Deep Forest (Deep Forest album)
Encyclopedia
Deep Forest is the first and eponymous album by the musical group Deep Forest
: French duo Eric Mouquet
and Michel Sanchez
. The album mixes New Age electronics with UNESCO field recordings of music from Zaire
, the Solomon Islands
, Burundi
, Tibesti and the Sahel
.
A percentage of the profits from sales of Deep Forest goes to the Pygmy
Fund, a California-based organization committed to helping the natives of central Africa cope with environmental threats to their homeland. But for Sanchez and Mouquet, the most important purpose of the record is to express their own fascination with the Pygmies — and open the world's ears to the exquisite sound of a quickly vanishing culture. As Mouquet notes, "It's not very often you can hear a Pygmy singing on the radio."
It was nominated for Grammy Award as Best World Music Album in 1994.
The songs "Sweet Lullaby
", "Deep Forest", "Forest Hymn" and "Savana Dance" were released as singles, the first two of which became hits worldwide.
More than 3,000,000 copies of the album have been sold. The album became Platinum in the USA, France and New Zealand; Double Platinum in Australia and Greece; and Gold in the UK and Norway. The album was certified 2x Diamond by the SNEP Export Awards in 2002.
In 2005 Joni Mitchell
included two tracks from this album, "Night Bird" and "The First Twilight" as related to her musical development on her "Artist's Choice" CD. She probably found the "found sound" aspect of the Pygmie recordings reminiscent of her 1975 track "The Jungle Line" (The Hissing of Summer Lawns
), where she added her own song about Rousseau's art atop a track of Burundi tribal drumming.
UK
Deep Forest
Deep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats...
: French duo Eric Mouquet
Eric Mouquet
Eric Mouquet , is the co-founder of the band Deep Forest. He won a Grammy Award in 1995, and a World Award for best world music album....
and Michel Sanchez
Michel Sanchez
Michel Sanchez . He spent much of this youth studying music . Sanchez is the co-founder of the band Deep Forest. He won a Grammy Award in 1995, and a World Award for best world music album....
. The album mixes New Age electronics with UNESCO field recordings of music from Zaire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, Tibesti and the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
.
A percentage of the profits from sales of Deep Forest goes to the Pygmy
Pygmy
Pygmy is a term used for various ethnic groups worldwide whose average height is unusually short; anthropologists define pygmy as any group whose adult men grow to less than 150 cm in average height. A member of a slightly taller group is termed "pygmoid." The best known pygmies are the Aka,...
Fund, a California-based organization committed to helping the natives of central Africa cope with environmental threats to their homeland. But for Sanchez and Mouquet, the most important purpose of the record is to express their own fascination with the Pygmies — and open the world's ears to the exquisite sound of a quickly vanishing culture. As Mouquet notes, "It's not very often you can hear a Pygmy singing on the radio."
It was nominated for Grammy Award as Best World Music Album in 1994.
The songs "Sweet Lullaby
Sweet Lullaby
"Sweet Lullaby" is a world music/ethnic electronica song by Deep Forest which originally appeared on their eponymous album. The song gained popularity in 1992 and 1993 where it was released as a single, becoming a top 30 hit in many European and Oceanian countries...
", "Deep Forest", "Forest Hymn" and "Savana Dance" were released as singles, the first two of which became hits worldwide.
More than 3,000,000 copies of the album have been sold. The album became Platinum in the USA, France and New Zealand; Double Platinum in Australia and Greece; and Gold in the UK and Norway. The album was certified 2x Diamond by the SNEP Export Awards in 2002.
In 2005 Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
included two tracks from this album, "Night Bird" and "The First Twilight" as related to her musical development on her "Artist's Choice" CD. She probably found the "found sound" aspect of the Pygmie recordings reminiscent of her 1975 track "The Jungle Line" (The Hissing of Summer Lawns
The Hissing of Summer Lawns
The Hissing of Summer Lawns is a studio album by Canadian songwriter Joni Mitchell.-Reception:The album was not as radio-friendly as Mitchell's earlier work, and although the album achieved initial commercial success, reaching number four on the charts and quickly going gold, contemporary reviewers...
), where she added her own song about Rousseau's art atop a track of Burundi tribal drumming.
Track listing
All songs by Eric Mouquet and Michel Sanchez, except where indicated- "Deep Forest" – 5:34
- "Sweet LullabySweet Lullaby"Sweet Lullaby" is a world music/ethnic electronica song by Deep Forest which originally appeared on their eponymous album. The song gained popularity in 1992 and 1993 where it was released as a single, becoming a top 30 hit in many European and Oceanian countries...
" – 3:53 - "Hunting" – 3:27
- "Night Bird" – 4:18
- "The First Twilight" (Cooky Cue, Mouquet, Sanchez) – 3:18
- "Savana Dance" – 4:25
- "Desert Walk" – 5:14
- "White Whisper" – 5:45
- "The Second Twilight" (Cue, Mouquet, Sanchez) – 1:24
- "Sweet Lullaby (Ambient Mix)" – 3:41
- "Forest Hymn" – 5:50
Personnel
- Eric Mouquet – arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, and programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock... - Michel Sanchez – arrangement, keyboards, and programming
- Cooky Cue – keyboards and programming on "Savana Dance"
- Michd Villain – vocals
Singles
USA- 1993 "Sweet Lullaby" Hot Dance Music/Club Play – #6
- 1993 "Sweet Lullaby" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales – #4
- 1993 "Sweet Lullaby" Modern Rock Tracks – #14
- 1994 "Deep Forest" Hot Dance Music/Club Play – #4
- 1994 "Sweet Lullaby" The Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
– #78
UK
- "Sweet Lullaby" – #10
- "Deep Forest" – #20
- "Savana Dance" – #28