Pleymo is a French
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu m ...
band formed by
Mark Maggiori, Benoît Julliard, Fred Ceraudo, and Mathias Borronquet 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. ...
in 1997. Pleymo has sold over 100,000 albums to date.
The band's name apparently originates from the lead singer once having a haircut as a child that was similar to that of
Playmobil
Playmobil () is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a tall (1:24 scale) human figure with a smiling face. A wide ran ...
figures.
History
Beginning, ''Keçkispasse?'' and record deal (1997–2000)
Pleymo started in 1997 under the name of "Pleymobill", but the name was eventually shortened to the name they have now when the band's lineup expanded to five due to the inclusion of turntablist DJ Frank (Frank Bailleul). The same year, Mathias, the guitarist at the time, exited the band and Erik De Villoutreys eventually replaced Mattias as the guitarist. Little by little the group was growing and then caught the attention of the producer Stéphane Kraemer. On June 15, 1999 they released their first album called ''
Keçkispasse?
''Keçkispasse?'' is the debut album by French nu metal act Pleymo. The album was released by independent label Wet Music on 15 June 1999, going on to sell 10,000 copies. It was reissued in 2002 by Epic Records, the label Pleymo had signed with in ...
'' signed to the label Wet Music.
Epic (a branch of Sony) offered the band a record deal in 2000.
''Episode 2 : Medecine Cake'' (2001–2002)
In 2002, they released ''
Episode 2: Medecine Cake'', produced by Fabrice Leyni. Sales of Pleymo's second album topped the 50,000 mark, establishing the band as a major new French band. In August 2002, Pleymo went on to perform at the Summer Sonic Festival in Tokyo and also in Osaka, sharing the stage with major international stars such as The Offspring and No Doubt.
With this, they were already well known in Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, UK and also Japan (where they played a lot of concerts in 2002 and 2004). They also released an English version of this album, called Doctor Tank's Medicine Cake, with English lyrics.
In November 2002 the group released a six-track "(Ep)Live", recorded at Les Eurockéennes festival in Belfort.
''Rock'' (2003–2004)
Their third album title, ''
Rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
'', announced a major change of musical direction, with greater emphasis on melody and vocals.
The members of the group stated that this third album was influenced by the work of bands like
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics an ...
and
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chambe ...
.
''Rock'' is a
concept album
A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...
about a blind four-year-old boy and his imaginary double.
[
Sales of ''Rock'' topped the 50,000 mark in France and 18,000 in Japan. Pleymo were nominated in the "Best Pop/Rock Album of the Year" category at the "Victoires de la musique" Awards. Some of the band's older fans felt alienated at the perceived change in direction and sound.]
In September 2004 recorded a duet with teen pop'n'rock idols Kyo, resulting in the single "On ne changera rien".
''Alphabet Prison'' and hiatus (2005–2007)
On October 9, 2006, they returned with ''Alphabet Prison
Pleymo is a French nu metal band formed by Mark Maggiori, Benoît Julliard, Fred Ceraudo, and Mathias Borronquet in Paris in 1997. Pleymo has sold over 100,000 albums to date. The band's name apparently originates from the lead singer once havin ...
'', an album that encompasses all that they have done until that date, and has slower and calm songs (Un parfum nommé 16 ans) and heavier songs (Zéphyr, Blockout).
In 2007, they announced that they were going on hiatus. Mark confirmed that in a concert.
Mark was going to Los Angeles, where he was going to film a movie. Franck was going to the EUA to promote his brand Kill.
Benoît was going to play in a new group called Empyr, that has members from Watcha, Vegastar and the former singer of Kyo.
Fred was also going to play in a new group called Hewitt.
Davy was to continue in the group Enhancer.
In 2008, the song "New Wave" from ''Medecine Cake'' was released as a downloadable track for the game ''Rock Band
A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...
''.
Reunion (2017–present)
On March 29, 2017, Pleymo announced their comeback. The first reunion show occurred on March 9, 2018 in their native France.
Influences
Their influences range from Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
to bands like Korn
Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream.
