Biography
Villeneuve is an electronica/pop group from Paris, France.
The first album of Villeneuve is called First Date. This work is a synthesis lead by a strong music lover whose aim is to know everything about his passion. Villeneuve would like to compile the thousand discs of his collection in only one album. First Date is a real art work that could remind a great painting such as the one on the cover from Mario de Berardinis.
Obsessed by its music passion, Villeneuve was thirteen years old when he falls in love with Keith Richards style. This leads him to learn how to play guitar influenced clearly by the rock scene with artists such as The Cure, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Sonic Youth, Nirvna…a classic education of a contemporary human being. Then he discovers and plays Minor Threat, Fugazi, Helmet and The Stooges, to conclude with absolute hardcore music : shouting, letting out steam and nihilism.
A few years later, noisy pop brings him back to melodies and he begins writing music. With its first band, GUERNICA, he does his first stage appearance in the south of France, from Marseille to Bordeaux. That is also at the same period that he discovers recording techniques, from tape recording to digital recording.
At the end of his studies, Villeneuve moves to Paris. Through Nine Inch Nails, he becomes an electronic music lover and learns how to use computer tools that enables him to develop its own music independence. Thanks to eclectic experimentation, Villeneuve succeeded in cumulating a lot of different influences that lead him to a very special formula that would be describe as pop music for the ears of the 21st century . His first demo was critically acclaimed (Magic, Octopus, Abus Dangereux…) and he was therefore contacted by many independent labels. Eventually he choosed Pias where he really appreciated the people.
Then, Villeneuve locked himself in his home studio with his muse Mélanie Pain to improve the sound texture, the melodies and the beats. Mélanie has a beautiful and delicate voice already known for those who know NOUVELLE VAGUE. All the songs were written in his own home and recorded in Marseille with Cedric Le Roux (bass and guitar). Then all the tracks were reworked, improved, manipulated and changed until Villeneuve was satisfied their final shape. Villeneuve and Mélanie sang mainly in English and showed that recording in their own home is the perfect way to take pop music out of its strict rules. First Date is carried by a constant and strong inspiration that seems to be endless. It is a trip through present, past and future of popular music : a tribute to the sixties on "Things Are Gonna Change", a soft guitar on the dancefloor on "Oh No", a typical french song with acid influences on "Plus Vite Que Le Temps", folk blended with harsh noise on "Does Anybody Hear Now", and "Men Like You" could be a RnB track played by a metal band. The whole album sounds like your Itunes going crazy and trying to play simultaneously its whole repertory and creating alliances that seem against nature but the result is as gorgeous as genetically modified combinations. First Date is a subtle album where all is close to perfection of nuances. Villeneuve inserts vague futuristic ideas in the traditional song format, using an army of sounds to find each track’s accurate form.
At 28 years old, he could already be consider as a acclaimed producer. Obsessed with perfection in music, we could imagine the soundtrack of his own dreams : The Beach Boys, Karen Dalton, My Bloody Valentine, David Axelrod or to Rune Gramophone releases. He stays far from pretentious experience working with M83 for his first EP Graceland. Villeneuve is now a songwriter focused on harmony and counterpoint.
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