The French DJ and producer Philippe Zdar has died after accidentally falling from a building in Paris, his agent has said. He was 52 years old.
Zdar, born Philippe Cerboneschi, and Hubert Blanc-Francard had produced tracks for the French rapper MC Solaar before founding the dance music duo Cassius in 1989.
They rose through the pioneering Paris electronic music scene known as French touch, producing remixes for groups such as Air. Zdar also formed Motorbass with Etienne de Crécy and released one album, Pansoul, in 1996.
Zdar’s solo production for other artists earned him a reputation in his own right. He stepped in to save Phoenix’s 2000 debut album, United, when sessions with the initial producer went awry. His next fully fledged work with the French soft-rock group was with their 2009 breakout album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which won the Grammy award for best alternative music album in 2010.
