One of the leading figures on the French electro scene, Ludovic Navarre – aka St Germain – has forged an international reputation for his cutting-edge fusions of jazz, African rhythms and dance beats. St Germain's second album, "Tourist", proved to be a phenomenal hit worldwide and helped put the "French Touch" movement firmly on the musical map.

Strangely enough, as his name moved towards cult status in electro circles, St Germain was spending less and less time in the studio on his own account. Indeed, apart from his remix activities, the French mix-master went almost five years without producing a follow-up to "Boulevard". Uneasy with his new-found celebrity and restricted by his categorisation in the electro movement, Ludovic Navarre even reached the point where he considered dropping his St Germain pseudo and giving up music altogether. Then, in an abrupt about-turn, Ludovic decided what was missing in his work was the fusion element that had inspired him from the start of his career. Eager to meet other musicians and explore new musical horizons, St Germain decided to quit electro specialist label F.Com and sign to the legendary jazz label Blue Note instead. This led to him re-developing an exciting fusion edge to his work and working with real musicians such as Senegalese star Idrissa Diop and Jamaican guitarist Ernest Ranglin. When St Germain's second album, "Tourist", came out in April 2000 the French mix-master took the world by storm with his cutting-edge fusion of house, jazz, reggae and African rhythms. Indeed, the sales of "Tourist" proved even more successful than "Boulevard", rocketing through the roof after the success of the first single release, "Rose Rouge", and hitting the 250,000 mark in France. But this was nothing compared to world sales. "Tourist" was released on the international market in September 2000 and by the summer of 2001 sales had topped 1.5 million!

Following the phenomenal success of "Tourist", St Germain was inundated with concert requests and he spent most of the latter part of 2000 touring intensively. Kicking off an extensive European tour in London on October 20th, the turntable king completed the French leg of his tour with a triumphant performance at the Olympia in Paris on November 9th. St Germain would return to play another show at the Olympia on April 6th 2001, before setting off to conquer dancefloors in the U.S., Asia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, rave reviews from the critics continued to pour in and on February 17th 2001 St Germain found himself nominated at the "Victoires de la musique" awards - in three different categories! The fusion wizard went on to walk off with awards for "Best Jazz Newcomer of the Year", "Best Electronic Album" and "Best Live Show of the Year". St Germain kept up a hectic schedule throughout the summer of 2001, performing at some of Europe's top music events including the Nice Jazz Festival, the Paleo Festival in Switzerland, "Les Vieilles Charrues" and the Fourvière Festival in Lyons.