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The famous French electronic music producer Philippe “Zdar” has died. A member of the Cassius group, a pioneer of the “French Touch” sound, the 52-year-old artist fell accidentally from “a high floor of a Parisian building” on the evening of Wednesday, June 19.
The Frenchman was one of the headliners of the New York music festival, La Fête de la Musique, on June 23. This concert, the highlight of the France Rock Summer Fest festival, organized by the Export Bureau, takes place every year in Central Park. Philippe Cerboneschi, whose real name is Philippe Cerboneschi, was going to play as the closer of the event, after Vendredi-sur-mer and Les Négresses vertes.
Contacted by phone, Michèle Amar, director of the Export Bureau New York, an organization promoting French music, indicated that she was working on setting up a tribute with images and pieces by the late artist, but nothing is definitive at the moment.
A symbol of French electro’s world conquest, Philippe “Zdar” collaborated with Phoenix, Beastie Boys, Cat Power, Franz Ferdinand, Air, Chromeo and other leading artists. Since 1996, he and Hubert Blanc-Francard have formed the duo Cassius, a pair that became a mainstay of the electro scene when their album “1999” was released, a mix of hip hop, house and funk.
