Like a symbol. What better occasion than the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to reignite the Cassius flame? Extinguished, understandably, after the tragic death of Philippe “Zdar” Cerboneschi in June 2019, it now burns brightly again thanks to the determination of Hubert “BoomBass” Blanc-Francard, the other member of the duo, to revive this legendary name of the French touch, and not just on September 8 during the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games, the first appearance of this reinvented Cassius. The turning point came during the many DJ sets performed in recent months in France and abroad by Hubert in a trio with his two comrades Étienne de Crécy and Falcon. The overwhelming reactions from the audience when he played Cassius tracks convinced him that the story could not end there.

The launch of a kind of Cassius 2.0. Twenty-five years after the first album 1999, a French touch classic, a joyful example of that blessed era for filtered house music filled with samples, illustrated by the hits “Foxxy,” “Feeling For You,” “La Mouche,” and of course “Cassius 1999.” The two men, also producers and sound engineers, met in the studio, logically, in 1988. The duo was at the helm behind the legendary Prose Combat by MC Solaar (1994). Proof that for them, electronic music and hip-hop have always belonged to the same family. This bridge between the two worlds was concretized in Au rêve (2002), where they featured the Wu-Tang Clan rapper Ghostface Killah on “Thrilla.” A bold album with multiple guests (including Mathieu Chedid, alias M, the beginning of a long collaboration that would earn him the nickname of the “third Cassius”) with gems such as “I’m a Woman,” “Under Influence,” and the major hit “The Sound of Violence” with the Englishman Steve Edwards.

Without ever stopping to tour the planet for fiery DJ sets from New York to Ibiza, the two accomplices took four years to create 15 Again (2006), a very pop-soul rejuvenation cure with a major novelty, Zdar on vocals. Like on the indestructible “Toop Toop,” which can still be heard today as the background music of a commercial or a TV report. It should also be noted that the duo had a keen eye by bringing in Pharrell Williams for “Eye Water,” long before the “Happy” tidal wave. Released on Ed Banger, the label of their friend Pedro Winter, the success of The Rawkers EP(2010), with the unmissable “I <3 U SO” (sampled by Kanye West and Jay-Z on the Watch The Throne project), marked a turning point. This irresistible track demonstrated that Cassius was now bringing together multiple generations on the dancefloor. Those who were born with the French touch and the younger ones who are thriving in warehouses. A great achievement.

Men of challenges, Hubert and Philippe surprised once again in 2016 with the ambitious Ibifornia, a crazy pop manifesto with a capital P. A monumental work featuring contributions from Beastie Boy Mike D and singer Cat Power. The realization of a kind of fantasy where Cassius plays with all its electronic-rock-soul influences to invent, in a playful way, the sunny soundtrack of the present time. Three years later, more spontaneous but still open-minded, Dreems brought their music back to the energy of their original house style while preserving the “pop” format dear to them.

Perhaps their best album. A triumphant tour could have, should have, followed. Except that life, which is often cruel, saw the disappearance of Philippe Zdar just a few days before the release of this final album, leaving his brother in sound in the deepest distress.

Hubert had to rebuild himself. His autobiography BoomBass: Une histoire de la French touch, released in August 2021, was the first stone, but time was needed before “Cassius” was no longer synonymous only with this terrible tragedy. It was with the certainty that he should not let a name that still resonates on dancefloors around the world fade away that BoomBass launched, at the end of 2024, the great return of Cassius. With the release of a best-of on October 11 but also the first date of the Cassius Club a few days earlier, on the 9th, at the Rex Club in Paris. This concept will soon be rolled out in clubs around the world, where Hubert will be surrounded by his many friends but also by new talents. Before multiple surprises planned for 2025. Let’s rejoice. The baseline “Cassius rockin’ non-stop since 1999” is once again relevant.