Originally formed in 1993 b ...
, Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first f ...
and Primus.
Members
Current members
▪ Mark Maggiori (Kemar) - lead vocals (1997-2007, 2017–present), Blue.
▪ Erik De Villoutreys (Riko) - guitars (1998-2007, 2017–present), Green.
▪ Davy Portela (Vost) - guitars (1999-2007, 2017–present), Yellow.
▪ Benoît Juillard (B1) - bass guitar (1997-2007, 2017–present), Red.
▪ Fred Ceraudo (Burns) - drums (1997-2007, 2017–present), White.
▪ Franck Bailleul (Kefran) - turntables, vocals (1998-2007, 2017–present), Black.
The nicknames and colors attribute to the "Medecine Cake" era.
Former members
* Mattias Borronquet - guitars (1997-1998)
* Matthieu Gibson - guitars (1998)
Timeline
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
PlotArea = left:130 bottom:60 top:0 right:50
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:1997 till:03/23/2021
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Turntables value:lavender legend:Turntables
id:Albums value:black legend:Studio_Album
id:EP value:gray(0.75) legend:EP
id:bars value:gray(0.93)
Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1998
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1998
LineData =
at:06/15/1999 color:black layer:back
at:01/10/2002 color:black layer:back
at:10/13/2003 color:black layer:back
at:10/09/2006 color:black layer:back
at:07/01/1998 color:EP layer:back
at:10/28/2002 color:EP layer:back
BarData =
bar:Mark text:"Mark Maggiori"
bar:Mathias text:"Mathias Borronquet"
bar:Erik text:"Erik de Villoutreys"
bar:Matthieu text:"Matthieu Gibson"
bar:Davy text:"Davy Portela"
bar:Benoit text:"Benoit Julliard"
bar:Fred text:"Fred Ceraudo"
bar:Franck text:"Franck Baileul"
PlotData=
width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Mark from:01/01/1997 till:11/01/2007 color:Vocals
bar:Mark from:03/27/2017 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Mathias from:01/01/1997 till:10/01/1998 color:Guitar
bar:Erik from:01/01/1998 till:11/01/2007 color:Guitar
bar:Erik from:03/27/2017 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Matthieu from:10/01/1998 till:12/01/1998 color:Guitar
bar:Davy from:01/01/1999 till:11/01/2007 color:Guitar
bar:Davy from:03/27/2017 till:end color:Guitar
bar:Benoit from:01/01/1997 till:11/01/2007 color:Bass
bar:Benoit from:03/27/2017 till:end color:Bass
bar:Fred from:01/01/1997 till:11/01/2007 color:Drums
bar:Fred from:03/27/2017 till:end color:Drums
bar:Franck from:01/01/1998 till:11/01/2007 color:Turntables
bar:Franck from:03/27/2017 till:end color:Turntables
Discography
*''Keçkispasse?
''Keçkispasse?'' is the debut album by French nu metal act Pleymo. The album was released by independent label Wet Music on 15 June 1999, going on to sell 10,000 copies. It was reissued in 2002 by Epic Records, the label Pleymo had signed with in ...
'' (1999)
*'' Episode 2: Medecine Cake'' (2002)
*''Rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
'' (2003)
*''Alphabet Prison'' (2006)
Videography
*''Ce Soir C'est Grand Soir'' (2005, Live, Double DVD)
Videoclips (music videos)
* ''Blöhm (2000)''
* ''New Wave (2001)''
* ''United Nowhere (2002)''
* ''Divine Excuse (2003)''
* ''Rock (2003)''
* ''On Ne Changera Rien (2004)''
* ''Moddadiction (2004)''
* ''Adrenaline (2006)''
* ''L'instinct et l'envie (2006)''
References
External links
Official website
Royal Artist Club - Official Mobile Blog
New album official website
Official Myspace
{{Authority control
Alternative metal musical groups
French nu metal musical groups
Rap metal musical groups
Musical groups established in 1997
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
1997 establishments in France
Musical groups reestablished in 2017