M83 is a French electronic music group formed in Antibes in 1999. Initially a duo of multi-instrumentalists Nicolas Fromageau and Anthony Gonzalez, Fromageau parted ways shortly after touring for their second album Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts.
Gonzalez remains the sole constant member of the project, as the primary songwriter and lead vocalist.
members: Anthony Gonzalez, Nicolas Fromageau, Morgan Kibby, Pierre-Marie Maulini, Yann Gonzalez
formed in: Antibes
labels: Gooom Disques
genres: synth-pop, dream pop, electronic music, electronic rock
influenced by: Vangelis
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Anthony Gerard Gonzalez (born 13 March 1980) grew up in Antibes, France, together with his brother Yann. His family had a great interest in football and Gonzalez had trials with AS Cannes, while his maternal grandfather is the French international Laurent Robuschi. At the age of 14 he was injured, and turned to music instead when his parents bought him a guitar. He developed his interest in music and American culture at secondary school. With Fromageau, he formed a post-rock group called My Violent Wish.
The band's aesthetic is characterized by dense guitar and synthesizer layering, extensive use of reverb effects, and lyrics often sung softly in a dream pop style. Gonzalez has been inspired by cultural and musical facets of the 1980s, and his songs have been described as "adult-scripted teen dreams". Inspiration for his music includes bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, Depeche Mode, OMD, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Tangerine Dream.
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"Midnight City" is a song by French electronic music band M83. It was first released in France on 16 August 2011, as the lead single from the group's sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011).
The song was written by Anthony Gonzalez, Yann Gonzalez, Morgan Kibby and Justin Meldal-Johnsen.
Gonzalez's observations of Downtown Los Angeles at night helped inspire "Midnight City"'s lyrics. Gonzalez created the song's opening riffs by heavily distorting his own voice. The song ends on a saxophone solo played by Fitz and the Tantrums' James King. Regarding the solo, Gonzalez said: "Sometimes a song needs an element to be finished. You know that this element has been overused in the past and is considered clichéd or cheesy, but the song needs it."
"Midnight City" received universal acclaim, and was hailed as one of the best songs of 2011. Pitchfork Media's Brandon Stosuy wrote: "'Midnight City' comes off like Gonzalez's '1979.' The parallels are there, from the instantly memorable riff to the gentle sense of longing". Ryan Reed of PopMatters also praised the song, writing: "On this transcendent standout [...] Anthony Gonzalez and co-synth-scientist Justin Meldal-Johnsen build layer upon layer of keys, arena-sized drums, and vocal atmospherics (not mentioning one of the tastiest sax solos this side of a Springsteen record). The result? The synth Sistine Chapel." Josh Jackson of Paste wrote that the song "[...] sees Anthony Gonzalez at his spacey, dramatic best," while Spin's Charles...
A music video for "Midnight City", directed by Fleur & Manu, was released on 17 October 2011. The video features telekinetic children who escape a federal facility and test their powers in an abandoned factory. The video is the first part of a trilogy which continues in the video for "Reunion" and is concluded in the video for "Wait".
"Wait" is a song by French electronic music band M83. The track was released on 5 December 2012 as the fifth single from their sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011).
The music video was released on 5 December 2012 directed by Fleur & Manu and produced by Jules de Chateleux and Jean Davi. This video completed the trilogy started with "Midnight City" and continued in "Reunion".
"Kim & Jessie" is a song by French electronic band M83. Written by Anthony and Yann Gonzalez with Morgan Kibby, it was released in July 2008 as the third single from M83's fifth studio album, Saturdays = Youth.
"Kim & Jessie" ranked number five on Pitchfork's list of the top 100 songs of 2008. Pitchfork's Mark Pytlik said that "with its apocalyptic electric drum hits, keening synths, icily detached vocals, and volcanic chorus, 'Kim & Jessie' not only ranked as the album's best song, but also combined with the similarly convincing "Graveyard Girl" to make one of the year's most potent 1-2 punches." Paste's Jeff Leven called it the album's "clear standout" and "one of the best songs of 2008."
Released in July 2008, the music video for "Kim & Jessie" ranked number 47 on Pitchfork's list of the top 50 videos of the 2000s.