Martin Laurent Picandet (; born 22 September 1976), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Martin Solveig (), is a French DJ, singer, songwriter and record producer. He hosts a weekly radio show called ''C'est La Vie'' on radio stations worldwide, including

Radio FG Radio FG (; since February 2013, formerly FG DJ Radio, acronym for Feel Good) is a French-language radio station that began broadcasting from Paris on 98.2 MHz in the FM band in 1981. It is France's first radio station that broadcasts deep ...

in his homeland. He has been active since 1994. Solveig manages his own label called Mixture Stereophonic and was ranked number 29 in the 2011 ''

DJ Mag ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

'' Top 100 DJs. He has collaborated with, among others,

Ina Wroldsen Ina Christine Wroldsen (born 29 May 1984), previously known simply as Ina, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She was a part of the electropop duo Ask Embla with Icelandic producer and songwriter Arnthor Birgisson. Career Wroldsen's care ...

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

, Jax Jones (together under the alias

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Clif ...

Laidback Luke Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen (born 22 October 1976), better known under his stage name Laidback Luke, is a Dutch DJ and music producer. He notably remixed the Robin S. song, " Show Me Love" which charted at No. 11 on the UK charts in 2009. He ...

Dragonette Dragonette is the stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara. Originally an electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005, the band consisted of Sorbara with her husband Dan Kurtz as bassist and producer (also in Th ...

, Kele of

Bloc Party Bloc Party are an English rock band, composed of Kele Okereke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, sampler), Russell Lissack (lead guitar, keyboards), Justin Harris (bass guitar, keyboards, saxophones, backing vocals) and Louise Bartle ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Early life

Solveig was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. As a child, he joined the choir of The Paris Boys Choir also known in France as Les petits chanteurs de Sainte-Croix de Neuilly, where he had a classical music training and became soprano soloist under the direction of François Polgár. At the age of 18, he became a DJ and then started to work in famous Parisian nightclubs: L'Enfer, Le Queen, Les Bains Douches.

Career

2002–07: ''Sur la Terre'' and ''Hedonist''

On 17 June 2002, Solveig released his debut studio album ''Sur la Terre''; the album failed to chart. The album includes the singles "Madan", "Rocking Music" and "I'm a Good Man". On 12 September 2005, he released his second studio album ''Hedonist''; this peaked at number 43 on the

French Albums Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. The album includes the singles "Everybody", "Jealousy", "Something Better" and "Rejection".

2008–09: ''C'est la Vie''

On 2 June 2008, Solveig released his third studio album ''

C'est la Vie C'est la vie may refer to: * C'est la vie (phrase), ''C'est la vie'' (phrase), a French phrase, translated as "That's life" Books * C'est la Vie (comic strip), ''C'est la Vie'' (comic strip), an English-language comic strip by Jennifer Babcock * ...

''. The album peaked at number 16 on the

. "C'est la Vie" was released as the lead single from the album on 21 January 2008. " I Want You" was released as the second single from the album on 15 September 2008. "One 2.3 Four" was released as the third single from the album on 22 December 2008. " Boys & Girls" was released as the fourth single from the album on 28 September 2009.

2010–12: ''Smash''

On 6 September 2010, he released the single "

Hello ''Hello'' is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich ...

" with

as the lead single from his fifth studio album. It is Solveig's most successful single to date, peaking at number one in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

(

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, while charting within the top 10 in ten other countries. The song also peaked at number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. " Ready 2 Go" was released as the second single from the album on 28 March 2011. He released his fifth studio album '' Smash'' on 6 June 2011, peaking at number 18 on the

. In 2011, Solveig was officially named as one of the producers for

's new studio album, '' MDNA''. On 24 October 2011, " Big in Japan" was released as the third single from the album. On 2 April 2012, " The Night Out" was released as the fourth single from the album. Solveig was also made the in house DJ for the 2012 MTV Movie Awards where he paid homage to the classic themes from movies such as

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

2013–present

On 28 May 2013, Solveig released the single " Hey Now" with

The Cataracs The Cataracs were an American hip hop record production project and duo formed in Berkeley, California, United States, consisting of David Benjamin Singer-Vine (born March 9, 1988) and Niles Hollowell-Dhar (born October 6, 1988). The duo starte ...

featuring vocals from Kyle, peaking at number 55 on the

French Singles Chart French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

. The song has also charted in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. On 6 January 2014, he released the single "Blow" with Laidback Luke. The song charted in

. On 23 February 2015, he released the single " Intoxicated" with GTA. The song has peaked at number 15 on the

. On 6 July 2015, he released the single " +1" featuring vocals from Sam White. In 2016, Solveig released the single " Do It Right" with Australian singer

Tkay Maidza Takudzwa Victoria Rosa "Tkay" Maidza ( ; born 17 December 1995) is a Zimbabwean-born Australian singer-songwriter and rapper. Biography Maidza was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. Her parents are metallurgists. In 2001, her family moved to Australi ...

. In 2017, while leaving Spinnin', Solveig released the single " All Stars" with Finnish singer Alma.

Controversies

In December 2018, Solveig received criticism when he asked the first ever winner of the

Ballon d'Or Féminin The Ballon d'Or Féminin (), also known as the Women's Ballon d'Or, is an association football award presented by '' France Football'' that honours the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. It was first awarded in 20 ...

Ada Hegerberg Ada Martine Stolsmo Hegerberg (born 10 July 1995) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a striker for the Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the Norway national team. Hegerberg has represented Norway at the youth international l ...

, to twerk on stage at the awards ceremony. UEFA President

Aleksander Čeferin Aleksander Čeferin (, born 13 October 1967) is a Slovenian lawyer and football administrator. Between 2011 and 2016, he was president of the Football Association of Slovenia. Since September 2016, he has been the president of UEFA. Career After ...

called him an "idiot that doesn't know how to behave" and added that he "will never again host such an event". Solveig issued a public apology "to anyone who may have been offended" and said it was a joke and that Hegerberg did not consider it sexual harassment.

''DJ Mag''

* 2007: No. 72 * 2008: No. 52 * 2009: No. 47 * 2010: No. 55 * 2011: No. 29 * 2012: No. 48 * 2013: No. 77 * 2014: Unlisted * 2015: Unlisted * 2016: No. 98 * 2017: Unlisted

Discography

;Studio albums * ''Sur la terre'' (2002) * ''

Hedonist Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Smash'' (2011)

References

External links

TwistedHouse.com Martin Solveig Interview
*
Martin Solveig Interview (Ibiza, Spain) in 2006

Martin Solveig biography

Top 40 charts record for Martin Solveig

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solveig, Martin 1976 births Living people 21st-century French male musicians 21st-century French singers Big Beat Records (American record label) artists Club DJs Electro house musicians Electronic dance music DJs French dance musicians French DJs French electronic musicians French house musicians French male singers French songwriters Future house musicians Juno Award for Dance Recording of the Year winners Mercury Records artists Ministry of Sound artists Musicians from Paris People from Neuilly-sur-Seine Singers from Paris Spinnin' Records artists