Modjo was a

French house French house (also referred to as French touch, filter house, or tekfunk) is a style of house music devised by French musicians in the 1990s. It is a form of Eurodisco and a popular strand of the late 1990s and 2000s European dance music s ...

music duo formed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1999 by producer Romain Tranchart (born 9 June 1976) and singer Yann Destagnol (born 14 July 1978). They are best known for their biggest hit, "

Lady (Hear Me Tonight) "Lady (Hear Me Tonight)" is a song by French house duo Modjo, written and performed by vocalist Yann Destagnol and producer Romain Tranchart. It was released on 19 June 2000 as the lead single from their only album, ''Modjo'' (2001). The song co ...

", released in 2000, along with other successful singles such as "

Chillin' Chillin' may refer to: * "Chillin" (Wale song), a 2009 song by rapper Wale featuring singer Lady Gaga * "Chillin'" (Tego Calderón song), a 2006 song by Tego Calderon featuring Don Omar * "Chillin'" (Modjo song), a 2000 song by Modjo *"Chillin'", ...

" and "

No More Tears ''No More Tears'' is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Released on 17 September 1991, the album charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. ''No More ...

", both released in 2001.

Background

Born in Paris, Romain Tranchart moved with his family to Algeria and Mexico before settling in Brazil. There, he began learning the guitar, drawing inspiration from

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

classics. In 1998, influenced by

DJ Sneak Carlos Sosa (born November 5, 1969), known as DJ Sneak, is a Puerto Rican-born American DJ and record producer raised in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is noted as being one of the second wave of Chicago house producers, (alongside Derrick ...

Ian Pooley Ian Pooley (born Ian Pinnekamp in 1973) is a German record producer and DJ. While incorporating samples of various musical genres, Pooley's creations are usually classified as house or tech house with Brazilian influence. Biography Pooley's mu ...

, and

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

, Tranchart released his first single under the name Funk Legacy, titled ''What You're Gonna Do, Baby'', through

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a British record company. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Universal Music Group#B ...

. He then attended the American School of Modern Music in Paris. Also Parisian, Yann Destagnol learned to play the

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

and

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

as a small child. As he grew older, he became deeply influenced by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, and other pop acts. He started playing drums by emulating them and also learned to play the piano and guitar. He later bought a four-track recording machine and began singing and songwriting. Fascinated more by voices than by charismatic bandleaders, he admired bands such as

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...

, and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, and later became an avid fan of R&B divas.

Awards and nominations

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International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs was an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards were held every year from 1985 to 2020, except for 2017, when the ...

, 2001 , Best House/Garage 12" , "

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MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

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Smash Hits Poll Winners Party The ''Smash Hits'' Poll Winners Party was a British awards ceremony which ran from 1979 to 1987 as the ''Smash Hits'' Readers' Poll, then on television from 1988 to 2005. Each award winner was voted by readers of ''Smash Hits'' magazine. It ende ...

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Discography

Studio albums

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FRA Fra is a title of a friar. Fra or FRA may also refer to: Codes * fra, the ISO 639-2 code for the French language * FRA, the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code for France * FRA, the IOC country code for France at the Olympics * Framingham station, Amtra ...

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Modjo Modjo was a French house music duo formed in Paris in 1999 by producer Romain Tranchart (born 9 June 1976) and singer Yann Destagnol (born 14 July 1978). They are best known for their biggest hit, " Lady (Hear Me Tonight)", released in 2000, al ...

'' , * Released: 18 September 2001 * Label:

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* Formats: CD , 21 , , 89 , , 41 , , 39 , , 30 , , 13

Singles

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Certifications Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

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SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

: Gold *

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

: Gold * BEA: Gold * BPI: Platinum *

BVMI The ( English: Federal Music Industry Association), or simply BVMI, represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 280 labels and music industry related enterprises, which comprise 90% of the music i ...

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IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

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What I Mean "What I Mean" is a song by French house duo Modjo Modjo was a French house music duo formed in Paris in 1999 by producer Romain Tranchart (born 9 June 1976) and singer Yann Destagnol (born 14 July 1978). They are best known for their biggest ...

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References

External links

*
Modjo official X (Twitter) account

Modjo official TikTok account

Yann Destagnol (Yann Destal) Twitter
{{Authority control Electronic music duos English-language musical groups from France French alternative rock groups French house music groups French musical duos MTV Europe Music Award winners Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups from Paris Nu-disco musicians French dance music groups