Benoit & Sergio

Benoit & Sergio don’t make dance tracks—they tell stories. In the duo’s music, a sense of place and narrative infuse their rhythms and melodies, transcending the confines of “tech-house” or “electronic pop” and entering a genre-free realm of cinematic imagery and visceral pleasures. Benoit & Sergio produce dance songs that sometimes seem like musical open letters; editorials narrated in the voices of unidentified, yet totally recognizable colorful characters, read aloud against a backdrop of beautifully lush, warm and sensuous electronic pop music. The French/US duo met at an after party in Berlin, and it wasn’t long before their signature combination of rich synth work combined with pop influenced lyrical magic and impressive songwriting had been released on labels such as Spectral Sound, DFA, Visionquest, Hot Creations and Culprit. Benoit & Sergio draw from influences mostly uncommon to the house and techno zeitgeist; bands like The Talking Heads, Pavement and Roxy Music are all sources of inspiration, along with electronic acts ranging from Daft Punk to Ricardo Villalobos. All these influences resonate clearly in their music, joined by a kind of sexualized melodrama that makes its way into lyrics about loneliness, French girls, wine and Ferraris. While some of their lyrics might speak of loss or loneliness, the past years have ushered in a room crowded with critical accolades: 2011 iTunes Breakthrough Electronic Artists of the Year; RA Top 10 Live Act in 2011 and 2012; DJ Forum Breakthrough Artists. In addition, Benoit & Sergio had four different singles–“Everybody”, “Principles”, “Let Me Count The Ways”, and “Walk and Talk”–variously charted in top 20 year-end polls, including DJ Mag, Resident Advisor, and Mixmag. They have remixed Matthew Dear, Metronomy, Hot Natured, and covered Daft Punk. Benoit & Sergio have recently completed a track “Long Neglected Words” for the extraordinary Space Project–a project by Portland-based Lefse Records which commissioned artists to create songs and soundscapes out of the Voyager space probe recordings. The album will be released on April 19, 2014, Record Store Day as vinyl, CD and 7” box set. Benoit & Sergio have toured extensively throughout the last year, as well as spending time in their Berlin and DC studios preparing their debut album, slated to be released later in 2014.