Etienne Daho - Idéal (Clip officiel)

What this video is

Released in November 1998, 'Idéal' arrives at the peak of the UK drum & bass crossover into continental European mainstream pop, with Daho absorbing the sonic grammar of acts like Everything But The Girl (whose Walking Wounded is a noted reference point) and positioning it within the tradition of French chanson intimacy. The video's transit-space aesthetic—airports, hotel corridors—resonates with Marc Augé's 1992…

Why it matters

A landmark French pop-electronic hybrid, 'Idéal' demonstrated that the drum & bass rhythmic template—then largely confined to UK club culture—could be assimilated into the melodic and lyrical conventions of chanson française. Its video codified a visual grammar of luminous urban solitude that…

The director

American filmmaker and music video/commercials director; USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate. Began career as DP on Madonna's Truth or Dare and U2's Rattle and Hum. Three-time Grammy Award winner/nominee, including Best Long Form Music Video for Sting's…