Grand Popo Football Club
Encyclopedia
Grand Popo Football Club are a French
electronic music
group of a DJ/book-loving television presenter/chat show
host and producer/classically
-trained pianist who studied at the National Conservatory
in Paris
, respectively.
The duo apparently adopted their unusual moniker after Ariel Wizman
visited the West Africa
n village of Grand-Popo
in Benin
to film a television programme and decided that the community was missing a football club. After studying piano, composition, and electronic music, Nicolas Errèra became involved in theatre and successfully directed short films (winning the Clermont-Ferrand prize in 1991, for his Going to Dieppe Without Seeing the Sea) as well as becoming half of pop duo 2 Source. Wizman, meanwhile, DJed at Colombian parties in Paris. He became renowned for his show on Radio Nova
that mixed easy listening, soundtracks, and electronic music. When the show transferred to television, Wizman brought in guests as disparate as Johnny Rotten
and German philosophers: fortuitously, his guests also included 2 Source, an invite that rekindled Wizman and Errera's previous friendship.
GPFC's first recording appeared on the Source Lab 3 compilation in 1996, but they did not release their debut, Shampoo Victims, until 2000 (the album was re-released two years later).
Together the duo creates Gallic pop that seems to revere and revile the music of peers such as Daft Punk
, Air, and Cassius
in equal measure. They dubbed a song that sounded curiously like the former "One More Song on the Market", while "Nothing to Say in a House Song" railed against the duo's perceived vacuousness in house music by (vacuously) repeating the title with no other lyrics. "Shampoo Victims" also included a duo of collaborations with friends/heroes Sparks
. Russell and Ron Mael provide both lyrics and vocals on the album's best tracks "La nuit est là" (The Night Is Here) and "Yo quiero mas dinero" (I Want More Money). As if to accentuate this fondness for '70s/'80s pop, the duo also sampled Giorgio Moroder
's "Love Fever" on "Each Finger Has an Attitude". Nevertheless, Shampoo Victims seemed curiously slight and never as clever as Wizman and Errera probably imagined.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
group of a DJ/book-loving television presenter/chat show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host and producer/classically
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
-trained pianist who studied at the National Conservatory
CNSAD
The Conservatoire National Supérieur d'Art Dramatique is France's national drama academy in Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, respectively.
The duo apparently adopted their unusual moniker after Ariel Wizman
Ariel Wizman
Ariel Wizman is a French musician, DJ, and journalist born in Casablanca, Morocco.-Biography:His family, as many Sephardic Jews North-African families, left Morocco after the Six-Day War and settled in France. In Paris, Wizman met the philosopher Emmanuel Lévinas and thanks to him, he attended the...
visited the West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
n village of Grand-Popo
Grand-Popo
Grand-Popo is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Mono Department of south-western Benin. The commune covers an area of 289 square kilometres and as of 2002 had a population of 40,335 people....
in Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
to film a television programme and decided that the community was missing a football club. After studying piano, composition, and electronic music, Nicolas Errèra became involved in theatre and successfully directed short films (winning the Clermont-Ferrand prize in 1991, for his Going to Dieppe Without Seeing the Sea) as well as becoming half of pop duo 2 Source. Wizman, meanwhile, DJed at Colombian parties in Paris. He became renowned for his show on Radio Nova
Radio Nova
Radio Nova may refer to one of several different radio stations, among them:*Nova , a network of radio stations in Australia:** Nova 96.9 , Sydney 96.9 FM** Nova 100 , Melbourne 100.3 FM** Nova 106.9 , Brisbane 106.9 FM...
that mixed easy listening, soundtracks, and electronic music. When the show transferred to television, Wizman brought in guests as disparate as Johnny Rotten
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
and German philosophers: fortuitously, his guests also included 2 Source, an invite that rekindled Wizman and Errera's previous friendship.
GPFC's first recording appeared on the Source Lab 3 compilation in 1996, but they did not release their debut, Shampoo Victims, until 2000 (the album was re-released two years later).
Together the duo creates Gallic pop that seems to revere and revile the music of peers such as Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
, Air, and Cassius
Cassius (band)
Cassius is a French house music duo, consisting of producers Philippe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francart, better known as Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass.-History:...
in equal measure. They dubbed a song that sounded curiously like the former "One More Song on the Market", while "Nothing to Say in a House Song" railed against the duo's perceived vacuousness in house music by (vacuously) repeating the title with no other lyrics. "Shampoo Victims" also included a duo of collaborations with friends/heroes Sparks
Sparks
-People:*Sparks , people with Sparks as family name or given name*Sparks , a character in Enter the Matrix and The Matrix Revolutions-Places:United States*Sparks, Georgia*Sparks, Kansas*Sparks, Maryland*Sparks, Nebraska...
. Russell and Ron Mael provide both lyrics and vocals on the album's best tracks "La nuit est là" (The Night Is Here) and "Yo quiero mas dinero" (I Want More Money). As if to accentuate this fondness for '70s/'80s pop, the duo also sampled Giorgio Moroder
Giorgio Moroder
Hansjörg "Giorgio" Moroder is an Italian record producer, songwriter and performer based in Los Angeles. When in Munich in the 1970s, he started his own record label called Oasis Records, which several years later became a subdivision of Casablanca Records...
's "Love Fever" on "Each Finger Has an Attitude". Nevertheless, Shampoo Victims seemed curiously slight and never as clever as Wizman and Errera probably imagined.
Singles
- "Each Finger Has an Attitude" (1999)
- "Les hommes c'est pas des mecs bien" (2001, FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
for Men Are Not Nice Guys) #77 France - "Arab Skank" (2001)
- "Men Are Not Nice Guys" (2002) #32 Australia, #111 UK
- "My Territory" (2008, video animated by CyriakCyriakCyriak Harris is a British freelance animator better known by his first name Cyriak, and his B3ta username Mutated Monty. He is known for his surreal short web animations.-Animation:...
) - "Les Filles" (2009, French for (The) Girls)