St Germain

If you were old enough to buy CDs in the year 2000, you likely had three discs in the budding "electronica" section of your CD wallet: Moby's Play, the Propellerheads' Decksanddrumsandrockandroll and St. Germain's Tourist. The latter was the last thing we heard from French producer Ludovic Navarre, but he's opted to return with his first new album in 15 years.

The new St. Germain release is called Real Blues, and a press release explains that it was created "with the participation of African musicians, the album features traditional Malian instruments like the kora, the balafon or the n'goni, that mingle with electric guitars, pianos, saxophones and electronic loops."

That collaborative energy is perfectly on display in the album's lead single and title track, which pairs a Lightnin' Hopkins sample with African guitar leads and plenty of percussion, without sacrificing any of the subtle, headphone-friendly house that has become the producer's signature.