French Fries (a.k.a. Valentino Cazani) is an interesting producer. Based in Paris, he’s established himself as a sort of chameleon, as the young artist is seemingly capable of tackling new sounds and styles with relative ease. His breakthrough tune, 2010’s “Senta,” offered a raved-up take on UK funky that found its way into the sets of many DJs who had never really dabbled in the genre. Following that was a flurry of remixes—both official and bootleg—in which French Fries delved into tribal guarachero, R&B reworks, vogue house, and a myriad of other genres while nonetheless retaining his own upbeat, club-friendly flair. Earlier this year, another pair of French Fries tunes, “Champagne” and “Hugs,” both of which showcase a more refined, stripped-down sound, caused quite a stir at the Winter Music Conference. This week, those songs are finally being released, not on some huge label, but instead on French Fries’ own, newly launched imprint, ClekClekBoom. As such, we figured now would be a good time to have the energetic beatmaker and DJ put together an exclusive mix for the XLR8R podcast series. And while French Fries does showcase a few of his own productions and remixes, much of the podcast dives into leftfield bass offerings, bits of UK funky, and a healthy dose of down-and-dirty Chicago house. It’s a fun ride, and one that seems to indicate that ClekClekBoom is getting off on the right foot.

01 Aquarelle “Origin” (Students of Decay)
02 DVA “Ganja (French Fries VIP Remix)” (Hyperdub)
03 Pur Sim “Tonbridge”
04 DJ Sneak “Doing The Dew” (Magnetic)
05 Levon Vincent “Late Night Jam” (Ostgut Tun)
06 DJ Bone “The Funk (Jean Nipon Edit)”
07 NY Transit Authority “Off The Traxx” (Lobster Boy)
08 Kingdom “Stalker Ha” (Night Slugs)
09 MikeQ “The Ha Dub Rewerk’d” (Fade To Mind)
10 Bambounou & Joakim “unknown” (Sound Pellegrino)
11 Champion “Sensitivity (feat. Ruby Lee Ryder)” (Formula)
12 French Fries “Champagne” (ClekClekBoom)
13 Ron Browz “Pop Champagne (feat. Jim Jones)(Acapella)”
14 Fugative “Bad Girl (Lil Silva Dub)”
15 Helix “Stacks Riddim” (All Caps)
16 French Fries “Yo Vogue”
17 DJ Slugo “A Blunt” (Dance Mania)
18 French Fries “What To Do 2011” (ClekClekBoom)
19 Greenmoney “Into You (French Fries Remix)” (Greenmoney)
20 French Fries “Back Noize Riddim”
21 2 Twisted “Strike Da Match”
22 Helix “Drum Track” (Night Slugs)
23 Addison Groove “Work It” (Swamp 81)
24 DJ Deeon “Point Em Out” (Dance Mania)
25 DJ Deeon “Headhunters” (Juke Trax)

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