M83: Oceans Niagra

A new single from M83, with details of a new album on the way and due for release in March. 

The new song, Oceans Niagra, sees Anthony Gonzalez, the prime mover of M83, collaborating with his brother film maker Yann Gonzalez for the video.

Anthony Gonzalez said: "I wanted this record to be very impactful live." 

"The idea was to come back with something closer to the energy of Before The Dawn Heals Us. The combination of guitars and synths is always in my music, but it’s maybe more present on this new record than on the previous ones."

2011's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming double album was a major commercial and artistic breakthough for M83, the track Midnight City establilshing the band's international reputation. They'd go on to make the soundtrack for the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion, and their work would feature on other films and TV productions.

The new album, entitled Fantasy, is his first album since DSVII, which was released in 2019. The album is due on March 17, as a double vinyl or CD.

M83 has confirmed tour dates in North America from April until the end of May.

M83 on Later...with Jools Holland

A high-profile appearance by M83 on the BBC's premier music show Later...with Jools Holland this week.

Christine and the Queens might be the most high profile French act in the UK at the moment, but there's no disputing there are many other acts worthy of similar attention, M83 being just one of them.

Their Junk album might not have spawned quite as many advert and TV feature soundtracks (so far!) as Hurry Up...We're Dreaming did, but the album's an infectious collection with much to love. 

It's been a top thirty hit in France, the USA and the UK and looks likely to subtly insinuate itself into the musical fabric of the next few years as its predecessor managed to do.

M83: Do It, Try It

Details of the new M83 album emerged only the other day, and almost immediately the first track from the
Junk comes out.

The much-awaited new album comes out on April 8, their proper follow up to 2011's international success Hurry Up, We're Dreaming.

The new single suggests a flavour of 80s nostalgia, something that's been present in much of their earlier work.

In a press release Anthony Gonzalez said: "I want to show different sides of me on this album."

"I want to come back with something more intimate, yet somehow with…less me!" 

"All my albums have layers of eclecticism to them, but with this album I wanted to take that even further."

About the album's title, he said: "Anything we create today is going to end up being space junk at one point anyway, and I find it really fascinating and scary at the same time - beautiful too in a way.

"I have this image of pieces of humanity floating in space, lost forever. It also means that nowadays everything goes so fast and everybody is kind of throwing away art in a certain manner.

"People will listen to an album for instance and just pick a track they like to put on a playlist. They're not going to take the time to listen to an album anymore because they have to jump on the next thing"

Guests on the 15-track album include Beck and Susanne Sundfor.

M83: New Album details

A date's been confirmed for the new album by M83, with their new collection Junk expected to be released on April 6.

It's the band's first full album since 2011's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, the album that contained their international hit Midnight City and established the band's leader Anthony Gonzalez reputation as the world's foremost purveyor of cosmic widescreen indie.

It was a landmark French music release in recent years, a collection that showed that French music didn't have to be dance orientated to be significant both commercially and critically.

The music on the album went on to be used extensively in adverts, on TV and in cinema.

M83 have since that album released the soundtrack of the Tom Cruise film Oblivion in 2013.  Other tracks by the band have featured in high profile movies including the Divergent movies as well as The Fault in our Stars.

Collaborations with Haim and Jean-Michel Jarre were released last year, and the earlier albums recorded by the band before they made Hurry Up, We're Dreaming have been re-issued.

M83 have live dates across the USA and a show in Canada next month,  some dates in Asia in May, more North American dates follow this.

They play the Solidays in Paris at the end of June, garorock festival and the Eurockéennes festival on July 1.

M83: Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

A new film in the Hunger Games franchise, and another soundtrack appearance by M83.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is the final film in the series and again features Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen.

Some of the filming for the film of the dystopian Young Adult was done in  Noisy le Grand, Paris.

M83 are no strangers to the Young Adult literature film adaptation, appearing on the soundtrack for Divergent and its Insurgent follow-up.

M83 also soundtracked Tom Cruise's movie Oblivion in 2013.

The track featuring in the trailer is My Tears Are Becoming A Sea, from the 2011 Hurry Up we're dreaming album.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2  is scheduled for release on November 20 2015.

