ARNAUD REBOTINI 120 Battements Par Minute (Original Soundtrack) LP

House music broke through in 1987, at the same time when AIDS arrived in France with the first contamination peak in gay and drug addict circles. In 1989, the founders of Act-Up Paris knew that both the fight against AIDS and triumphant house music should be joined together.

From 1992 to 1995, the period covered by “120 BPM”, house reached its most beautiful plateau even though techno was becoming dominant. “120 BPM” is a get-together moment through clubbing, this moment where fears are forgotten by dancing with one's friends, what we called “the chosen family” at Act-Up. Boys and girls dancing in a club where the walls cannot be seen, flooded with simple light. This is their activist recess.

Arnaud Rebotini, composing the soundtrack of Robin Campillo's previous film, “Eastern Boys”, is a recognized DJ, a composer and a kind man, which is for me the most important quality. Here, his work is marked by restraint of his love for house and after techno. I believe he deliberately withdrew himself in relation to the film's power and the AIDS theme. He accompanies and supports the image on the screen and even his remix of Small Town Boy by Bronski Beat is in a process marked by respect and almost intimidation (even if I would have done it differently). But this record is not nostalgic, it's a modern look at what occurred a long time ago, with the same fascination for synthesizers of that era where the analog was so important. The soundtrack is what balances this film and what justifies such a conceptual title: “120 BPM”, the natural rhythm of both house and the heart, the music that kept us going when we were losing hope, the most important musical movement of the last thirty years along with Hip Hop.

The movie had its world premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, followed by screenings at other festivals. At Cannes it received critical acclaim and won four awards, including the Grand Prix of the Festival.

Tracklista:

A1 120 Battements Par Minute
A2 Premiers Battements
A3 Sean & Nathan La Nuit
A4 Meltonpharm
A5 Jeremie Est Mort Du Sida
A6 Pride
A7 La Parade

B1 Smalltown Boy (Arnaud Rebotini Remix)
B2 Le Scanner
B3 Premier Club
B4 AZT DDI DDC
B5 Le Pont
B6 Sean & Nathan