Electro star Philippe Zdar, one half of the cult French house duo Cassius, has died after falling from a window in Paris -- two days before his latest album is released, his agent said.

Axar.az reports citing foreign media that Zdar, who was 52 and had worked with a host of rap and electro stars including Kanye West, Pharrell, MC Solaar, Cat Power, and the Beastie Boys' Mike D, is believed to have fallen from a sixth-floor window in northern Paris. He was a key figure in the so-called "French Touch" wave of electronic bands led by Air, Daft Punk and St Germain.

His agent Sebastien Farran said the Grammy-winner "suffered an accidental fall from a high floor of a Paris building" on Wednesday evening. Police told that they are investigating the tragedy, a routine move after a such a death. French media reported that a railing may have given way.Zdar -- whose real name was Cerboneschi -- was due to play at the Olympia concert hall in Paris on Friday to coincide with the release of the new Cassius album, "Dreems".

The duo became a staple of the French electronic scene with their first album "1999" released the same year, which mixed hip hop, house and funk.Zdar worked in the studio with a galaxy of international stars including the Beastie Boys, The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand, and helped mastermind the acclaimed French electro album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix", which won him and the band Phoenix the best album Grammy in 2010.

The Recording academy, the institution that puts on the Grammys, praised his "influential creations," which "will continue to impact music forever."Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos hailed him as a "great inspiration, both as a producer, but particularly as a good man and friend"."His taste was impeccable," the singer-songwriter tweeted." He had a huge joy for life, generosity and passion.