Matthieu Chedid

Biography

Matthieu Chedid (born 21 December 1971) is a French multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter.
Chedid began his career as a session musician playing both acoustic and electric guitar. In the late 1990s, he rose to fame as a singer-songwriter and musician under the alias M (often stylized as -M-), blending Nouvelle Chanson, electronic and rock music. In studio, he experiments with various instruments and electronic music, while on tour as -M- he mostly plays the guitar, and is known for his eccentric outfits and dramatic live performances, sometimes including special effects.
Chedid has also performed in the 2005 stage musical Le soldat rose and is part of French-Malian band Lamomali. Since 2018, he has been the most awarded artist at the Victoires de la Musique Awards with 13 awards, tied with Alain Bashung.

Biography

Matthieu Arnaud Sidney Chedid was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France. His father Louis Chedid is a singer from a family of Lebanese and Syrian extraction, of Maronite and Greek Orthodox Christian background. Louis Chedid's mother Andrée (née Saab) was an Egyptian-born French writer and poet, who has written lyrics for Matthieu Chedid's songs. Matthieu Chedid's sisters are the music video and concert director Émilie Chedid (born in 1970) and French singer Anna Chedid (born in 1987), also known by her stage name Nach. His brother Joseph "Selim" Chedid (born in 1986) is also a French singer and a guitar and drums player.
Chedid took an interest in music early on. In 1978, at the age of six, Chedid lent his voice to the chorus of his father's hit song T'as beau pas être beau alongside older sister, Émilie. During his teenage years and early twenties, Chedid was part of short-lasting groups such as Tam Tam, Les Bébés fous and Les Poissons Rouges with Mathieu Boogaerts, as well as Julien Voulzy and Pierre Souchon (respectively the sons of singers Laurent Voulzy and Alain Souchon) who went on to form the duo Les Cherche Midi.
He has collaborated with a number of artists, both on stage and in the recording studio. Early into his solo career, Chedid was the opening act for Texas concerts. He has recorded with NTM, Sinclair, Billy Ze Kick, Brigitte Fontaine, Sean Lennon, Vanessa Paradis, and Johnny Hallyday.
Until 2008, Chedid was in a relationship with French actress Audrey Tautou.

-M-

Chedid performs and records under the stage name -M-. Chedid created -M- as means of overcoming his shyness on stage and also as a way of distancing his work from that of his father and grandmother. The pseudonym comes from Chedid's first initial but also refers to the similar-sounding French word aime, meaning love. The character -M- is a superhero, noted for having a playful nature, and recognized for his flamboyant costumes (primarily monochrome suits with slim trousers and long jackets with upward pointed collars) and hair styled into the shape of an M.
In 1997, -M- released his first solo album Le Baptême×Le Baptême25 April 1997 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracks1La Fleur3:002Le Baptême4:063L’amour ma thématique2:504Nostalgic du Cool3:415Manque de q3:576Je suis une cigarette3:377La mort de l’âme2:168Pick Pocket3:349Les Acariens4:5310Le rose pourpre du coeur3:1411Coup de vent3:4012Le temps mue3:3313Matchistador3:4614Souviens‐toi0:3515Souvenir du futur3:5716Matchistador8:0617Céline attendue13:1218Machistador (Macho mix)6:3919Machistador (J’Adore mix)3:39. During this time; he played mainly solo or with the cellist Vincent Ségal. The album received overall positive critical reception, but public recognition only came a few months later, with the release of the single "Machistador×Machistador25 August 1998 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksAMachistador (Macho mix)6:39B1Machistador (J'adore mix)3:52B2Machistador (+ mix)8:06".

Je dis aime

In 1999, -M- published his second album, Je dis aime×Je dis aime25 October 1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Monde virtuel3:092Je dis aime3:583Onde sensuelle3:044À celle qui dure3:475Faut oublier3:106Le Festival de Connes3:207Le Mec hamac3:278Close to Me3:599Émilie 1000 volts2:4110Qui est le plus fragile ?2:5711Le Complexe du corn flakes4:5412Au lieu du crime4:1713Bonobo3:0414Le Commun des mortels3:1715Mama Sam3:1416Machistador8:04 a title that puns 'aime' (like/love) with 'M'. A few months later, the album was 11th on the French Charts, with more than 500,000 albums sold, thanks to a number of successful songs ("Je dis aime", "Onde Sensuelle", "Monde Virtuel", "Le complexe du corn-flakes", "Mama Sam").
Live, -M- played with Cyril Atef, Vincent Segal and DJ Shalom for the samples on some songs. He still works with his sister Emilie Chedid for the realisation of the clips. His live performance largely contributed to his success, playing on his character of -M- to transform every concert into a show. He won his first Victoire de la Musique awards for Male Artist of the Year and Concert of the Year.