Hunger Games – La Révolte : Partie 2

Jean-Michel Jarre: Electronica 1 The Time Machine

More details have emerged about the forthcoming Jean-Michel Jarre album.

Entitled Electronica 1 The Time Machine, it is expected to be released on October 16 and is already available to pre-order,

The album features 15 different collaborators.  Moby, Air,  3D from Massive Attack, M83, Tangerine Dream, and Gesaffelstein are among those involved.

Little Boots, Laurie Anderson and Lang Lang and John Carpenter also feature.

Some of the tracks have already appeared, new details help fill in the blanks.

It's Jarre's first studio album proper since 2007's Téo & Téa and it's certainly been long awaited.

A second volume of his Electronica project is expected for next year.

Jean Michel Jarre and M83: Glory

A full video clip has emerged for the track Glory, a collaboration between Jean Michel Jarre and M83

The track first emerged as a soundtrack for a short movie put together by Google Play, EMIC: An Interstellar Time Capsule Film. The short film was curated by Interstellar director Christopher Nolan.

The new video was directed by by Lisa Paclet, a Paris based French /Italian director whose previous work includes music videos and work with brands like Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel.

The clip focuses on sport, with its repetition,  and rules and apparent absurdity.

Meanwhile, a version of the track remixed by  Steve Angello, formerly of Swedish House Mafia, has also emerged.

Glory features on the forthcoming Jarre album, which also sees him collaborating with Tangerine Dream, Gesaffelstein , and 3D from Massive Attack.

Jean Michel Jarre and Gesaffelstein: Conquistador

A new collaborative track featuring Jean Michel Jarre and Gesaffelstein has emerged, with the track Conquistador appearing on Beatport.

Gesaffelstein is no stranger to this blog, the DJ producer known to friends and family as Mike Lévy has worked with the likes of Moby, Phoenix and Lana Del Rey as well as Arnaud Rebotini, Zombie Zombie and Justice.

He also produced two tracks on Kanye West's 2013 Yeezus album, and relased his own debut album Aleph the same year.

There are also two remixes of the new track, and I'm certain more will appear before too long.

Last month saw the release of the track Glory, a collaboration with M83 for the soundtrack of a short film.  The track featured on EMIC an Interstellar Time Capsule Film, a short film based n some of the ideas in the hot film Interstellar.

M83 is of course a band led by French artist Anthony Gonzalez, whose work has shared the futuristic themes that are present in Jarre's work, and whose work has increasingly featured in film soundtracks, an area where Jarre's career began.

Jarre's last release was the  Essentials & Rarities collection from 2011. Prior to that a re-recording of Oxygène, released to mark the iconic album's 30th anniversary was his last studio album.

His most recent album of new material was 2007's Téo & Téa, a top ten release in France.

To say the new material is long-awaited by fans is probably something of an understatement, and his choice of collaborators has so far been an inspired one.

Jean Michel Jarre and M83: Glory - EMIC: An Interstellar Time Capsule Film soundtrack

Some new material has surfaced from French synth legend Jean Michel Jarre, with the track Glory, an excerpt from his forthcoming album, used as a soundtrack for a movie put together by Google Play.

The film is entitled EMIC: An Interstellar Time Capsule Film and is a short film intended to capture life on earth in a time-capsule format, to benefit future generations should they eventually leave the planet, tying in with the recent science fiction epic Interstellar.

The film says it "Weaves submissions from people around the world into a story celebrating the human experience on Earth."

The short film was curated by Interstellar director Christopher Nolan.

Jarre's last release was the  Essentials & Rarities collection from 2011. Prior to that a re-recording of Oxygène marking the landmark album's 30ht anniversary was his last studio album. His most recent album of new material was 2007's Téo & Téa, a top ten release in France.

Jarre says the new track is a collaboration with M83. More details, and more material,  will certainly emerge before too long.

Woodkid ft. Lykke Li: Never Let You Down

Another track from the soundtrack of the forthcoming Divergent film Insurgent, this time a coalition
between Woodkid and Lykke Li.

Woodkid featured on the soundtrack of the film Divergent, the first chapter of the series, with Run Boy Run.

