Published on 01.07.2010 | related to Martin Solveig
Welcome our new Artist, Martin Solveig
Martin has been associated to the famous French and international djs status ever since the creation of such a status but each of his release has allowed him to assert himself as a true artist. Songwriter, composer, producer and even singer... And now his 3rd Artist Album coming up!
With C’est la Vie Martin is back on the musical scene by bringing to light a 3rd album which is resolutely pop, modern and more electronic than his previous works. You can definitely feel this Solveig’s touch which is more and more ecognizable as time and tracks go by. This unique sound revolves around funky grooves, club energy and strong vocals. One can also discover new flavours and maybe more maturity in his writings. Martin doesn’t repeat a pattern, he moves around what would be his fundamental style, each musical achievement getting him closer and closer to his final musical goal. Today’s electro, projects are booming everywhere but martin delivers a personal, catchy paper far from what has become commonplace. So be it, c’est la vie!
c’est la vie a 3rd album,
an a r t i s t i c t u r n i n g p o i n t …
This is a 3rd album, some pretend that it’s the most difficult. Probably because in 3 albums one has often looked at his artistic identity from all sides. The conception of the album starts at the end of 2007. Martin has started to slow down his dj activity so as to give the priority to creation. This is the thirties, the questioning of things admitted until now, a reflection about the meaning of life. Basically, a big headache and the biggest writer’s block of his young career. Martin doesn’t lack ideas but really wants to figure out a direction before starting anything. Curiously it is in the passionate listening of The Strokes’ three albums that he will find the answer. Of course the mastery of the 5 new-yorkers is impressing, but beyond that Martin is stricken by their attitude that’s what he’ll keep in mind. He writes on a post-it “music is simple. More fun and less thinking. If success means “security” for some, “comfort” for others, Martin translates it as “liberty”. « I just want to be free, c’est la vie ». And the story finally began. A funk beat played by a rock drummer, a nod to Prince and his album Parade which is still on the desk, a synthesizer Juno 106 back from servicing after 10 years of no use, a phonecall to Jay Sebag his singing partner (“Rocking Music”, “Something Better”, “Rejection”). The track “C’est la Vie” was born: quite engaged, funk, sounding almost authoritarian with a light topic at first sight, yet you can find it meaningful if you want to. There are often several layers of meaning in Martin’s work – “Everybody”’s vocals, quite federative at first sight, also announced a little rebellion, with the lyrics “I don’t wanna be like… Everybody”. The message is a little less polished than it seems. The very “warholian” counter-use of pop symbols can be found everywhere in this new album : “Poptimistic”, “Beauty False”, “Superficial”.
Once he settled the path, the tracks took shape in a few weeks of hardworking days and nights. Martin worked everything out all by himself. He admits being almost unable to work and compose with a teammate. It is only after he has carried out the bases that he likes to present his works to his kith and kin and his team. The latter has learnt to work together for a long time now. It has almost brought along a real group logic starting with the performers: Jay Sebag (“C’est la Vie”, Some Other Time”), Stephy Haïk (“Butterfly”, “Touch me”) and the soul man Lee Fields (“I Want you”, “Superficial”).Those three protagonists have very different range: powerful for the boys, sweet and poetic for Stephy. Martin really enjoyed directing the recordings of his singers. Both their common background and their strong bonding allowed him to go further in their performances. “For Butterfly I was miming wings fluttering and doing incredible faces so as to display a smile in her singing”.
There are also new collaborations. Chakib Chambi, singer of the rock band In The Club puts his voice on “One 23 Four”. “I’ve discovered him in a small Parisian concert hall and I’ve definitely wanted to work with him”. Besides, two tracks were co-composed with Michael Tordjman. They have rubbed elbows for a quite long time, since the very beginnings of Yellow’s Africanism project. They found a rather unseen creation ground: they exchanged mp3 drafts and met on an ad hoc basis. The result of this partnership? The elegant “Some Other Time” and a ufo “Beauty False”. The latter is a kind of tribute to the roaring twenties that neither one nor the other has ever known, a very contemporary vision of the 60’s swing. Martin, and it is another surprise of C’est la Vie, also managed to add his own vocal performances on “Bottom Line” and “Beauty False”. He uses the microphone as an instinctive tool of creation, he sings, does sound effects, beatboxes a bass line, a rhythmical pattern. Some voices and voice effects were kept exactly as they were because the essence was there at the very first attempt.
In the end, he delivers eleven dynamic and uniting dance tracks. This 3rd album is maybe the birth of an artist in its own rights. It’s yours to say C’est la Vie !
t r a c k l i s t i n g
01 / C’est la Vie performed by Jay Sebag
02 / I Want you performed by Lee Fields
03 / Butterfly performed by Stephy Haïk
04 / Beauty False performed by Martin Solveig
05 / Poptimistic spoken-words by Gail Cochrane
06 / One 2.3 Four performed by Chakib Chambi
07 / Bottom Line performed by Martin Solveig
08 / Give it to me performed by Martin Solveig
09 / Touch me performed by Stephy Haïk
10 / Superficial performed by Lee Fields
11 / Some Other Time performed by Jay Sebag
Follow Martin Solveig on...