"Belleville Rendez-vous" and Qui de nous deux

-M- gained international exposure through his recording of the song "Belleville Rendez-vous" for the soundtrack of the 2003 Sylvain Chomet animated film The Triplets of Belleville in both French and English. The song, with lyrics by Chomet and music by Benoit Charest, was nominated for a 2003 Academy Award. The music video for "Belleville Rendez-vous" uses both a live-action depiction of -M- and an animated depiction incorporated into footage from the film.
In autumn 2003, he released his 3rd album Qui de nous deux×Qui de nous deux24 November 2003 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Mon ego2:312La Bonne Étoile3:383Sous ta peau3:454À tes souhaits2:595Qui de nous deux3:466Ma mélodie3:347Quand je vais chez elle3:068La Corde sensible3:329Je me démasque3:3910C’est pas ta faute3:4611Gimmick3:1212Le Radeau3:2513Psyko Bug2:3514Peau de fleur4:1215Ton écho4:50 (Which one of us two) with the singles "Qui de nous deux", "La bonne étoile×La Bonne Étoile2005 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1La Bonne Étoile3:372La Bonne Étoile4:12", "Mon ego". Softer, this album saw the birth of his first daughter, Billie, for whom an all-pink guitar was built by instrument-maker Cyril Guérin. A pink guitar can be seen in the video for "Qui de nous deux".
In 2007, he worked once again with Vanessa Paradis on her album Divinidylle, released in September 2007.

Mister Mystère

Rumors circulated before the release of his 2009 studio album, Mister Mystère×Mister Mystère7 September 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Mister Mystère3:272Phébus2:383Est-ce que c’est ça ?3:234Le Roi des ombres2:575Tanagra3:406L’Élixir3:347Ça sonne faux1:348Destroy3:269Semaine2:3210Amssétou3:0611Tout sauf toi2:4012Hold-up4:1513Délivre3:06Disc 21Lettre à Tanagra2:282Brigand2:493Crise5:284Je les adore4:15, that Chedid had decided to drop the character -M- to record and perform under his given name. The album, however, was released under the name -M- but included photographs of the singer without the wild costumes and hair associated with the -M- character. The music video for the first single, "Le Roi des ombres", showed Chedid burning a tiny effigy of his alterego.

Louis, Matthieu, Joseph et Anna Chedid

Chedid was part of the musical group Louis, Matthieu, Joseph et Anna Chedid with several members of his family. They began with a tour in 2015, which was followed by a studio recording.

Îl, Lamomali, and Lettre infinie

In autumn 2012, he released the album, Îl, played with Lawrence Clais and Brad Thomas Ackley.
He worked with Toumani Diabaté and Sidiki Diabaté on a collective album, Lamomali, released in March 2017 The album also features many well regarded names from the world music scene, such as Philippe Jaroussky, Oxmo Puccino, Youssou N'Dour, Seu Jorge, and Fatoumata Diawara, lending a mesmeric world music flavour to it that celebrates cultural diversity and world peace. The album "showcases musical stylings from across the planet, whilst at its core it contains a traditional West African rhythm".
In 2019, he released the studio album, Lettre infinie×Lettre infinie25 January 2019 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Lettre infinie3:102Superchérie3:433Massaï3:464Logique est ton écho3:015Grand petit con3:266L.O.Ï.C.A.2:587Adieu mon amour4:418L’Alchimiste2:489Thérapie2:5910Une seule corde2:3011Si près si...3:2712L’Autre Paradis3:5013Billie3:12, featuring collaborations from Thomas Bangalter and Phillipe Zdar. His album Rêvalité×Rêvalité3 June 2022 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Rêvalité2:342Dans ta radio3:023Mégalo2:454Mogodo3:295Dans le living2:236Nombril2:367Petit homme2:468Fellini3:219Une étoile qui danse3:4310Ce jour‐là3:5811Mais tu sais3:4912Home3:1113La Langue des oiseaux3:02 was released in June 2022.

Public image

Chedid is mostly known for his onstage persona -M- whose signature hairstyle is reminiscent of the letter M and was initially achieved using hair wax. According to Chedid, the hairstyle was inspired by the ear tufts of certain species of owls, from a lithography of an owl given by his grandmother Andrée. The letter M also appears as a pattern in the character's clothes, in music videos and stage sets. With his energetic personality, eccentric outfits and hairstyle, the character has drawn comparisons with English musician David Bowie's stage persona Ziggy Stardust. Besides Matthieu Chedid, the character -M- has also been portrayed by actor Vincent Lindon in the music video for Chedid's song La bonne étoile. In promotional material and music videos for his 2009 album Mister Mystère×Mister Mystère7 September 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Mister Mystère3:272Phébus2:383Est-ce que c’est ça ?3:234Le Roi des ombres2:575Tanagra3:406L’Élixir3:347Ça sonne faux1:348Destroy3:269Semaine2:3210Amssétou3:0611Tout sauf toi2:4012Hold-up4:1513Délivre3:06Disc 21Lettre à Tanagra2:282Brigand2:493Crise5:284Je les adore4:15, Chedid is seen with natural hair instead of the signature M-shaped hairstyle. The lyrics of some of the songs, and the music video of Le Roi des Ombres ending with Chedid burning a tiny effigy of the -M- character, led to speculation about whether he would abandon his alter ego. Chedid eventually kept performing the character, showing his natural hair or wearing M-shaped wigs or helmets.

Albums

Studio albums

Collaborations

Live albums

Soundtracks

Rereleases

Charity

2016: "Vole" (with Nolwenn Leroy, Alain Souchon, Laurent Voulzy...)