Wax Tailor
Jean-Christophe Le Saoût[1] (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ kʁistɔf lə sut]; born July 19, 1975), better known by the stage name Wax Tailor, is a French trip hop producer from Vernon, Normandy. He has released six studio albums collaborating with a great number of artists.
Wax Tailor | |
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Birth name | Jean-Christophe Le Saoût |
Born | July 19, 1975 Vernon, Eure, Normandy, France |
Genres | Trip hop, turntablism, hip hop, downtempo, electronica, electro swing |
Occupation(s) | DJ, producer |
Instruments | live show features WT - turntables/keys-laptop/video, Marina Quaisse - cello, Charlotte Savary - vocals, Marine Thibault - flute, Mr Gib - sound engineer, Madwreck & Mattic (The Others) - MCs. |
Years active | 2001 - present |
Labels | Lab'Oratoire Le Plan (US) |
Associated acts | Marina Quaisse, Charlotte Savary, Mr Gib, Madwreck & Mattic from The Others. |
Website | waxtailor.com |
Background
After being a host on a French radio in the Paris suburb of Mantes-La-Jolie, Le Saoût started the French Rap band La Formule in the 1990s. He created his label Lab'Oratoire in 1998 and produced records from La Formule as well as Break Beat compilations and a collaboration with the Swedish band Looptroop. He began work on the Wax Tailor project in 2001, first appearing on a remix of Looptroop & La Formule's "Deep Under Water".
Releases
In 2004, JC Le Saoût launched the Wax Tailor concept with an EP, "Lost the Way", that gained the attention of DJ's and music critics in his home country.
In 2005, Wax Tailor released his first album "Tales of the Forgotten Melodies". The album has never left the Electronic Album sales charts on iTunes since its release.
In 2007, Wax Tailor released his second album "Hope & Sorrow" and had his first crossover hit single with "Positively Inclined".
In 2008, In France he is selected to the Victoires de la musique as "best electronic music album of the year" and win the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Dance/Electronica album.
In 2009, Wax Tailor come back with Say Yes, first single of his new album In The Mood For Life release on September 21, in featuring with Charlie Winston, Charlotte Savary, Sara Genn, Dionne Charles, A State Of Mind, Mattic, Ali Harter and Speech Defect.
In 2012, after 3 years of tour around the world, Wax Tailor released "Dusty Rainbow from the Dark". Narrated by Don McCorkindale, who voiced the BBC's serialized version of the classic TV show "The Avengers", the album weaves together narrated episodes and songs, featuring the likes of Aloe Blacc, Shana Hannigan of Bitter:Sweet, Elzhi, and many more.
In 2014, To celebrate the 10th anniversary of his career, Wax Tailor launched the Phonovisions Symphonic Orchestra. Alongside a 35-piece orchestra and a 17-person choir, the artist embarked on an ambitious re-orchestration of 27 highlights from his 4 albums, to present them in a completely different setting. Classics such as Que Sera, Say Yes, or Am I Free are given a new life, with luscious string and horn arrangements elevating the electronic elements of Wax Tailor's music. After a sold-out European tour, the Phonovisions Symphonic Orchestra was chosen to play 3 shows for the re-opening of the prestigious Teatro Colon in Bogota, accompanied by the National Symphonic Orchestra of Colombia.
In 2016, Wax Tailor released his fifth album "By Any Beats Necessary". The title references the Malcolm X phrase "By Any Means Necessary", which was inspired by Sartre's play "Dirty Hands". The 'Beat' also draws a line towards the Beat Generation, Kerouac's famous "On The Road" novel, and this quest for an better place: "In this time when each of us needs a little escape, I conceptualized this album as a sort of soundtrack to a road trip among the great expanses."
Wax Tailor invited on this album Ghostface Killah from the Wu Tang Clan, R.A. The Rugged Man, A-F-R-O, Token, Tricky, Lee Fields, Charlotte Savary, Sara Genn, Mattic and Raashan Ahmad and IDIL.
