In 1998, after nearly a decade of being ignored, French dance music shot from nowhere to being the darling of the English music press.
Suddenly every major label and every magazine cover had to have a French dance act. The French touch was the must-have accessory.
It was, for a very lucky few, the moment of recognition they'd been working for. But it was also the first warning siren of the scene's demise as lazily produced replicas of Stardust flooded the charts.
There was only so much anyone could take and soon French artists were smarting from their own success.
Luckily some artists took it all on the chin and reacted to over blown praise by digging themselves more deeply into their studios, wincing their eyes shut and hoping all the attention would go away.
One such bunker animal is I:Cube, aka Nicolas Chaix, who sat watching while others floated away on a pop ego balloon.
Chaix is still very much a French producer of his time - just as much as Basement Jaxx are a South London version of the same period.
But he has moved on in his own way and still sounds surprisingly fresh.
Tracks such as 'Oblivion' and 'Inspector Cube' are welcome updates on the Cube sound, minus the disco element.
'Vacuum Jackers' and 'Fabu' enter more playful and juddering rhythms, while the tight, yet powerful 'Can U Deal With That', featuring Wu Tang's RZA, is a shining example of how the hip hop house hybrid can and should sound.
'East Tribe' is old school funky house, while 'La Folle Blanche' warps tango/ samba rhythms into a bizarre Parisian space dance and 'Tunnel Vision' is Saunderson sounding techno.
There are moments of indulgence here, and tracks such as 'Bubblesphere' could have done with some heavy-handed editing from label boss Gilb'r.
But overall this is a very welcome return by the French studio gremlin. Beinvenue Monseur Cube.
