* En anglais uniquement
Vitalic is the alter ego of Pascal Arbez, a French programmer/multi-instrumentalist who blends electro, techno, and house -- as well as elements of classical, rock, Italo-disco, and '70s electronic music -- into a sound that recalls the work of fellow countrymen
Daft Punk and
Air, but has its own hard-edged playfulness. Arbez played trombone as a child and young adult, but became fascinated with dance music when he heard
Daft Punk in the mid-'90s. Inspired by them as well as
Giorgio Moroder, Arbez switched to analog synths and began writing and recording as
Dima. He released his first 12" in 1996 on
Citizen Records, a label started by Arbez and like-minded friends. Arbez used the
Dima moniker (as well as the alias
Hustler Pornstar) until 2000, when he switched to the name
Vitalic.
After sending a demo to International Deejay Gigolo, the label released
Vitalic's Poney EP in 2001. The EP's expansive yet hard-hitting sound made its three tracks staples in sets by DJs as varied as
Aphex Twin,
Princess Superstar, and 2 Many DJ's. However, despite some collaborations and remixes, Arbez took a while to release any new
Vitalic material. The Fanfares EP arrived late in 2004, signaling a heavier, less atmospheric bent to Arbez's work than the Poney EP; spring 2005 saw the release of the single
My Friend Dario, by far the poppiest
Vitalic track yet.
Most of
Vitalic's key singles and tracks were collected on the long-awaited debut album
OK Cowboy (the title of which alluded to
Vitalic's maverick stance and Arbez's preference to live in the French countryside), which arrived in Europe later that spring and was released in the U.S. that summer. Early in 2007, the mix album The Sound of Citizen -- which included tracks by Arbez's inspirations as well as artists on the
Citizen roster -- was released. Late that year,
V Live arrived. Disco was a strong influence on 2009's
Disco Terminateur EP and the single "Your Disco Song," both of which arrived before his second full-length,
Flashmob, appeared that fall. For 2012's
Rave Age, Arbez collaborated with members of
Shitdisco,
Sexy Sushi, and
Stephane "Alf" Briat, whose mixing contributed to the album's more streamlined direction. Arbez returned with new music in 2016 with the Film Noir EP, a pair of '90s German techno-inspired tracks released on Correspondant Records. For 2017's full-length
Voyager, Arbez drew on the classic sounds of
Cerrone and
Giorgio Moroder and collaborated with Mark Kerr and
Miss Kittin. ~ Heather Phares