Twenty years ago, I was 17 years old.
Twenty years ago, Rêves Mécaniques by The Hacker was released, a true turning point in my musical journey. At that time, I was moving away from Skyrock and free radio stations to broaden my musical culture, seeking an escape from the ugliness of the concrete where I had grown up. Train rides to the big city were precious moments to explore new sounds. I would spend hours searching for albums at random, drawn by intriguing covers or unknown genres. That’s how I discovered Rêves Mécaniques, with its minimalist cover and dripping cassette.
Electro wasn’t yet my favorite genre; I was often drawn to Hed Kandi compilations more for their visuals than for their musical content. However, these compilations had introduced me to a few interesting tracks, like the Scissor Sisters' quirky remix of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb.
2004 was the year of Sex In Dallas and their album Around the War with the nonchalant hit Everybody Deserves to be Fucked and the whispered, poppy cover of Aphrodite’s Child's Five o’Clock. It was the year of Mylo and his Destroy Rock’n’Roll, which hasn’t aged well but back then sounded so dancefloor-ready with a kind of twilight joy.
I was discovering this incredible crossover, this blend of 80s electro-synthwave sounds with a punk and rock attitude.
But Rêves Mécaniques transformed my perception of electronic music. The album’s sound textures are heavy and haunting, with synth layers that chirp in your ear like flashes of light in a dark night. The cold sounds are both sharp and delicate, creating an atmosphere where the precision of machines blends with an unexpected sensuality. A total immersion.
his album revealed to me that music could be deeply nightmarish without being gloomy or depressing, while still radiating in the dark. The heavy, thaumaturgic basslines, capable of awakening the dead, resonate like the hypnotic chant of the children from Village of the Damned, enchanting minds and guiding them, like sleepwalkers, towards a spectral awakening.
racks like Traces, with its electrifying energy reminiscent of The Presets, as well as Radiation and The Brutalist, remain integral to my sets. Their martial and relentless nature imparts a direct rhythmic power, making each performance more intense and engaging.
Rêves Mécaniques remains a valuable reference, a bridge between the concrete of my past and the soundscapes I’ve learned to appreciate. By blending cold electronic sounds with unexpected emotional depth, this album proves that it’s possible to find a dazzling light even in the darkest corners of music.