Who’s Medi? Since I just found out, let me tell you! He is basically the French equivalent of Matt Costa mixed with Daniel Merriweather and with a dash of Jamiroquai here and there. Expect to hear a mix of soul, 70′s inspired funk, and smooth rock.
His debut album You Got Me (Moving) comes to us after ten years of music experience that includes being the drummer of Charlie Winston and opening for Duffy, Supergrass, and KT Tuntstall.
Despite being French, the album is in English. Why? Well, according to an interview he gave Pure Charts (in French which I roughly translated to English for you), he said, ”I started playing in the bars of old Nice. It’s mostly tourists who visit them so I needed to know how to speak their language and inspire them with something they knew or that had inspired them. So I started to sing and play songs that characterize their culture. I quickly fell in love with the Anglo-Saxon music. I also like that their language is much more direct than ours. In Frencg, we use a lot of twists to explain something simple, whereas the English language is made so that everything is said in a single sentence. It is this aspect of the English language that goes along with my instinctive side. When I write a song, it’s an automatic choice to speak the English language. Having recorded the album in Los Angeles also contributed to the choice of language.”
I think the best tracks on the album have to be those which are the most soulful: “You Take The Weight”, “The Woman I Use To Love”, and “No Right Way To Say Goodbye”. I’m also liking “Excuse My French” because it reminds me of the 70′s blues-rock my dad use to listen to. The rest of the album offers up a combination of slow and upbeat tracks, many of which have that old-school studio-sound.
The overall feel of the album is laidback and thus perfect for a lazy summer day. In fact, look at the album cover: the nonchalant summery feeling that emanates from it comes through in the music.
Favourites: Excuse My French, No Right Way To Say Goodbye
Label: Atmospheriques
Rating: 5/10
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