Les Troublemakers' new album, Express Way, certainly didn't arrive by the express route. In fact, the release date of the group's eagerly awaited second album was constantly pushed back, owing to classic problems over sampling copyright and the fact that the Troublemakers themselves were unhappy with the final mix, declaring the album too "smoothly produced" for their liking.

Les Troublemakers started life as a threepiece, made up of Arnaud Taillefer, Lionel Corsini – also known on the club circuit as DJ Oil - and Fred Berthet. But now that Berthet has moved on to new musical horizons (working with the group Copyshop who released an 80s-influenced debut album recently), Taillefer and Corsini found themselves reduced to a double act on Express Way. "The problem was, Fred just didn't share the same centres of musical interest as us any more," says Taillefer, sitting on a sunny café terrace on Marseilles's Cannebière.

"Lionel and me are really into the black sound of the 70s," enthuses Taillefer, "We love jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, plus all the film music from that period and Gainsbourg's repertoire. That's the sound which brings us together and puts us on the same wavelength and the sound that has a guiding influence on our work in the studio. After we'd finished the first album I stopped working on machines and got into playing piano instead, sharpening up our melodies and harmonies. We used a lot of samples on our debut album, but we refused to systematically use the same approach on the follow-up – and I think that's opened up our music a lot. The problem with sampling is it blocks your instrumentals in one mould. But the flow and vocals of hip hop open up a whole new dimension to things. They add an extra layer which, in electronic music, you have to create by using extracts of live instrumentals. And that's exactly the way we worked on Express Way."

Les Troublemakers are renowned on the electro scene for their perfectionism in crafting their sound and, judging by the impressive guest credits on the pair's second album, a whole horde of stars were queuing up to take advantage of this. Express Way features contributions from everyone from turntable wizard DJ Rebel and inspired flautist Magic Malik to sought-after cellist Vincent Segal, quickfire rapper The Gift of Gab (from Californian outfit Blackalicious), Sébastien Martel, Jules Bikoko, French saxophonist Julien Lourau and Jeff Sharell. These prestigious guest stars were either longstanding friends of Les Troublemakers or jumped at the chance of working with the duo on Blue Note and experiencing their own special take on things. "What we were trying to do on Express Way was record an album with contemporary music, but have it sound like an old vinyl LP," Taillefer explains, "We're into the idea of tapping into tradition!"

Where other electro producers have attempted to 'dust off' old instrumental extracts, squeezing samples through filters and smoothing and polishing them into near-perfect grooves, Les Troublemakers have worked in the opposite direction, roughing up the surface of their smooth modern vibes to make them sound battered and bruised. "This is the music of today, recorded like a vinyl LP of yesterday," proclaim the innovative duo, "And that's what people didn't really get on the original mix of Express Way. The original mix sounded too modern and squeaky clean, even though we'd practically done the whole album using the most antiquated recording equipment imaginable." It was Jeff Sharell, an old acquaintance of Les Troublemakers, who stepped in to put the final touch on Express Way, roughing up the sound and giving it a rawer, sharper edge. With his incredible sleight of hand, Sharell managed to build bridges with the past without falling into the trap of overblown musical nostalgia.

Express Way concurs with the current trend of releasing a film along with the album (in a bid to incite music fans to buy the CD and DVD from a record store rather than download new material from the Internet). The film which accompanies the album was made by Taillefer - working under the pseudonym East - and Matthias Olmeta. "It's basically like a 52-minute dream or a nightmare," says Taillefer, "The film follows in the footsteps of this illegal immigrant mooching around town. He's brought up against the harsh reality of the city without any way of falling back on other people from where he comes from. He doesn't really have any desire to fit in either." Naturally, it’s Taillefer's hometown, Marseilles, which forms the backdrop of the story. "But it's not the usual image of Marseilles that the tourist board wants to show," insists Taillefer, "This isn't picturesque postcard Marseilles. We're not trying to following the tradition of Pagnol.* Our influences are more Melville and American cinema."

After taking a course in electro-acoustic music at the Conservatoire de Marseille, Taillefer began exploring a different artistic vein, working as a photographer's assistant. And the experience has served him well. Les Troublemakers' interest in linking sound and image is not some overnight whim either, but something the group has actively sought to develop over the years, accompanying their live sets with extracts from old movies. Advertisers have also come knocking at Les Troublemakers' door recently, begging to use tracks from their debut album as the soundtrack to TV ads. And in this way the troublesome duo have taken their work to a wider audience. One thing’s for sure and that is that this audience looks set to be widened even further with the release of Les Troublemakers’ new CD!

*Marcel Pagnol,