Sex, Synths, and Soundtracks: The Strange, Groovy World of "Films Osés"
How Low-Budget Erotic Films Created Some of the Most Interesting Music of the 70s
It’s been a chaotic month—between moving to a new place, recovering from eye surgery, and juggling deadlines, life has felt a bit crazy. And this year seems like it’s shaping up for a lot of that.
But in the middle of all this, I realized: this is my 200th post!
If there’s ever a time to share and expand this community, it’s now. And what better way to celebrate than by diving into something unusual, underappreciated, and weirdly influential—the incredible music that came out of 1970s erotic cinema.
What do Barry White, Moog pioneer Mort Garson, and a rescued French soundtrack have in common? A lot more folks were working in this erotic film business in the early 1970s than you might realize. Keep reading.
A Note about this: A Space for stuff
I write about culture, music, and surprising or unexpected stuff I run into while living in France.
I try to keep this blog light and focused on those things, avoiding politics—not just because this is a side project, but because we all need a break from the endless news cycle. I genuinely enjoy diving into music, film, and history far more than parsing current events, but if you'd like more pieces about the news of the world and my take on it, let me know in the comments.
More than anything, I want this to be a respectful space—a place to explore history, culture, and overlooked gems while staying positive and open to discussion.
It has to be, at least for me.
French Erotic Music?
I hope you’ll trust me on this one: let’s talk about French porn music.
Or, at least, the incredible music that happened to be attached to certain films osés ("daring films") back in the day.
Some years feel like cultural turning points—1968, 1989, and perhaps even 2025. 1971 was one of those years too.
Jean-Pierre Mirouze – "Sexopolis" (1971): A Hidden Gem of 70s French Groove
Originally composed for an obscure 1971 French film Le Mariage Collectif (filmed in Sweden, where laws were more open), Jean-Pierre Mirouze’s "Sexopolis" has a psychedelic groove with deep funk rhythms, and rich orchestration for what is likely a small ensemble. It’s like the whole track was create just to let keyboardist Jean-Pierre Sabar cut loose on a Hammond.
The movie, which attempted to justify open relationships and sexual freedom, was “a messy, second-rate production,” blending hippie ideals and softcore nudity into “something totally forgettable,” according to critics.
Forgetable film, memorable music
In 2010, a crate of forgotten vinyl records—including Sexopolis—was discovered in a Parisian garbage dump, where it had been left decades earlier. Exactly how it survived there isn’t so clear, but the album was later reissued, bringing Jean-Pierre Mirouze’s lost psychedelic-funk masterpiece back to life for a new generation of listeners.
I think a lot of directors had a hard time getting musicians, but still felt they were very necessary for the films, so they gave them a lot of artistic license. Some of the tracks are incredible for their time, moving the music ahead in a way that had enduring value. The movies, not so much.
When director Hervé Lamarre acquitred the distribution rights to Le Mariage Colectif for France, he went to people from the Dim Dam Dom music team for its soundtrack. Dim Dam Dom was a very safe, if somewhat artistic French TV program that was broadcast during normal hours on public television, for families.
This music would be different. And if the record is any indication, they were excited to do the job.
Mirouze was a regular collaborator with Dim Dam Dom, used this project as an opportunity to break out—and while he remained mostly unknown outside of movies scores, the rediscovery of Sexopolisbecame a goldmine for fans of vintage instrumental funk, library music, and psychedelic lounge.
The entire album is filled with hidden gems and experimental soundscapes, blending into deep-cut 70s French funk, yé-yé, and jazz.It’s weird that it ever existed. It’s amazing that it was ever rescued.
This album shouldn’t even exist.
If "French porn music" isn’t a search you’re ready to expose yourself to, start here— more of Jean-Pierre Mirouze’s music at this safe link.
A lot coming together at the same time?
As best as I could figure, my own interest this seems to trace back to my parents owning various erotic drums albums during the 1970s—records that somehow ended up as part of my permanent collection.
