Podcast
New Narratives: Extending Legacies, Inventing Languages
Explain The Sound - Episode 6 of 6
Published on July 27, 2026Where Do Black People Dance? The Invisible Stories of Parisian Nightlife
Explain The Sound - Episode 4 of 6
"Explain The Sound " is a MansA Radio podcast dedicated to the African-descendant legacies of electronic music. This documentary series delves into the archives, gives a voice to pioneers, and examines the mechanisms of erasure, appropriation, and transmission that run through the history of house and techno.
Published on
July 13, 2026
Parisian nightlife is often portrayed through the lens of house, techno, and raves. Yet long before these genres became popular, other types of music were already getting the African and Caribbean diaspora up and dancing. From Caribbean dance halls to African clubs, these spaces have long served as places for gathering, cultural transmission, and creativity—aspects largely absent from mainstream narratives.
In this fourth episode of *Explain The Sound*, Marie-Maxime Dricot explores the role of Black people in electronic music in France. She examines the various scenes that make up Paris’s nightlife and the mechanisms that have contributed to erasing part of their heritage.
From La Main Bleue to sound systems, from African and Caribbean clubs to electronic music festivals, this episode shows that house and techno developed in France within a landscape already rich in Black musical cultures. It examines the narratives that have separated these histories, discrimination at the doors of venues, as well as the conditions governing access to programming, visibility, and decision-making spaces.
At a time when diversity has become a central issue in the electronic music scene, this episode invites us to take a fresh look at Parisian nightlife: by delving into the archives, reconnecting stories, and recognizing the continuities between diaspora cultures and electronic music.
Directed by
Marie-Maxime Dricot
starring Laure Togola and Jérôme Caron
Produced by
MansA – House of African Worlds
Archive credits
© INA – Institut National de l’Audiovisuel – Les Actualités télévisées
Track List
View the complete tracklist
Esa – Amala
Wally Badarou – High Life
Orchestra Baobab – Fouta Toro
Nina Hagen – African Reggae (dub)
Dada and Denis Hekimian – Entre Dans La Danse
Jean-Michel Rotin – Le ou Lov
Uncle O – Huey and Dewey
Tabou Combo – Ohhhh La La
Les Rita Mitsouko – Andy
Edwin Birdsong – Rapper Dapper Snapper
Jean Carne – Was It All It Was
The Sparks – The Number One Song In Heaven
Gang of Four – Damaged Goods
James Brown – Get Up Offa That Thing
Space – Magic Fly
Ecstasy Club – Jesus Loves the Acid
Sueño Latino – Sueño Latino (Paradise Mix)
808 State – Pacific State (12 Version)
Esa – A Muto
Hexagone – Burning Trash Floor
Poppin Express Crew – Oldschool Poppin
Hugh Masekela – Don’t Go Lose It Baby (12 Hot African Mix)
Josephine Baker – After I Say I’m Sorry
Pierre Bachelet – Hors-piste
Cheb Hindi – À moi la liberté
Lil’ Louis – Club Lonely
Fela Kuti – Upside Down
Vladimir Cosma, Chantal Curtis – Livin’ Together
The Whispers – And the Beat Goes On
Zaïko Langa Langa – Muvaro
North Clybourn Featuring Ernestine Brown – Don’t Walk Out the Door
ICube – Mingus In My Pocket
Locksmith – Far Beyond
Rachid Taha – Barbès
King Sunny Adé – 365 Is My Number / The Message
Touré Kounda – Emma
Kassav’ – Nocture West Indies
Manu Dibango – Goro City
Nicky Mpoto – Komba
Lord Funk – The Funk Hunt
Grace Jones – Walking in the Rain (Dub)
Futura 2000 – The Escapades Dub
Daphreephunkateerz – Nuphunk
Tom Tom Club – Wordy Rappinghood (12 Mix)
Malcolm McLaren – Buffalo Gals
Roxymore – Bonded for Eternity
NTM – La fièvre (instrumental)
Ideal J – Attaque contre-attaque (Instrumental)
Intouchable – Les points sur les i (Instrumental)
Ideal J – Pour une poignée de dollars (Instrumental)
La Funk Mob – Motor Bass Get Phunked Up (Richie Hawtin Electro Funk Remix)
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