finetune artist: Modjo

French duo comprising Romain Tranchart (b. 9 June 1976, Paris, France) and Yann Destagnol (b. 14 July 1978, Paris, France) whose outstanding commercial success can be directly linked to the popularity of French dance music at the turn of the new millennium. They had acquainted themselves so well to world dance floors that by the end of 2000 it was estimated that each person on Earth had heard their hit single "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" nine times! Both members of the duo were musically trained at an early age; Tranchart on piano and Destagnol on flute, clarinet and vocals. The former also had a passion for hard rock, but gradually changed to jazz and bossa nova and became friends with the younger brother of Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo. Tranchart also released a house single, "What You're Gonna Do Babe" on Vertigo Records in 1998 using the name Funk Legacy. Tranchart and Destagnol met at the American School of Modern Music in Paris and hit it off immediately. Musical experimentation followed until the two created "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)", a speeded-up equivalent of Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You" and one of the biggest dance records of 2000 in Europe. Through "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)", Modjo became the first French band to top the UK singles chart. The languid follow-up "Chillin'" bred from this success, before the two enjoyed a breakthrough in the USA with "Lady", with remixes by Danny Tenaglia and Harry Romero. Their self-titled debut offered more variety than its two biggest hits, with credible R&B on the third single "What I Mean", but majored on the funky, catchy pop house style that initially brought them success.

Listen to Modjo at Finetune.