Cassius was a French electronic music duo comprising of producers Phillipe … Read Full Bio ↴Cassius was a French electronic music duo comprising of producers Phillipe Cerboneschi and Hubert Blanc-Francard, better known as Philippe Zdar and Boom Bass. They started working together in 1994, producing a hip-hop project called La Funk Mob. They started remixing tracks under the Cassius name in 1997, for acts such as Air and Daft Punk, before producing their own original works.

As hard rock and funk fans, Zdar (Philippe) and Boom-Bass (Hubert) first made their mark producing and engineering the sound sought by hip-hop artists - their great passion of the early ‘90s. But the raves Zdar attended converted him to house music and, with Etienne de Crécy, he founded Motorbass. British media opinion surveys chose Motorbass’s “Pansoul” as one of the year’s best albums, all styles combined.

BoomBass was soon infected by the techno speed-up, and hooked up with Zdar for a new project, called Cassius. The duo’s first album, 1999, is a collection of instrumental tracks recorded over the two previous years.

Their first single was Foxxy, a self-published track, in 1996. In January 1999, they released their first hit single Cassius 1999 on Virgin Records, entering the UK Top 40 chart at number seven. This was soon followed by their debut album, 1999, which had two more single released from it, Feeling For You and La Mouche.

2002 saw their second album release, Au Rêve. This featured the feverish "empowered female disco" track I'm A Woman, with Jocelyn Brown on vocals, as well as the hit single The Sound Of Violence, featuring Steve Edwards on vocals. This album also had collaborations with Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah and Leroy Burgess.

Cassius returned to the studio in 2006, for the more experimental single Toop Toop, but the next album, titled 15 Again, featured more vocal collaborations than the duo had done with Au Rêve.

While rehearsing their 15 Again album tour, Cassius provided the community with the a cappella track of their single Toop Toop and encouraged fans and friends to start remixing the song. It became an immediate success: the band started the Cassius Workshop project and released more a cappellas for remixing purposes. They claim to have received more than 400 remixes.

On 19 June 2019, two days before the release of Cassius's fifth album Dreems, Zdar died after falling from a building in Paris. He was 52 years old. On the release day of Dreems, the band announced that the album was the final album from Cassius.

(2) Cassius formed in the winter of 2003 in Richmond, Virginia. Drawing members from previous local bands, the band began writing new material and playing regional shows. After many setbacks and line up changes, Cassius decided it was time to buckle down and get serious. After recording their debut full length I Am Jim Jones with Chris Dowhan from Red Planet Studios (Scarlet / Twelve Tribes / Black Dahlia Murder), Cassius cancelled the lease on their apartment, bought a van and trailer and began booking whatever tours they could. Hard work and strong friendships brought them to their current position and with focus and determination, Cassius are hell bent on making themselves a house hold name within the metal and hardcore community. Despite not having a record to tour on previously, Cassius has already completed successful tours with bands like Ed Gein, Misery Signals, Ion Dissonance, Through The Eyes Of The Dead, and Despised Icon to name a few.
They signed to Lifeforce Records, and released I Am Jim Jones in January 2007.

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Cassius 99
Cassius Lyrics

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[M.F]
Fixement, le ciel se tord
Quand la bouche engendre un mot
Là, je donnerais ma vie pour t′entendre
Te dire les mots les plus tendres
[Seal]
When all becomes all alone
I'd break my life for a song

And two lives, that′s to tomorrow's smile
I know, I will say goodbye
But a fraction of this life
I will give anything, anytime
[M.F]
L'univers a ses mystères
Les mots sont nos vies
[Seal]
We could kill a life with words
Soul, how would it feel
[M.F]
Si nos vies sont si fragiles
[Seal]
Words are mysteries
[M.F]
Les mots, les sentiments
Les mots d′amour, un temple
[Seal]
If I swept the world away
What could touch the universe
I would tell you how the sun rose high
We could with a word become one
[M.F]
Et pour tous ces mots qui blessent
Il y a ceux qui nous caressent
Qui illuminent, qui touchent l′infini
Même si le néant existe
[M.F & Seal]
For a fraction on this life
I will give anything, anytime
[M.F]
L'univers a ses mystères
Les mots sont nos vies
[Seal]
We could kill a life with words
Soul, how would it feel
[M.F]
Si nos vies sont si fragiles
[Seal]
Words are mysteries
[M.F]
Les mots, les sentiments

[M.F & Seal]
Les mots d′amour, un temple

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Cassius's song Cassius 99 are a mix of French and English, with both MF and Seal taking turns to deliver their verses. The song's lyrics are reflective and thought-provoking, touching on the power of words and the fragility of life. The first verse by MF, which is in French, talks about how the sky twists and turns when one speaks. He says that he would give his life to hear the most tender words from a loved one. Seal's verse talks about the feeling of being alone and how he would break his life for a song. He mentions that with words, we could touch the universe and become one.

The chorus by MF and Seal emphasizes the power of words and how they can both hurt and heal. They say that they would give anything for a fraction of this life and that words are mysteries. The last verse talks about the power of love and how it is a temple made up of words and emotions. Overall, the song is a beautiful tribute to love, life, and the power of words.

Line by Line Meaning

Fixement, le ciel se tord
Staringly, the sky twists and turns

Quand la bouche engendre un mot
When the mouth gives birth to a word

Là, je donnerais ma vie pour t′entendre
There, I would give my life to hear you

Te dire les mots les plus tendres
To tell you the most tender words

When all becomes all alone
When everything becomes loneliness

I'd break my life for a song
I would sacrifice my life for a song

And two lives, that′s to tomorrow's smile
And two lives, for a smile tomorrow

I know, I will say goodbye
I know, I will say goodbye

But a fraction of this life
But a portion of this life

I will give anything, anytime
I will give anything, anytime

L'univers a ses mystères
The universe has its mysteries

Les mots sont nos vies
Words are our lives

We could kill a life with words
We could kill a life with words

Soul, how would it feel
Soul, how would it feel

Si nos vies sont si fragiles
If our lives are so fragile

Words are mysteries
Words are mysteries

Les mots, les sentiments
Words, feelings

Les mots d′amour, un temple
Words of love, a temple

If I swept the world away
If I swept the world away

What could touch the universe
What could touch the universe

I would tell you how the sun rose high
I would tell you how the sun rose high

We could with a word become one
We could become one with a word

Et pour tous ces mots qui blessent
And for all these hurtful words

Il y a ceux qui nous caressent
There are those that caress us

Qui illuminent, qui touchent l′infini
That illuminate, that touch infinity

Même si le néant existe
Even if nothingness exists

For a fraction on this life
For a portion of this life