Cassius

Bio:Like all the best creative teams, Cassius are a duo. The pair - Philippe Zdar grew up in the Alps while Hubert (Boombass) is Parisian - isn’t exactly short on gilt-edged production skills and musical ability either. When it comes to funky music, Cassius have pedigree coming out of their well-trimmed ears. Hubert is a tireless evangelist of hip hop, he produced MC Solaar's milestone album, Qui Seme Le Vent Recolte Le Tempo in the early Nineties, the first indication in years that a nation famous for saccharine lolita pop could turn the voice of its own immigrant underclass into commercially viable music capable of ranking on the world stage. Solaar's album was the first peak in a wave of dance music ­ hip-hop, house, drum & bass, reggae and techno ­ that now dominates the French charts.

Cassius could be the hardest men in dance music. Don¹t mess with Cassius. They took their name from the world's greatest heavyweight boxer, because he decided he didn't want it any more. But for the last decade, they've made some of the sweetest music, produced a portfolio of house, hip hop and leftfield music with more high-fat content than foie gras on toast, traveled their heavyweight sound across the world and spend ten years building Paris a name to rival London, Detroit, Chicago and New York when it comes to show-stopping records. In combination they're among the most successful outfits currently operating both in France and in the global house music demi-monde, and they return this year with the most highly anticipated album since Daft Punk's 'Discovery'.