Lovers Audio Mix: Froid Dub

Few artists sound like Froid Dub. Over the years, the Paris-based duo have carefully distilled their influences into a singular sonic identity—one that merges the spaciousness of dub with the grit of industrial electronics, the eeriness of EBM, and a sly sense of rhythm that keeps things in constant motion. Their music often feels alien or robotic, yet also deeply human: heavy and heady, but never without a sense of play.

In addition to their original productions, Froid Dub recently composed the soundtrack for Fotogenico, a feature film by Benoît Sabatier and Marcia Romano. The score moves fluidly between post-disco, punk, goth, and EBM, showcasing the duo’s sharp instincts for atmosphere and storytelling beyond the club.

Their upcoming album Tears Maker Chant is one of our most anticipated releases of 2025. It marks a striking evolution in their sound—refined, focused, and unmistakably their own. Like all their work, it exists in a distinct sonic universe, one that continues to grow more immersive and unpredictable with every release.

The mix they’ve provided us is a perfect snapshot of their world—varied but cohesive, eerie yet inviting. Tracks lurch and shimmer, pulse and mutate, making room for detours without ever losing their grip. It’s a compelling ride from start to finish, and a perfect primer for what’s to come. Get ready for a wild trip.

Lovers Audio: You recently composed the soundtrack for the film Fotogenico. How did you get involved in that project? What felt different about working on a film soundtrack compared to one of your own albums?
Froid Dub: We've known Benoit Sabatier, one of the two directors, for a long time and had already collaborated with him on a medium-length film they made together with Marcia Romano. Working on a film score is a very specific thing, and the work on Fotogenico was even more so because the film is about a record and the music on it. So we had to compose the music for this record by putting ourselves in the shoes of an imaginary group that would have made this record. There was this part that was a bit like an exercise in style, and then there was the part where we created the score, the music for the images, and everything had to be consistent with the aesthetics of the film and the spirit of Froid Dub. It was quite an exciting headache. On our own personal tracks, the foundations refer back to Dub. The track has to be based on a sound or an identity imbued with the Dub spirit. From there we try to pull it as far away from that base as possible without losing that initial Dub identity. For Fotogenico, as I said, the tracks had to be bathed in the spirit of the film (synthetic, fluid, girlie, biting, retro, and at the same time very 2024) while being consistent with the Froid Dub spirit.

Lovers Audio: Do you see Froid Dub continuing to work on film scores and soundtracks in the future?
Froid Dub: Yes, we really enjoyed it. Working with Benoît and Marcia, the directors of Fotogenico, is a real opportunity. They have a very broad musical culture and set themselves no limits. When they invite someone to collaborate on their projects, they trust them completely. They have a very specific starting point in mind, an idea or a reference, but they're not afraid of going where they hadn't thought of going. It's a bit like making a rendezvous at the beginning of an evening to have a drink in a bar and then seeing where it goes from there. Sometimes we thought we were rushing them a bit by sending them tracks that were quite far from the initial brief, but they pushed us to go even further. Benoit and Marcia are working on a new movie and they offered us to do the music for it when the time came.

Lovers Audio: Are there any other types of projects that you’d love to work on?
Froid Dub: We are open to all projects and will study all proposals. But sometimes time decides for us—we keep a maximum of time available to do our Froid Dub pieces.

Lovers Audio: Can you describe your collaborative workflow? How do your individual strengths complement each other in the studio?
Froid Dub: We've been making music together for a long time and we know each other very well. We know when to take the lead and when to give way to each other. That doesn't mean things are easy, but we've got rid of the ego stuff. That frees up time and avoids unnecessary stress. The number one aim is that the music should be good and coherent with the project. We're very demanding with ourselves and with each other—but without pressure. F.M. is very good at first drafts and letting go, very intuitive, and I (Fa_Fane) am more mental and analytical. We keep this logic on stage. I structure and control the take-offs and landings, and F.M. brings the whole thing to life by looping in mid-air.

Lovers Audio: What’s the Paris dub scene like these days? How has it shaped or influenced your sound?
Froid Dub: There's no Dub scene in Paris, so we work on our own. The Dub and sound system scene in France is very classic and Roots Dub only. That's why I think we've been supported from the start by DJs, promoters, and music fans in England and Belgium who are more used to the hybrid dub culture. It's starting to happen in France, especially with the very young DJs who have digested the bass culture and its melting pot.

Lovers Audio: What’s Froid Dub’s preferred delay unit or setup? Any favorite effects or techniques you find yourselves returning to?
Froid Dub: We're big fans of hardware and the studio. In Dub music, the studio is the main instrument. Our studio is a luxury that our advanced age allows us. We bought machines ten or twenty years ago that would be untouchable today. Each machine has a sound. Building a song means putting together the notes, rhythms, and sounds of the instruments. But it also means striking a balance between the sounds of these different studio machines. Finding the right combination. And then there's the tactile side. The shape of the knobs! The big knobs on an EQ Urei, for example—with their heavy rotation, they give you the impression of controlling the opening of a missile silo that will enable you to nuke all the muddy bottom end of your track. We have a lot of hardware delays and plug-ins. It's obviously our favourite studio effect. Each one has its own specificity and sometimes we try two or three before finding the one that works best on an instrument or a balance of instruments. We record all the effects live in full hardware. Plug-ins are only used to refine the mix and correct the sounds.
Favourite delays: Mutron 1173, Ursa Major Space Station, Ibanez Time Machine, Roland RE-201.
Favourite reverbs: Lexicon 200, OTO BAM.
Favourite compressions: Alan Smart C1, Urei LA3A.
Favourite plug-in delay: Valhalla.

Lovers Audio: Among your contemporaries, who are you most excited to watch evolve or collaborate with right now?
Froid Dub: Some of the artists and labels whose new releases we always listen out for: Krikor Kouchian, Kim Gordon, Richard Fearless, The Trilogy Tapes, Iueke, Fat White Familly, JPEGMAFIA, Sun in Capricorn, Dark Entries, Antinote, Paranoid London, Tyler The Creator, Drames Rurals, Daniel Avery, Aphex Twin, Versatile, Music From Memory, The Cure, Massive Attack, Optimo, France, Suns Of Arqa, Dee Wee, LCD Sound System, Jennifer Herrema, RVNG.