Unlike the peaks and troughs that have characterised electronic music in Britain, the French have maintained a healthy scene for decades, particularly in the more left-field electro movement.
Paris has been a hot spot for talent, spawning the likes of Air, Daft Punk, Cassius and Dimitri, and boasts respected clubs such as Rex and the idiosyncratic converted barge on the Seine, Batofar.
Despite the success of the DJs and the legions of fans that electronic music has attracted, French clubbers haven't been swallowed up by the corporatisation that has been blamed for driving their British counterparts from the party in droves. British super clubs Godskitchen, the Ministry of Sound and Gatecrasher continue to lay on professional parties, but clubbers have complained of impersonal venues, high ticket prices - to accommodate the super-sized pay packets of the DJs - and a lack of the intimacy and camaraderie that distinguished the formative years of house.
This month a host of Parisian artists will demonstrate why the French scene remains strong. 'Instead of getting in a big French star who doesn't represent French culture, I wanted to bring people who show the communal side to French electronic music,' says Pierre Hurel, who has booked the DJs to play with local acts as part of Le French May celebrations.
The event - When French Electro Meets Hong Kong - brings the DJs here for the first time. Hurel, known as DJ EpZ, will be playing with the three-man crew UTB, which also features DJ Nu (from the Banditos collective) and Franz'wa (from Quadbyte). There is also Wee-Kid (of the label Level 75), comprising DJs Djedjotronic and Popof, who's been spinning more light electro rock as opposed to the heavy rave techno that made his name at the Heretic parties. Wrapping up is DJ/producer Nout from the Le Diable au Corpslabel, who now favours danceable electro and techno rather than the hardcore techno of past sets.
'I think these are people making great music at a good time in their careers - they've all been DJing for more than 10 years,' Hurel says.
The French DJ community is so tight that Hurel didn't have to look further than his friends when putting together the event and he believes it's the informality of the scene that's kept it attractive to clubbers.
