St Germain | |
---|---|
Origin | France |
Genres | Acid jazz, nu jazz, downtempo, deep house |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels |
FCommunications Blue Note/EMI Parlophone/Nonesuch |
Members | Ludovic Navarre |
St Germain is the stage name of Ludovic Navarre, a French musician. His style has been described as being a combination of house and nu jazz music.
Navarre's album Boulevard was released in July 1995 and has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. His United States debut, Tourist, was released in 2000 and sold 300,000 copies in the USA and 4 million copies worldwide.Bob Marley, Toots & the Maytals, Miles Davis and Kool and the Gang are among Ludovic's early influences. He composed his first work under the name of Sub System with friend Guy Rabiller. He has released EPs under a number of aliases, among them Deepside, LN'S, Modus Vivendi, Nuages and Soofle.
St Germain is not associated with the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Café compilation series, though his song "Deep in It" is featured on its "Volume 1".
His song "Rose Rouge" was featured in the official movie trailer for Joss Whedon's 2013 Much Ado About Nothing.
His eponymous album, released on 9 October 2015, was recorded with the participation of African musicians, the album features traditional Malian instruments such as kora, balafon and n’goni, that mingle with electric guitars, pianos, saxophones and electronic loops. The first single, “Real Blues”, sets the voice of Lightnin’ Hopkins to the beat of wild, fiery drums and percussion.
The original single sleeve is decorated with a 3D mask conceived by Urban Art creator Gregos, known for his smiling and frowning faces stuck on walls throughout Paris and Europe.
St Germain was included in the line-up for Coachella 2016.