Francis Mercier remixes Magic System’s Premier Gaou 

First recorded in the late ‘90s, the original composition became well known across Africa and the world at large, and gained popularity as one of the most sampled African songs in the early 2000s. Two decades later, ‘1er Gaou’, as it was initially titled, continues to stand the test of time, proving its longevity and transcendence beyond genres. 

As the moment grows for African electronic music’s potential to dominate worldwide, Mercier took advantage of a friend’s collection of classic African sounds. In this rendition, released on Spinnin’ Deep, Mercier gave the composition a fresh take, fusing the classic vocals with the thumping, rich sounds of Afro-house.

“‘Premier Gaou’ is like the epitome, the biggest, in my opinion, African record,” Mercier said. “There haven’t been any official remixes, the only time the composition was ever revamped was when Bob Sinclar reinterpreted the song, slightly making it more radio friendly. He slightly polished the mix but there hasn’t been a full reinvention of ‘Premier Gaou’. There have been a few attempts and covers ... but nobody has ever worked with that composition, so it’s definitely a highlight for me, and a blessing.”

The acclaimed Haitian-American producer utilises the original composition, which had to be digitised by playing back and re-recording the cassette tapes in a studio in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in order to export the stems. The enthralling vocals sit comfortably on the multi-layered basslines, airy flutes and rhythmic percussion of the song, which took a year to make. 

“Francis Mercier did an amazing job, giving the song a new life for a new market,” the world renowned Ivorian music group Magic System said. “This reminds me of the year 2001 when Bob Sinclar re-interpreted the song but Francis gave it a whole different dimension and flavour. We are very excited to see how the fans will react. On our end, we are very pleased to see that our music is traveling time, continents and cultures.” 

This new take on ‘Premier Gaou’ has received great support, recently being playlisted in Black Coffee’s Track IDs on Spotify and charting at No 3 on Beatport’s Top 100 Afro House tracks. With rumblings of remixes in the works by other producers from around the world, including Black Motion, the future seems set to include reproductions of some of the continent’s most heralded works, allowing us to enjoy them anew.