\Whether my mother picked them up at a thrift store or they were part of my parents' weekly ritual is something I’ll never know—and frankly, never wanted to ask. But it did spark my interest.
At least in the music.
Only the music.
1971 was also a landmark year—not just for cinema, but also a pivotal moment in musical and cultural history.
The rise of electronic instruments, a wave of talented session musicians working under pseudonyms, and tight budgets forcing creativity all converged at the same time that key laws changed in both the U.S. and France, expanding the reach of adult films.
I think it directors also just let musicians play whatever they wanted, which had to be enticing for some performers.
Like many things that have shifted in cultural perception, orchestrations once used to “excite the senses” (or at least one of them) now wouldn’t seem out of place alongside Burt Bacharach’s work.
And it seems like everyone knew that at the time, too.
Strange Paths of 70s Sounds
Early in his career, Barry White worked under pseudonyms, and the Love Unlimited Orchestra’s lush sound was once criticized as music for adult films—ironically, those tracks later became some of his most celebrated work.
Mort Garson, mostly unknown as a classically trained pianist and an early adopter of Moog synthesizers, is all over this genre, alongside his work on some wonderfully kitschy horror soundtracks. He even recorded Mother Earth’s Plantasia, an album designed not for people, but for plants—though exactly how plants were supposed to play records remains a mystery.
But Swingin' Spathiphyllums is a groovy track.
Research suggests plants respond to music—so maybe there's something to it. In a way, music for plants and music for porn serve a similar purpose: setting the right mood.
all in the timing
In the late 60s and early 70s, a perfect storm of factors—cutting-edge musicians, new technology, and looser censorship laws—transformed adult films from underground reels into mainstream cinema. Production value, rather than outright quality, became essential for films to pass legal scrutiny, leading to surprisingly innovative and experimental soundtracks.
As always, artists took work where they could, as low-budget films were hiring.
Some of the music that emerged (including in adult films) remains fascinating today – maybe even more so as cultural shifts have "pornographized" mainstream advertising and media.
By the early 70s, blue movies in the U.S. and films osés in France were once branded as smut or occasionally as "educational" to be traded around on the black market, were then branded as daring, artistic, etc. At its core, this was still overwhelmingly men watching dirty movies, but the branding had changed, and suddenly, porn was highbrow. Or more highbrow, at least.
The shift was largely driven by legal changes.
In the U.S., Stanley v. Georgia (1969) legalized private possession of obscene material, paving the way for Deep Throat (1972) in theaters. How that connection was made, I don’t know, but lawyers have always found work in the US.
France followed with its "X" rating in 1974, officially giving hardcore films some legal pathway to be shown in public - and allowing Emmanuelle to debut in mainstream cinemas, turning Sylvia Kristel into an unexpected cultural icon.
By the early 70s, "porno chic" was in full swing, with celebrities and intellectuals embracing erotic films as "adult cinema." In the U.S., Andy Warhol treated adult films as avant-garde art, Hugh Hefner (of course) championed sexual liberation, and Truman Capote attended Deep Throat screenings.
Hollywood elites like Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty held viewing parties - and talked about the movies publically and in interviews, while Johnny Carson joked about it on The Tonight Show, proving that porn had fully entered mainstream culture.
This was the "golden age of porn"—a time when films once traded on the black market were now advertised in newspapers.
Emmanuelle was marketed not as porn but as "sensual art cinema." With a massive, multinational ad campaign, it blurred the line between eroticism and mainstream film—so successfully that it was remade decades later, still wrapped in the language of artistic exploration.
Whether or not that movie ever should have been remade is not really debated. It was panned. But in 1974, suddenly, films osés could advertise.
The metaphors were obvious; the message was clear.
If you enjoyed this post, pass it along! Share it with a friend who loves deep-cut 70s grooves, obscure film history, or just appreciates a well-placed Hammond organ.
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Thanks for reading, and here’s to the next 200!
K