Taho

The Parisian who hides behind the name Taho can be called a true cosmopolitan. In his music, the Frenchman combines elements from three different eras and traditions: his tracks are built on the early Detroit techno, the cosmic electronic romance of Jean-Michel Jarre, and the booming German deep techno sound in the ethos of the Basic Channel label. In the early nineties, a musical wunderkind who was not yet twenty caught the attention of Laurent Garnier, who at that time was actively recruiting talented youth for his label F-Communications. The tracks of the young Parisian caught Laurent's fancy, and by 1995, two records by Taho were released - the mini-albums Elle and Lumina. For adhering to the traditions of Detroit techno, the press immediately nicknamed Taho the "French Mad Mike," drawing parallels with the boss of the cult Detroit label Underground Resistance. But the Frenchman did not imitate the sound of his "fathers"; he infused it with an entirely new message – instead of American funky "filling," his tracks were full of an entirely different, European retro-romance - it is worth recalling both Jean-Michel Jarre and the melodic Belgian trance of the early nineties. Two years later, Taho left F-Communications and created his own label Lumina, conceived as a conceptual art project. The label was established as a platform for several forms of art: music, painting, graphic design, and poetry. The idea was inspired by the multifaceted nature of the Frenchman, who, besides music, is actively engaged in design and various forms of multimedia art. Concentration on the affairs of the label cost the Parisian a five-year pause in releases - Taho returned only in 2003. The musical realities around changed, and the artist himself did not stand still – he slightly slowed down the tempo, abandoned cosmic retro-futurism, and added house groove to the rhythm section. In the same year, Taho began to actively collaborate with the German internet label Thinner. The Frenchman recorded a whole series of remixes for musicians from there (among them Phil Stumpf, Blamstrain, Simex, and others) and then released them on CD in the form of a compilation Remixes. Here Taho reveals another musical facet – deep techno appears in his tracks according to the teachings of the Berlin label Basic Channel, but disassembled in his own, French way – his compositions sound warmer, more dynamic, and still permeated with the spirit of Detroit. Taho also generously pays tribute to the sound of the Motor City in his current works – just recently, his record was released by the Dutch Delsin, a stronghold of traditional retrograde techno, and the latest release titled The Hybrids finally came out across the ocean – the frontman of American acid techno Josh Wink signed the Parisian to his label. This year, Taho completed work on a new full-length album Crystal Love, and his performance in Moscow will be part of a tour in support of this record. The Frenchman takes with him vocalist Miss Kati, with whom three tracks on the album were recorded. Kati sings with a structured, almost academic voice, and sometimes, like Anne Clark, reads her own poems to the music.