Evolving from an electro-rock duo to purveyors of evocative synth pop and film scores, Sébastien Chenut and Maud Geffray's collaboration as
Scratch Massive grew richer as the years passed. Though early releases like 2003's debut album Enemy & Lovers flirted with trends such as electroclash, the darker, more atmospheric vibe of a2011's
Nuit de Rêve foreshadowed the direction of the duo's work in the 2010s. By the time
Scratch Massive released 2018's Garden of Love, Geffray and Chenut's music blended four decades' worth of electronic music into a style distinctly their own.
Producer/DJ Sébastien Chenut and producer/DJ/vocalist Maud Geffray began working together as
Scratch Massive in 1999, joining a Parisian dance scene that featured likeminded acts such as
Arnaud Rebotini, Ivan Smagghe, and
Chloé. The duo issued its debut EP KABA Freestyle that year, and followed it with several releases for the Chateaurouge label that mixed house, electro, and rock, including 2001's "Ice Breaker" and the following year's "Keep on Working." The latter track appeared on
Scratch Massive's eclectic 2003 debut album Enemy & Lovers, which was mixed by
Super_Collider's
Cristian Vogel. Several more singles followed, including 2005's hard-hitting "Girls on Top." That year, the duo also issued the mix album Naked. Geffray and Chenut returned in 2007 with
Time, an album of dark electro that included a cover of
the Cure's "Three Imaginary Boys" and mastering by
Moritz von Oswald. Also in 2007,
Scratch Massive began an enduring collaboration with director/screenwriter/actor Zoe Cassavetes by composing the score for her film
Broken English.
Following 2009's mix album Joy, Chenut and Geffray issued their third, new wave-influenced album
Nuit de Rêve. Featuring collaborations with
Chloé,
GusGus' Daniel Agust and former
Bronski Beat singer
Jimmy Somerville, the album arrived in 2011. On 2013's live album
Communion,
Scratch Massive infused
Nuit de Rêve's tracks with dancefloor-friendly energy. Two years later, Geffray made her debut as a solo artist with the score to the rave-inspired film 1994.
Scratch Massive reunited with Cassavetes for the score to 2016's film
Day Out of Days and the following year's series of digital shorts Junior, both of which showcased the duo's cinematic synth pop.
Scratch Massive's members then took some time to focus on solo work: In 2017, Chenut issued the mini-album Motor of Love on the duo's own Bordel imprint, while Geffray released Polaar, which she recorded during a residency in Finland. The duo returned in 2018 with its fourth album, Garden of Love, a set of tracks with influences ranging from minimal wave to trap. ~ Heather Phares