Boheme is the second album of the French duo Deep Forest, released in 35 countries. It mainly sampled Eastern European gypsy songs (i.e. the Bohemians, hence the name of the album) with electronic music. Hit singles included "Marta's Song" (featuring Márta Sebestyén) and "Freedom Cry". The album became the duo's most successful one, selling over 4 million copies, receiving Diamond, Platinum and Gold awards in 15 countries and winning the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album .

Boheme
Studio album by
Released20 June 1995
GenreWorld music
Length41:13
LabelSony Records
ProducerDeep Forest
Deep Forest chronology
World Mix
(1994)
Boheme
(1995)
Comparsa
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The song "Freedom Cry" caused controversy when it was revealed that the singer, Károly Rostás ("Huttyán"), never received any monetary compensation from the song, and neither did his family after he died in 1986. His singing, archived by Claude Flagel, was sampled by Deep Forest. Flagel allegedly paid Huttyán 1500 forints for the recording. The case was later documented in a movie entitled Huttyán, released in 1996.[2] The Gypsy relatives did succeed to some extent to get money from Deep Forest.[3]

Track listing

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  1. "Anasthasia" – 1:48
  2. "Bohemian Ballet" – 5:15
  3. "Marta's Song" (feat. Márta Sebestyén) – 4:13
  4. "Gathering" – 4:39
  5. "Lament" – 3:09
  6. "Bulgarian Melody" (feat. Márta Sebestyén) – 3:09
  7. "Deep Folk Song" – 1:13
  8. "Freedom Cry" (feat. Károly Rostás) – 3:17
  9. "Twosome" (feat. Márta Sebestyén) – 4:06
  10. "Cafe Europa" – 4:17
  11. "Katharina" – 2:53
  12. "Boheme" – 4:37
  13. "While the Earth Sleeps" (European Edition Bonus Track, feat. Peter Gabriel) – 6:23

Reception

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Much like Deep Forest's debut album, Boheme is a combination of club music and worldbeat. While the album is certainly danceable, it works better as trance-inducing mood music, although it isn't quite as consistent as the debut.

— Stephen Thomas Erlewine, [CD] Deep Forest: Bohême, All-Music Guide[4]

A beautiful, radical fusion can be found on Deep Forest's latest release, Boheme (550/Sony). Their previous record also concentrated on the indigenous pygmies of central Africa. This one takes a great deal of inspiration from Eastern Europe as well. It heavily samples Marta Sebestyen (late of Muzsikas) and they actually have her sing one track to order. These guys have taken the art of the remix to a new plateau. As the acid jazz group United Future Organization does in its milieu, Deep Forest takes elements from non-Western music. Through studio alchemy, they create something original enough that they can get away with calling it their own.

— Hank Bordowitz, e.Bop - World Music Revis[4]

Charts

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Weekly charts

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Chart (1995) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] 8
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[6] 22
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[7] 32
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 84
Europe (European Top 100 Albums)[9] 35
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[10] 82
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 1
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 7
Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] 31
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[14] 38
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[16] 12

Certifications and sales

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[17] Gold 35,000^
France (SNEP)[18] Gold 100,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[19] Platinum 15,000^
Poland (ZPAV)[20] Gold 50,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 60,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Huttyán (NDA@SZTAKI)
  3. ^ Hungarian newspaper articles: 1,2 Archived 2011-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b Deep Forest: Bohême
  5. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Deep Forest – Boheme". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Ultratop.be – Deep Forest – Boheme" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2741". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Deep Forest – Boheme" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  9. ^ "European Top 100 Albums". Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 25. 24 June 1995. p. 21.
  10. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Deep Forest – Boheme" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Charts.nz – Deep Forest – Boheme". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Deep Forest – Boheme". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Deep Forest – Boheme". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Deep Forest – Boheme". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  17. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1995 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  18. ^ "French album certifications – Deep Forest – Boheme" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  19. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Deep Forest – Boheme". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
  20. ^ "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 1996 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  21. ^ "British album certifications – Deep Forest – Boheme". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
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