Album Review: St Germain - Tourist

Thanks to the likes of Naked Music, Paper, Nuphonic and Body & Soul, in the second half of the 1990s the deep house sound bubbled up from the underground and into the club mainstream. The French had a huge hand in this movement, and Ludovic Navarre, under his St Germain moniker, was a major progenitor, with his 1995 album, Boulevard, and follow-up, 2000's Tourist. The latter sold more than four million copies worldwide. With deep jazzy house music now viewed as a relic by the dance mainstream, 2012 is an interesting environment in which to issue a remastered Tourist. It begs the question: 'How has it held up?'

Well, being that it is rooted in musical styles far older than house music, the answer is a resounding, “Quite well, actually.” Opening with the fabulous Rose Rouge, we hear those jazzy hi-hats, muted trumpet and unforgettable “I want you to get together” vocal refrain over a soft yet steady 4/4 beat. Navarro was undoubtedly a fan of the American deep house sound of the early '90s – tracks such as So Flute and Pont Des Arts recall the legendary Nu Groove imprint, with the addition of bourgie, jazzy, live instrumentation. Yet house music only makes up half the Tourist experience; Montego Bay Spleen and La Goutte D'or both lean heavily on dub reggae vibes, the former wonderfully intertwining jazz guitar licks. What You Think About recalls the sleazier work of Kool & The Gang while the bluesy chill of Sure Thing is simply timeless. Though Tourist is more likely to be found playing at dinner parties than discos now, it has held up strongly and is the perfect antidote to the obnoxiousness of much of today's club music.