Alya, Simon Erar & TEUS Serve Up ‘French Fries’ for Yotto Records’ Tenth Release
French fries, exploding cooking oil and an old school funk sample might not sound like the obvious recipe for a club record, but for Alya, Simon Erar and TEUS, it turned out to be exactly that.
Following the blanc premiere of “French Fries”, we caught up with the trio to find out how the collaboration came together, the unlikely story behind its title and why the record marks an important milestone for their label, Yotto Records.
Celebrating 10 Releases on Yotto Records
“French Fries” was planned as something special from the outset. The track celebrates the tenth release on Yotto Records, bringing all three artists together for the occasion.
The foundations of the record actually predate the collaboration, beginning life as an earlier project between Alya and Simon Erar.
“The track is a rework of an earlier version that Simon and I had started together. TEUS joined the project later, and we ended up finishing the track as a trio.”
With TEUS joining the project, the original production was pulled apart and rebuilt, ultimately becoming the version of “French Fries” heard today.
Its earliest inspiration came from Midnight Star’s “The Midas Touch”, with the trio taking inspiration from the record’s vocal and looking for a way to bring its old school character into their own musical world.
That influence makes sense when looking at the artists’ wider tastes. Hip hop, disco, funk and old school music remain major sources of inspiration across all three producers, with elements of those sounds continuing to find their way into their productions.
The Story Behind “French Fries”
The name, however, came from somewhere considerably less glamorous.
During one of Alya and Simon’s first sessions working on the track, the pair decided to make some fries. What should have been a fairly straightforward studio snack quickly turned into disaster when their fryer exploded, sending hot oil across the kitchen.
“Let’s just say those were probably the worst fries we’ve ever made!”
The incident eventually became an inside joke attached to the record, but there was another layer to it. Considering their original inspiration was “The Midas Touch”, a song built around the idea of everything you touch turning to gold, their disastrous attempt at making golden fries felt particularly fitting.
The joke soon developed into part of the identity of the release.
For the trio, there was also a surprisingly natural connection between cooking and producing music. Combining different ingredients, experimenting until everything works together and spending hours refining the final recipe.
They’ve taken the idea beyond the title and into the visual world surrounding “French Fries”, shooting a music video in which the trio make fries before heading out into the streets to sell them.
In a way, it mirrors the process of releasing music itself. Create something together behind closed doors, then take the finished product out and offer it to the world.
Three Producers, One Studio
While plenty of modern collaborations are built through stems being passed between artists remotely, “French Fries” was developed with Alya, Simon Erar and TEUS together in the studio.
Each producer naturally found their own role in shaping the finished track.
Simon concentrated on the drums, Alya handled the bass and FX, while TEUS focused on synths and melodies.
The finished record is substantially different from its earliest version. Its drums and synths were completely reworked, but the trio deliberately retained some of the ideas that had given the original its identity, particularly its evolving bassline, vocal and pads.
That combination allowed them to keep the DNA of the first idea while giving “French Fries” an entirely new life.
The Moment “French Fries” Passed the Dancefloor Test
For a club record, however, there’s only so much you can learn inside a studio.
The real test came when the trio played “French Fries” at a festival near the French Spanish border in the south of France.
After a two hour set, they decided to make the unreleased track their closing record.
The response immediately confirmed what they had created.
“The crowd’s reaction was incredible. Everyone got goosebumps, including us! It was a crazy moment that we’ll definitely remember.”
It was the sort of reaction producers spend countless hours in the studio hoping for. An unfinished or unreleased idea suddenly connecting with a dancefloor full of people hearing it in its intended environment.
Returning to blanc
“French Fries” also continues an existing relationship between the artists and blanc.
Alya had previously worked with blanc on an earlier release, which went on to generate more than 500,000 plays across the two platforms, with the exposure helping the music reach listeners outside the artists’ existing audience.
That experience made returning to blanc for “French Fries” a natural decision.
“Platforms like blanc are really important for underground artists, as they help our music reach new audiences beyond our existing community.”
It is a relationship that sits at the heart of what blanc has always aimed to do: put records from emerging and underground artists in front of a global audience of electronic music listeners.
What’s Next for Alya, Simon Erar, TEUS and Yotto Records?
With “French Fries” marking release number ten for Yotto Records, the focus now shifts from the studio back to the dancefloor.
The label has a Yotto Records showcase at Baby Club in Marseille on November 21, alongside two further events planned at L’Antirouille in Montpellier.
For Alya, Simon Erar and TEUS, “French Fries” is therefore more than another collaboration. It celebrates a milestone for their label, brings together three individual approaches to production and, thanks to one spectacularly unsuccessful attempt at cooking, has a story behind it that is unlikely to be forgotten.
Sometimes the best records really do come down to finding the right ingredients.
Alya, Simon Erar & TEUS “French Fries” is available now via Yotto Records, following its premiere on blanc.