In 2017, Following the release of "By Any Beats Necessary", Wax Tailor went on a long world tour. During this tour, he came up with the idea of having this album remixed. Established producers such as Ollie Teeba (The Herbaliser) or the US duo Du-Rites (J-Zone) as well as a cohort of rising artists such as ProleteR, Soul Square, The Geek x Vrv, Poldoore, Kognitif, Fatbabs, Madwreck, Benji Blow, Le Parasite were selected by Wax Tailor to keep a general musical cohesiveness to the project and bring new life to the original album.
First connected vinyl in the world: After introducing in 2009 the very first Vinyl - CD Hybrid and directed in 2016 the documentary « In Wax We Trust ». Each LP version of "By Any Remixes Necessary" is graced with an NFC chip, bridging the gap between analog and digital. Each listener in possession of a smartphone can access additional content, such as streaming the album, receive info on the artist, watch videos, and much more by placing his smartphone on the album cover.
Awards
- Winner of 2013 Sacem Electronic Music Prize
- Winner of the 7th annual Independent Music Awards Vox Pop vote for best Dance/Electronica album Hope & Sorrow
- Three of his albums, Hope & Sorrow,[2] In The Mood for Life[3] and Dusty Rainbow From The Dark[4] were nominated for Best Electronic Album at the Victoires de la Musique in France
Discography
Albums
Year | Album | Peak positions |
Certification |
---|---|---|---|
FRA [5] | |||
2005 | Tales of the Forgotten Melodies | 150 | |
2007 | Hope & Sorrow | 31 | |
2009 | In the Mood for Life | 9 | |
2012 | Dusty Rainbow from the Dark | 8 | |
2016 | By Any Beats Necessary | 12 | |
2017 | By Any Remixes Necessary | ||
- Live albums
Year | Album | Peak positions |
Certification |
---|---|---|---|
FRA [5] | |||
2010 | Live 2010 à l'Olympia | 62 | |
2014 | Phonovisions Symphonic Orchestra | ||
EPs and singles
Year | Title | Peak positions |
Certification | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
FRA [5] | ||||
2004 | Que Sera/Where My Heart's At | |||
Lost the Way | ||||
2006 | Our Dance/Walk the Line | Tales of the Forgotten Melodies | ||
2007 | To Dry Up/The Games You Play | 78 | Hope and Sorrow | |
Positively Inclined / The Way We Lived | 78 | |||
2008 | We Be / There Is Danger | 78 | ||
2009 | "Say Yes" (feat. ASM) | 30 | In the Mood for Life | |
This Train" / "Leave It | 25 | |||
2010 | I Own You | |||
2012 | Heart Stop | 81 | Dusty Rainbow from the Dark | |
2016 | I Had a Woman | 194[6] | ||
2017 | The Chase Remixes | |||
Remixes
- Looptroop & La Formule - Deep Under Water (Wax Tailor remix) 2001
- Clover - Death of the Lonely Superhero (Wax Tailor remix) 2005
- Wax Tailor - Our Dance (Wax Tailor Remix) 2006
- Nina Simone - I Am Blessed 2008
Videos
Covers, references, and sampling
- His track "Seize The Day" recorded with Charlotte Savary appears in the soundtrack of the 2008 film Paris by Cédric Klapisch.
References
- True, Chris. "Biography: Wax Tailor". Allmusic. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- fr:Victoires de la musique 2008#Artiste de musiques .C3.A9lectroniques ou dance de l.27ann.C3.A9e
- fr:Victoires de la musique 2010#L.E2.80.99enregistrement de musiques .C3.A9lectroniques ou dance de l.E2.80.99ann.C3.A9e
- http://www.francetv.fr/les-victoires-de-la-musique/varietes/artiste?s=dusty-rainbow
- LesCharts.com: Wax Tailor discography
- "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 23, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 11 June 2016.