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With C’est la Vie Martin is back on the musical scene by bringing to light a 3rd album which is resolutely pop, modern and more electronic than his previous works. You can definitely feel this Solveig’s touch which is more and more ecognizable as time and tracks go by. This unique sound revolves around funky grooves, club energy and strong vocals. One can also discover new flavours and maybe more maturity in his writings. Martin doesn’t repeat a pattern, he moves around what would be his fundamental style, each musical achievement getting him closer and closer to his final musical goal. Today’s electro, projects are booming everywhere but martin delivers a personal, catchy paper far from what has become commonplace. So be it, c’est la vie!
c’est la vie a 3rd album,
an a r t i s t i c t u r n i n g p o i n t …
This is a 3rd album, some pretend that it’s the most difficult. Probably because in 3 albums one has often looked at his artistic identity from all sides. The conception of the album starts at the end of 2007. Martin has started to slow down his dj activity so as to give the priority to creation. This is the thirties, the questioning of things admitted until now, a reflection about the meaning of life. Basically, a big headache and the biggest writer’s block of his young career. Martin doesn’t lack ideas but really wants to figure out a direction before starting anything. Curiously it is in the passionate listening of The Strokes’ three albums that he will find the answer. Of course the mastery of the 5 new-yorkers is impressing, but beyond that Martin is stricken by their attitude that’s what he’ll keep in mind. He writes on a post-it “music is simple. More fun and less thinking. If success means “security” for some, “comfort” for others, Martin translates it as “liberty”. « I just want to be free, c’est la vie ». And the story finally began. A funk beat played by a rock drummer, a nod to Prince and his album Parade which is still on the desk, a synthesizer Juno 106 back from servicing after 10 years of no use, a phonecall to Jay Sebag his singing partner (“Rocking Music”, “Something Better”, “Rejection”). The track “C’est la Vie” was born: quite engaged, funk, sounding almost authoritarian with a light topic at first sight, yet you can find it meaningful if you want to. There are often several layers of meaning in Martin’s work – “Everybody”’s vocals, quite federative at first sight, also announced a little rebellion, with the lyrics “I don’t wanna be like… Everybody”. The message is a little less polished than it seems. The very “warholian” counter-use of pop symbols can be found everywhere in this new album : “Poptimistic”, “Beauty False”, “Superficial”.
Once he settled the path, the tracks took shape in a few weeks of hardworking days and nights. Martin worked everything out all by himself. He admits being almost unable to work and compose with a teammate. It is only after he has carried out the bases that he likes to present his works to his kith and kin and his team. The latter has learnt to work together for a long time now. It has almost brought along a real group logic starting with the performers: Jay Sebag (“C’est la Vie”, Some Other Time”), Stephy Haïk (“Butterfly”, “Touch me”) and the soul man Lee Fields (“I Want you”, “Superficial”).Those three protagonists have very different range: powerful for the boys, sweet and poetic for Stephy. Martin really enjoyed directing the recordings of his singers. Both their common background and their strong bonding allowed him to go further in their performances. “For Butterfly I was miming wings fluttering and doing incredible faces so as to display a smile in her singing”.
There are also new collaborations. Chakib Chambi, singer of the rock band In The Club puts his voice on “One 23 Four”. “I’ve discovered him in a small Parisian concert hall and I’ve definitely wanted to work with him”. Besides, two tracks were co-composed with Michael Tordjman. They have rubbed elbows for a quite long time, since the very beginnings of Yellow’s Africanism project. They found a rather unseen creation ground: they exchanged mp3 drafts and met on an ad hoc basis. The result of this partnership? The elegant “Some Other Time” and a ufo “Beauty False”. The latter is a kind of tribute to the roaring twenties that neither one nor the other has ever known, a very contemporary vision of the 60’s swing. Martin, and it is another surprise of C’est la Vie, also managed to add his own vocal performances on “Bottom Line” and “Beauty False”. He uses the microphone as an instinctive tool of creation, he sings, does sound effects, beatboxes a bass line, a rhythmical pattern. Some voices and voice effects were kept exactly as they were because the essence was there at the very first attempt.
In the end, he delivers eleven dynamic and uniting dance tracks. This 3rd album is maybe the birth of an artist in its own rights. It’s yours to say C’est la Vie !
t r a c k l i s t i n g
01 / C’est la Vie performed by Jay Sebag
02 / I Want you performed by Lee Fields
03 / Butterfly performed by Stephy Haïk
04 / Beauty False performed by Martin Solveig
05 / Poptimistic spoken-words by Gail Cochrane
06 / One 2.3 Four performed by Chakib Chambi
07 / Bottom Line performed by Martin Solveig
08 / Give it to me performed by Martin Solveig
09 / Touch me performed by Stephy Haïk
10 / Superficial performed by Lee Fields
11 / Some Other Time performed by Jay Sebag
Follow Martin Solveig on...
WEBSIDE
MYSPACE
back..
