Sable Blanc shares his musical inspirations...

Coming from a jazz background, as a drummer, Sable Blanc quickly found out about the house music scene right before high school.‍

From his very early works as a producer, Sable Blanc stands out as a genre-crossover specialist. His passion for detail and dedication for his warm and soft signature sound made him a very distinctive and recognizable electronic artist out there.

Record after record, the Frenchman put up a collection of sounds that is memorable by its delicate grain and texture, and is describable by the man himself as "home-listening" experiences, as he cherishes the whole concept of "home".

2 albums - one that is genuinely jazz-infused, and the other one truly ambient -, and several EPs later (with his rapidly sold-out 'Have Faith in People' EP, back in 2020 on Salin Records), Sable Blanc is back with a 6-tracker mini LP, on the rising and unanimously stunning imprint Oath.

His new release, titled 'New Places', is meant to be the first music to listen to when you wake up in the morning. The colors, the energy and the overall mood of the sunrise is what inspired Sable Blanc, for this intimate piece of music. 'New Places' refers to him moving to the South of France, and getting new ideas from a new studio place, and also becoming a father.

You'll find broken beat inspirations, ambient bits, deep and profound vibes, and a twist of house, all made with that organic warmth that he's deeply devoted to.

We caught up the gifted Frenchman to talk through a few tracks that have helped shape his sound…

Etienne de Crécy - Fast Track

I basically had only one person among my friends and family who was really into electronic stuff, when I was a teenager. It was my uncle Tim. We were spending holidays at his place when I was about 13/14, and he played ‘Fast Track’ by Etienne de Crécy in his car, and told me “listen to this, it’s a big one.” 

I’d already listened to electronic stuff before, on the radio, such as Daft Punk or Benny Benassi, but this time was different because I was truly paying attention to every detail of the track.

The loop, the beat, the huge and memorable bassline, the synth stabs and pads, the fact that it was all instrumental, and the vibe. I remember feeling connected right away to the music, in a very unique way.

To this day, I still believe this track was probably my very first encounter with the French Touch era and music.

Kerri Chandler - Rain

Back in the old CD era, I bought a compilation of house tunes, with 4 CDs, with each CD paying tribute to a big electronic city : London, Paris, New-York and Berlin. All gems in this compilation, no fillers whatsoever.

I was 16 at the time and I was already listening to quite a lot of electronic stuff and getting myself very interested in the house scene. The New-York CD had ‘Rain’ from Kerri Chandler in it. It felt majestic to me, and I knew right away I was falling in love with that deep house sound.

This track was the start of an ongoing journey for me, and it paved the way for my love for house music. Never came back from that journey.

St Germain - What’s New

My first jazz house love. The perfect blend between jazz and deep house. The perfect mixing techniques, the immaculate and delicate samples, those very fine piano touches, and the precise drums. Hitting properly without being too harsh. St Germain was my first inspiration when I made my first demos on Garageband in 2011. Definitely a big inspiration today, still.

Glenn Astro - Colored Sands

This is where I understood that textures and grain mattered.

It was probably in 2011 when I scrolled my Facebook feed and saw a friend of mine posting the video clip for that track. Blew my mind straight away.

The syncopated synth stabs, with such a beautifully mastered sound degradation. And the drums are what makes the track so unique. Probably the first time I was listening to true lo-fi house. It was the beginning of Glenn Astro’s phenomenal career and game-changing techniques, along with Max Graef. What an era that was.

Lindstrom & Grace Hall - Home Tonight (HNNY Remix)

HNNY is an absolute beast and a genius. The way he finds samples and makes them his own is a work of art for me. He can pull off the chillest hip-hop beats, and yet release memorable house bangers. His way of taming the genre-crossover blend is a true inspiration for me.

That track is pure happiness for me. I cannot not dance around whenever I hear this one out. It’s a timeless classic for me.

Moomin - A Minor Thought

Simply a game changer for me. I think this is probably my favorite track, ever.

I actually have a pretty special relationship with this track because everytime I listen to it, I think of how beautiful and well thought-out it is. Making such simple elements sounds so good is still a mystery, after probably hundreds of listens. I can be driven by how poetic this track is, and listening to it the next day and feeling depressed by how good it is, and that I’ll never be able to achieve such a legendary artistic and technical level haha

I’m just over the moon that Moomin accepted to be the mastering engineer for my new EP ‘New Places’, out on Oath, it is a dream come true.

Listen/Buy New Places EP via Bandcamp here