It’s time again to dip our fingers into the world of MySpace music and try to find something of real quality. In some respects, a lot of stuff on MySpace is almost like going down the car boot sale. Tons of stuff looks really attractive, but when you look closer it’s either a knock-off or knackered. What, you mean you can’t buy a Rolex watch for £5! This is what MySpace is like.
Lots of people send us messages like “Yo dude, you may not have heard of me, but people say I’m really good and just like Oasis/Blur/Kaiser Chiefs.” It almost makes us cry when we see they're just a horrible clone of someone like Oasis with a slightly-altered Wonderwall with a slightly-altered chord arrangement. While we find a lot of bands doing the same stuff, sometimes we miss out on artists doing better than someone in the same field. Just like M83.
M83 are French – but don’t hold that against them – and have been making ripples in the knob-twiddling world of electronica for a decade now. But why aren't they massive? Unfortunately, robotic mystery duo Daft Punk and other French dance acts like Cassius have been sucking up all the scene's mainstream attention, leaving acts like M83 to struggle to find success. However, it would be wrong of us to say they're completely unknown. Chances are that you've heard M83 and not known about it.
If you look in the videos on the M83 MySpace page, you’ll see a track entitled Teen Angst. Have a listen and you’ll recognise it from somewhere. But where was it used? To put you out your misery, we’ll let you know that it was used in various trailers for the sometimes funny but mostly disappointing Skins. Or as we like to think of it, Posh Hollyoaks. They’ve even remixed songs for bands like Bloc Party and Depeche Mode, so you know they have a good reputation. It’s not just adverts and trailers where M83 have been seen or heard. A support slot with slaphead rave monkey Moby was given to the band when he last toured across Europe and America.
Originally as a duo from 1997 to around 2004ish, founding member Nicolas Fromageau left leaving Anthony Gonzalez to continue the band. The first solo effort was 2005’s Before The Dawn Heals Us. This has been followed up by the latest release – Digital Shades Volume 1. The latest release being a very mellow and chilled number. Very similar to the works of Brian Eno. Most of the tracks on the band's MySpace music player are all ambient little numbers which may not give a true reflection of the true sound of the band. However, with YouTube videos for all their singles, it will give a clearer indication of what they're all about. A good starter is Run In To Flowers, a gentle electronic number with some simple but slightly odd lyrics.
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