Le Grand Ouest 1978-1988

Compilations centered around a country’s music are commonplace, but in 2021, a few French DJs dug far deeper to release Le Grand Sud-Est 1979-1986, a compilation of obscure curios from the Lyon/Rhône-Alpes corner of the country. Hyper-specific regionalism no longer applied only to grapes and four years on, the Les Éditions Vermillon label moves to the Normandy/Brittany/Pays-de-la-Loire northwestern corner for Le Grand Ouest 1978-1988. The first set showed how France’s love of Chic translated into those sides, but Le Grand Ouest is a little more subtle and introverted, its flavor notes arising the longer it spins. Bleu Nuit’s “Spanish Harlem” pays tribute to that NYC neighborhood, but Quai 21’s “Music Man” and Les Espions’ “Casse-Tête Jungle” suggests a love of all things Sade. Marie-Ange Cousin’s standout “Molle Ouate” recasts a country pedal steel line in a dreamy soul setting, suggesting a sound untethered to any one place.