NOISEY 068: BOT'OX

The larger-than-life French duo is a familiar commodity in the electronic-music landscape. Think of Daft Punk and Justice for some well-known examples. With a resume that includes boldface names like manager Pedro Winter and a release on DFA Records, this Parisian two-piece would seem to fit neatly into that lineage, but their records are anything but elitist. The duo’s most effective tracks, like "Crashed Cadillac" from the 2010 full-length Babylon by Car, use vintage synths, driving drums and mechanistic background textures. They’re trying to capture a chilling sense of sci-fi dread, the feeling that technology has a mind of its own and it isn't quite friendly.

The band is seasoned producer Benjamin Boguet (AKA Cosmo Vitelli) and Julian Briffaz, who’s splitting his time between Bot’Ox and the techno band [T]ékël. The pair met in a Paris studio complex in 2004 and quickly discovered a shared fascination with consumer-culture absurdity. They also share a solid work ethic, often taking months to produce a single track. Live, the pair performs with Jeremy Hickey, an amazing drummer that Boguet has dubbed the “Irish Keith Moon.”

If the dazzling live show isn’t enough of a selling point, the band has cultivated a bizarre car fixation that pops up in videos and on record covers. The imagery can range from the cryptic to the terrifying while retaining an offbeat sense of humor—the video for “Blue Steel” depicts a station wagon colliding with inner tubes, an oversized teddy bear, an inflatable castle, and other whimsical objects. The oddball visual cues augment their electro jams. Dance along or, even better, just marvel at the sleekness and the horsepower of it all—this machine’s got a soul.