Once Upon A Hit | Super Discount – “Smile”

Once Upon a Hit: A Serie Taking You to the Heart of French Electronic Music’s Greatest Hits

The French Touch celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and French electronic music continues to captivate audiences and ignite dancefloors worldwide. Following a year marked by the success of the Olympic ceremonies, which showcased renowned French electronic artists, the awards won by the documentary dedicated to producer DJ Mehdi, and the rise of a new generation of talents (Irène Drésel, Rone, Kompromat), What the France—the music recommendation platform from the Centre National de la Musique—teams up with Clubbing TV, the leading HDTV channel for electronic music, to present Once Upon a Hit. This six-episode serie delves into the creative secrets behind some of the most iconic tracks of the French Touch movement.

Episode 4 : Super Discount – « Smile »

With “Smile”, Étienne de Crécy delivered one of the standout tracks from Super Discount 3, the third chapter of his iconic French touch project, released in 2015. In this fourth episode of Once Upon A Hit, What the France dives into the story behind this cult track. It all began back in high school in Versailles, where Étienne met his longtime friend and collaborator Alex Gopher. Together, they crafted a sound blending house and groovy electro. Thirty years later, the duo returned to their roots: sampling, Étienne’s signature TB-303, and above all, a pure sense of fun.

Pushing the experiment further, Étienne invited the american rapper Asher Roth to record vocals for an alternate version. A 120 BPM house tempo isn’t the easiest to rap on—but no problem. Within two hours, Asher had written both the melody and lyrics. Quick, spontaneous, almost accidental—that’s what made it work. A fan of melodic basslines and distinctive voices, Étienne ended up with a sunnier, more pop-leaning version that still kept the spirit of the original.

As for the video, Étienne envisioned a one-shot sequence set in a traffic jam, where everyone is listening to “Smile” on loop. But shooting something like that in Paris? Way too expensive. So they headed to Los Angeles, where the production cost was a quarter of the price—and just as striking. In this joyful chaos, music becomes a shared experience between strangers. A simple yet powerful image: a unifying track that turns waiting into a celebration.

Genres

French Touch 2.0

Get your hands on the latest electronic music hits made in France.

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