pay tribute to those who deserve it! This time, it’s not hard at all.

Mehdi Favéris-Essadi, also known as DJ Mehdi, was one of the Ed Banger acts who helped pioneer the french house and french electro movements. Born in the late 70s, the French producer first gained notoriety in the underground hip hop scene in France, pushing the bounds of creativity by mixing both hip hop and electronic music. Fast forward to a few years later – DJ Mehdi was not only collaborating with top producers, such as Daft Punk, Busy P (Pedro Winter), and Cassius, but also he signed over to disco/electronic/hip hop label, Ed Banger Records.

For us, this was amazing – many of us grew up listening to Mehdi’s sounds, so this was ultimately a success in our eyes. Then, releases, like Signatune, Tunisia Bambaata, Lucky Boy, and a number of remixes, came out and we were nothing short of speechless. Furthermore, Mehdi and label-mate, Riton, came together to create Carte Blanche, a wicked, indie dance duo that intoxicated our minds with a unique level of excitement.

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Unfortunately, all of this came to an abrupt end.

Though we never met, or spoke with DJ Mehdi, he was more than an inspiration to us. He was a guiding light. A musician. An icon. A damn good producer. And last, but not least, he was a creative genius. So, we’ll just leave you with these last words: