Matthieu Chedid (born 21 December 1971) is a French multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Chedid began his career as a

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

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 Nouvelle Chanson (, meaning "New Song"), derived from the French expression ''nouvelle scène française'', sometimes anglicized as New Chanson, is a musical genre of Chanson which emerged in France in the 1990s and developed in the 2000s. This gen ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

and

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 Wale ...

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 ''Le soldat rose'' is a 2006 French-language children's musical with music by Louis Chedid and lyrics by Pierre-Dominique Burgaud. The plot of the musical is about a little boy who hides in the toy section of a department store at night, where the ...

'' 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 Alain Bashung (born Alain Claude Baschung, ; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded as the most importan ...

Biography

Matthieu Chedid was born in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. His father

Louis Chedid Louis Chedid (born 1 January 1948, in Ismaïlia) is a French singer-songwriter of Lebanese, Syrian, and Egyptian origin. Biography Louis Chedid is the son of the writer Andrée Chedid and the father of Matthieu Chedid (better known as -M-). ...

is a singer from a family of Lebanese and

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

extraction, of

Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...

and

Greek Orthodox Christian Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

background. Louis Chedid's mother

Andrée Andrée or Andree may refer to: People * Andrée (given name) * Andree (surname) Places * Andree, Minnesota, unincorporated community in Stanchfield Township, Isanti County, Minnesota * 1296 Andrée, asteroid * Andrée Land (Svalbard) * Andrée La ...

(''née'' Saab) was an

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

-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 Lucien Voulzy (, born 18 December 1948), better known as Laurent Voulzy (), is a French singer-songwriter, composer, and musician. Life and career Voulzy was born in Paris, France. He originally led the English-pop-influenced Le Temple de Vénu ...

and

Alain Souchon Alain Souchon (; born Alain Édouard Kienast ; 27 May 1944) is a French singer-songwriter and actor. He has released 15 albums and has played roles in seven films. Profile Alain Souchon was born in Casablanca, Morocco. His family on his moth ...

) 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 Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

concerts. He has recorded with NTM,

Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Mount Sinclair, Canada * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sincl ...

, Billy Ze Kick,

Brigitte Fontaine Brigitte Fontaine (born 24 June 1939) is a French singer of avant-garde music. She has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry, and world. She has collaborated with Stereola ...

Sean Lennon is a British-American musician, songwriter, and producer. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, the Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tige ...

Vanessa Paradis Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model and actress. Paradis became a star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single " Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest ho ...

, and

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

. Until 2008, Chedid was in a relationship with French actress

Audrey Tautou Audrey Justine Tautou (; born 9 August 1976) is a French actress. She made her acting debut at age 18 on television, and her feature film debut in '' Venus Beauty Institute'' (1999), for which she received critical acclaim and won the César Awa ...

-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 Aime (; ) is a former commune in the Savoie ''département'' in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Aime-la-Plagne.Le Baptême''. During this time; he played mainly solo or with the cellist

Vincent Ségal Vincent Ségal (born 1967 in Reims, France) is a French cellist and bassist. He studied at the National Music Academy of Lyon and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. He is mainly known for the variety of his collaborations and unusual proj ...

. The album received overall positive critical reception, but public recognition only came a few months later, with the release of the single "Machistador".

''Je dis aime''

In 1999, -M- published his second album, ''

Je dis aime ''Je dis aime'' (1999) is the second studio album by French singer-songwriter Matthieu Chedid, in his persona as M, described by reviewers as a "conceptual icon to rival Bowie's Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane". Critical reception The album wa ...

'' 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 Vincent (Latin: ''Vincentius'') is a masculine given name originating from the Roman name ''Vincentius'', which itself comes from the Latin verb ''vincere'', meaning "to conquer." People with the given name Artists *Vincent Apap (1909–2003) ...

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 Sylvain Chomet (; born 10 November 1963) is a French comic writer, animator and film director. Early career Born in Maisons-Laffitte, Seine-et-Oise (now Yvelines), near Paris, he studied art at high school until he graduated in 1982. Chomet m ...

animated film ''

The Triplets of Belleville ''The Triplets of Belleville'' () is a 2003 animated adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Sylvain Chomet. It was released as ''Belleville Rendez-vous'' in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The film is Chomet's first feature film a ...

'' in both French and English. The song, with lyrics by Chomet and music by Benoit Charest, was nominated for a 2003

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

. 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 deux'' (2003) is an album by French singer-songwriter Matthieu Chedid in his persona as M. It is his third full studio album, or the fourth if including the instrumental work Labo M which he had released earlier the same year. The t ...

'' (Which one of us two) with the singles "Qui de nous deux", "La bonne étoile", "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

on her album ''

Divinidylle ''Divinidylle'' is the fifth studio album by French singer Vanessa Paradis, released on 27 August 2007 by Barclay. It was recorded between November 2005 and June 2007. Critical reception was favourable, with AllMusic suggesting that it was "likel ...

'', released in September 2007.

''Mister Mystère''

Rumors circulated before the release of his 2009 studio album, ''

Mister Mystère ''Mister Mystère'', released in 2009, is the fourth studio album by French singer-songwriter Matthieu Chedid in his persona as M (or fifth if including the instrumental album, ''Labo M''). It was his first studio album after a six-year hiatus dur ...

'', 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.Review on 2yeuxet1plume / Autour de Matthieu Chedid
(French)

''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 Toumani Diabaté ( ; 10 August 1965 – 19 July 2024) was a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he was involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styl ...

and

Sidiki Diabaté Sidiki Diabaté is a Malian kora player, singer, and music producer born in 1992 in Bamako. He is the son of kora player Toumani Diabaté and grandson of his namesake, Sidiki Diabaté. Diabaté belongs to the 77th generation of musicians in a ...

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 Philippe Jaroussky (; born 13 February 1978) is a French countertenor. He began his musical career with the violin, winning an award at the Versailles conservatory, and then took up the piano before turning to singing. Unusually for a counterteno ...

Oxmo Puccino Abdoulaye Plea Diarra (; born 3 August 1974), better known by his stage name Oxmo Puccino (, ), is a Malian-French rapper. Career A longtime hip hop fan, at age 21 Diarra began his collaboration with the fledgling rap collective Time Bomb, ho ...

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

Seu Jorge Jorge Mário da Silva, more commonly known by his stage name Seu Jorge (Seu, Portuguese for "Your"; born June 8, 1970; ), is a Brazilian musical artist, songwriter, and actor. He is considered by many a renewer of Brazilian pop samba. Seu Jorg ...

, and

Fatoumata Diawara Fatoumata Diawara (, born 21 February 1982) is a Malian singer-songwriter currently living in France. Diawara began her career as an actress in theatre and in film, including ''Genesis'' (1999), '' Sia, The Dream of the Python'' (2001) and ''T ...

, 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 infinie'' is the sixth studio album by M, released on 25 January 2019. It follows the album '' Îl'', which was released in 2012. Two singles were released ahead of the album: "Superchérie" on 13 December 2018, and "Lettre infinie" on ...

'', featuring collaborations from

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Music S ...

and Phillipe Zdar. His album ''

Rêvalité ''Rêvalité'' is the seventh studio album by M, released on 3 June 2022. Bassist Gail Ann Dorsey, best known for her collaboration with David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an Engl ...

'' was released in June 2022.

Public image

Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2022 - -M- - 066

Chedid is mostly known for his on-stage persona -M- whose signature hairstyle is reminiscent of the letter M and was initially achieved using

hair wax Hair wax is a thick hairstyling product containing wax, used to assist with holding the hair. In contrast with hair gel, most of which contain alcohol, hair wax remains pliable and has less chance of drying out. It is often sold under names such ...

. According to Chedid, the hairstyle was inspired by the

ear tuft Ear tufts are a collection of fur or feathers found on animals which can resemble an animal's ear or is near the animal's ear. Cats Ear tufts are not found on all cat breeds. The ear tufts are located on the tips of cat ears and are also known ...

s of certain species of

owl Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...

s, from a

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

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 David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

's stage persona

Ziggy Stardust Ziggy Stardust was a glam alter ego of musician David Bowie in the early 1970s. It may refer specifically to: * Ziggy Stardust (character) * ''The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars'', often shortened to ''Ziggy Stardust'', a ...

. Besides Matthieu Chedid, the character -M- has also been portrayed by actor

Vincent Lindon Vincent Lindon (; born 15 July 1959) is a French actor and filmmaker. For his role in the film '' The Measure of a Man'' (2015), Lindon won Best Actor at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, Best Actor at the 41st César Awards and the IFFI Best ...

in the music video for Chedid's song ''La bonne étoile''. In promotional material and music videos for his 2009 album ''Mister Mystère'', 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.

Awards

Matthieu Chedid holds the gold place in number of Victoires de la Musique awards, with 13 awards

Discography

Albums

Studio albums Collaborations Live albums Soundtracks Rereleases

Singles

As main artist

Collaborations

Other hits

Charity

*2016: "Vole" (with

Nolwenn Leroy Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter and actress. Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second season o ...

...)

Bibliography

* ''Les Âmes de Mogador'' (2003), with Patrice Renson : tribute to

Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ), known until the 1960s as Mogador (, or ), is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marrakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It has 77,966 inhabitants as of 2014. The foundation of the city of Essaouira was the work of t ...

( Maroc). A CD of ten unreleased tracks is included. * ''-M-, qui de nous deux'' (2004), with Claude Gassian : book produced during the recording of the album ''Qui de nous deux'' * ''-M- de A à Z'' (2005), by Mathias Goudeau * ''Le monde de -M-'' (2005), with Marianne Chedid, Sonia Rachline and Sophie Laurent : insight on his career, with a lot of pictures * ''-M- le mot dit : esthétique d'un funkistador'' by Marc Borbon: analysis of M's world through a fan's own experience * ''Le Livre Extraordinaire de -M-'' by Lisa Roze: package of an archival photographs, unpublished shootings, a book, postcards, a pop-up, a new song (Si Si No No), etc.

References

External links

Official website (flash)
(French)
Myspace site, including links and concert dates
(French)
RFI Biography
(English)
Interview with ‑M-
(French)
-M- Chedid Online
(Spanish)

(English)
Reference website (2yeuxet1plume / Autour de Matthieu Chedid)
(French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chedid, Matthieu 1971 births Living people Musicians from Boulogne-Billancourt French people of Syrian descent French people of Lebanese descent French rock guitarists French male guitarists 21st-century French singers 21st-century French guitarists 21st-century French male singers French male singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters César Award winners