by Burton Glass

The myth of the record label is as strong as the myth surrounding any pop star. The myth says that the label logo alone is a kind of geek Good Housekeeping seal of approval, a sign that back at record company HQ some talent scout with such taste in music and things hip that he is just ahead of you (but never too far ahead) has the ear of the Money Men who, in turn, sign only the most ahead-of-the-curve-yet-steeped-in-history acts.

The myth promises that a fan can buy that CD blind. Don't bother downloading a sample, or waiting in line at the listening booth, chump. Ownership of said CD on said label serves as a kind of membership card to a club of cool.

Motown is the prototype. Barry Gordon developed a look, a sound, a style for his label. In the label's prime, a fan could buy any record with the Motown name on it and be assured of quality. Today, people equate Motown with more than its artists, or even the common musical sounds -- they think of a feeling.

Over the years, different labels have built their own myths. Some were known as artist labels, places where adventurous souls would be well cared for, such as Elektra 30 years ago, or Geffen following the signing of Sonic Youth. Others were places for bands to go when they should have retired, like CMC International Records, current home to .38 Special, Styx, and Christopher Cross.

SubPop was the best of a recent lot of labels that could be trusted. Co-founders Bruce Pavitt, Jonathan Poneman, and Jack Endino (myth has it) consciously created a Motown aesthetic. The SubPop bands were based in Seattle, as Motown's were in Detroit. The bands subscribed to defined micro-genre, in this case a punk-meets-Sabbath school that later became grunge. The record sleeves all incorporated the same fonts and graphic style. Hell, people subscribed (still do) to SubPop singles club to get sent 7-inchers from a variety of artists mailed to them automatically.

Today, Astralwerks has assumed the throne of Most Important Label. I submit that no imprint today is more important to pop.

Its superstar artists are a good illustration. Chemical Brothers shook the world with their early singles, "Song to the Siren?"(as the Dust Brothers) and "Loops of Fury," and the Astralwerks longplayer, Exit Planet Dust. They followed up with confident, boundary-stretching albums like Dig Your Own Hole and Surrender that weren't afraid to mix in a little rock and a little vocal to keep the clubbers guessing. Unlike some of their peers, the Chemicals ventured both onto the pop charts (well, at least in Britain!) and into the concert halls.

Their not-so-evil twin is Fat Boy Slim, a.k.a. Norman Cook, another member of the Astralwerks roster. Mr. Cook may attract derision from some purist corners, but the man's Big Beat style is an undeniable winner. Living Better Through Chemistry was hysteria in the making, one of those albums that blew in out of nowhere and smacked you upside the head. You've Come a Long, Baby cemented things. Hearing "The Rockefeller Skank" and "Praise You" as commercial jingles, strangely, didn?t alienate -- it was if the hooks and beats were already part of the ether.

Like SubPop and Motown, Astralwerks has a geographic home base -- but it?s not in New York (the label's office location) or in London (home to its most prominent superstars like Fat Boy and the Chemicals). Astralwerks is based, strangely, in Paris.

The label calls it La Collection Françoise, a network of Gallic DJs, musicians and pop visionaries that is doing much to tarnish France's image of rock ineptitude. Typically, the French artists gathered by Astralwerks refuse to play by the American and English rules. They are all the more refreshing for it.

Air, of course, is the leader of pack. After it bubbled to U.S. consciousness in 1998, "Sexy Boy" was a come-on and a sassy gag all at once, but its attraction was undeniable. But Air (Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Duckel) proved to be more durable, carving out a niche in the electronica world apart from other, more beat-centric French acts such as Daft Punk. Air's soundtrack to the film, Virgin Suicides, lead by the '70s confectionary single "Playground Love," demonstrated the band's scope beyond retro-Moog.

Shamelessly, the Astralwerks talent scouts have plucked other promising French acts and brought them to the attention of U.S. ears. Dimitri of Paris (regrettably, best known here for supplying a jingle for a Volvo ad) and his Respect Is Burning crew dominate club lists with his "soundtrack" for a (n imagined?) party at Hugh Hefner's pad. Sure, his choice in records is based almost entirely on U.S. disco and soul sensibility; his value-added is that euro cockiness. Cassius, another Parisian DJ team most famous producing Motorbass and La Funk Mob, served up an Astralwerks winner last year with its house and hip-hop driven debut, 1999. The mood spills over with Les Rythmes Digitales, a Paris-born, British-raised DJ pushing guilt-free '80s dance cheese.

That Astralwerks' Detroit or Seattle is on the other side of the ocean from its official headquarters is in keeping with the label's musical taste and technological orientation. In a wired world, we can be from any place we choose.

Binding everything together is, fortunately, the music. Astralwerks almost by itself defines a major pop music genre: electronic dance music. Fortunately for the label, that's a starting point, not a leash. Basement Jaxx is house, but creatively so. Fluke carries the techno banner. Clinton, a derivation of Cornershop, offers up a serving of e-funk. I can buy an Astralwerks record today knowing nothing more, and feel confident that I haven't wasted by money.

Competing labels are the exceptions that prove the rule. V2 had the good sense to sign Moby and release Play (while Astralwerks reportedly took a pass), and is home to Underworld and another promising French act, «Rinôçerôse. The Moonshine label is another dance music stalwart, responsible for a ton of noteworthy DJ mix albums. Still, if dance music, along with hip-hop, is the sound of today, then Astralwerks remains the top dog.

Astralwerks has the superstars, the home base, and the genre-niche. Most of all, Astralwerks has its moment. The label's music is right now, more so than anything else happening today.