# Encore une fois

"Encore une fois" (; French for "One more time") is a song by German DJ group Sash!, first released in 1996 on the PolyGram sublabel Mighty. It was released as the second single from the group's debut album It's My Life – The Album (1997) and features French vocals by German vocalist Sabine Ohmes. From early 1997, the song found huge success in clubs throughout the world and to date, it is one of Sash!'s biggest hits. Upon release in the UK, the song propelled itself to number two on the UK Singles Chart in February 1997, quickly earning a gold certification. Throughout Europe, the track became a top 10 smash in countries such as Belgium, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden. In Greece and Ireland, the song reached the top of the charts. In the United States, it became a club smash and hit number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, staying on the chart for fourteen weeks. The music video for "Encore une fois" was directed by Oliver Sommer.
11 years after it was first released, the song again reached the top 40 in three countries as part of a mashup. The music from Sash!'s hit was combined with the vocals from Stunt's "Raindrops" to create the new track "Raindrops (Encore une fois)".

## Release

"Encore une fois" was initially meant to be a big club record but it outgrew that and the group would become a pop act in its own right. Two main versions of the song exist. One is the original edit, which was used in the music video and appeared (in extended form) on Sash!'s debut album It's My Life. The second is the Future Breeze edit, which is a much harder version of the track and is the most popular with fans. It appears on Sash!'s best-of albums and as a bonus track (in extended form) on It's My Life – The Album.
When the single was originally released, a pressing-plant error swapped the first two tracks (Original and Future Breeze edits) thus giving the Future Breeze remix accidental success; it therefore became the official version.

## Critical reception

Barry Walters for The Advocate said, "Ripping off all those intensely dramatic Rollo mixes for Faithless, Kristine W, and others, that trance track you keep hearing with the girl screaming in French defines clubland à la mode — fabulous now, soon tired." Jon O'Brien from AllMusic noted the "pizzicato sounds" of the song. Chuck Campbell from Knoxville News Sentinel felt that "a smoky undercurrent" on tracks like "Encore Une Fois" "expose the darker side of dance music." British magazine Music Week gave it three out of five, writing, "Topping the import charts and with a buzz on dance radio, this storming floor-filler could well find its way into the Top 40." A reviewer from Smash Hits commented, "Think Faithless' "Insomnia" in a trancey continental style", and remarked that the song is "big on the synth stabs, massive on bangin' 4/4 beats, huge on some husky French bird screaming, "Encore une fois!"."

## Chart performance

"Encore une fois" proved to be very successful on the charts globally and remains one of the group's biggest hits. In the United States, it peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, staying within the chart for a total of fourteen weeks. In Europe, it peaked at number-one in both Greece and Ireland, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it peaked in April 1997. The single also made its way to number two in Denmark, Scotland and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it hit that position in its first week at the UK Singles Chart, on February 23, 1997. It was held from reaching the top spot by No Doubt's "Don't Speak". But on the UK Dance Chart, "Encore une fois" hit number-one. It entered the top 10 also in Belgium (5, in both Flanders and Wallonia), Finland (5), France (7), Iceland (5), Italy (4), the Netherlands (9), Norway (4), Spain (5) and Sweden (6). In New Zealand and Australia, the single reached number 34 and 35, respectively.

## Music video

The accompanying music video for "Encore une fois" was directed by Oliver Sommer.
Two versions of the video exist, one with the Original Edit and one with the Blunt Radio Edit (an edited version of the Future Breeze Remix). The former can be seen on 10th Anniversary's bonus DVD and the later can be seen on Altra Mode Music's official YouTube channel. By January 2023, the video had generated more than 11 million views.