Rarely have I been as enthusiastic about discovering a new artist in music. Mathieu Chedid, alias -M-, is the son of a Louis Chedid (well known singer/musician in his own right). He has exploded on the French scene with his mix of funk, electro, chanson, jazz and rock. His studio albums (Le Baptême, Je dis Aime, Qui de nous deux) build on each other and intoduce us into the cartoonish world of -M-. With his crazy hair and technicolor outfits, I was afraid that he was just another gimmicky artist; I couldn’t have been more wrong. His little world completes the music to perfection. It’s essence : pure fun with touches of poetry !
Even better live than in the studio, the Tour de M DVD is an absolut feast for eyes and ears as M proceeds to set the audience on fire in Paris’s venerable Olympia. One of the most energetic and pure fun concert DVDs I have ever seen. -M-, surrounded by some very good musicians, is a master of the live performance. Some people here call him the French Jimi Hendrix ! For those who want even more live fun, there is the Live at the Spectrum CD.
Continuing our journey through M’s universe we find the Labo de M CD. It’s interesting with it’s variety of experimentation which showcase the versatility of M’s talent. This talent is also demonstrated in the Triplettes de Belleville anthem Belleville Rendez-Vous, a terrific piece of Jazz Manouche. And for those of you who are musicians, there is the Leçon de Musique DVD. M will take you through every step of 5 of his songs showing what and how to play on guitars, bass and drums. In today’s era of prefabricated pop, it’s nice to find someone who still knows the meaning of the word music and watching him arrange the different instruments is indeed an object lesson herein.
As a conclusion, I would say this : in this article, I have covered an entire discography. That’s because I bought all of it in rapid succession. And it’s all great !!! So go ahead and do the same (all of the albums are available on iTunes, at least in France). I promise you won’t regret it.