M83 also appeared in the first chapter, and re-appear in this second film with the track Hole in the Sky, a collaboration with Haim.

Insurgent is expected to be released on March 20 in the USA.

Woodkid had announced a forthcoming collaboration with Lykke Li on Instagram, although it wasn't certain whether it was for work on a new Woodkid album or not.

The new release seems to suggest that any hope of a new Woodkid album was premature, and we'll have to make do with a new track for the time being.

M83 - Holes In The Sky ft. HAIM

The first single from the film Insurgent, the latest installment in the Divergent teenage sci-fi series, sees French artist M83 team up with US female act of the moment Haim for the track Holes in the Sky.

Gonzalez has been increasingly involved in soundtrack in recent years, his epic sounding no doubt finding approval with directors of widescreen science fiction works.

The track comes somewhere between the usual M83 synth sound and Haim's west coast rock stylings, instead it's a ballad number that reveals the M83 influence through it's string arrangements.

2014's Divergent featured the M83 track I Need You, along with Woodkid's Run Boy Run, along with a collaboration between A$AP Rocky and Gesaffelstein.

Insurgent, the second film in the Divergent series, is due to be released later this month in the USA.

M83: Moonchild

Another older track by M83 getting another moment in the sun, with a new video for the track
Moonchild emerging.

The video marks the latest phase of the reissue campaign that saw new editions of their first three  albums M83, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts and Before The Dawn Heals Us.

Moonchild comes from Before The Dawn Heals Us, a collection originally released in January 2005.
It also featured the tracks Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun and In The Cold I'm Standing , both of which have been featured in recent videos.

On the M83 YouTube channel, Anthony Gonzalez said: "Before the Dawn Heals Us’ is still my favorite… There's something very special about it.

"I remember listening back to it for the first time with my manager at the end of the session, and it was like, “Yeah, that's cool. I'm going to sleep well tonight.”

While it may be some time since we've seen a new album from M83, there's little doubt that their back catalogue is packed full of classic material.

M83: Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun

A new video for an old track by M83, coming ahead of the re-issue of three of their early albums next week.

Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun comes from their Before the Dawn Heals Us album, which was originally released in 2005.

Before the Dawn Heals Us, Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts from 2003  and their M83 debut album from 2001 are re-released next week.

Next month also sees two EPs of remixes and bonus material from the early albums.

Those who came to the band following the success of 2011's Hurry Up, We're Dreaming will find much to love in these earlier albums, their epic sound already present, cinematic in the best possible way.

M83 have gone on to Grammy nominations, blockbuster soundtracks and platinum sales, but these three albums show where it all started, and it started in a very fine way indeed.

M83: I Need You

A new track's emerged from M83, the song I Need You featuring on the soundtrack for the film Divergent.

The movie is described as "A thrilling action-adventure film set in a world where people are divided into distinct factions based on human virtues."

M83 are a perfect choice for a science fiction soundtrack, their work having also appeared on Tom Cruise's Oblivion movie in 2013.

It's based on a book, the first of a trilogy, by American writer Veronica Roth. It's a teenage-audience science fiction work, set in a dystopian Chicago of the future, aimed at much the same kind of target audience as The Hunger Games.

The film stars Shailene Woodley as Beatrice Prior. Others appearing include Ray Stevenson, Kate Winslet and Ashley Judd.

Other artists on the soundtrack include Woodkid - with the track Run Boy Run and I Love You on the deluxe edition - and A$AP Rocky featuring Gesaffelstein with the track In Distress.

Ellie Goulding has several tracks including one new song, and other artists include Snow Patrol and Tame Impala featuring  Kendrick Lamar on vocals.

Divergent is at the cinema in the UK on March 21, with the soundtrack album released on March 21.

M83: Moonchild video

There's never a need for an excuse to publish an M83 video, so here's another that has emerged.

The track comes from their third album, 2005's Before the Dawn Heals Us and it features Anthony Gonzalez and his friends at their epic cosmic best.

While 2011's Hurry Up We're Dreaming was the album that propelled M83 into outer space, their earlier work was no less out there beyond the final frontier.

The clip emerged after the band launched a competition for a clip for this track and for Outro.

It's certainly about time for some new material from M83, since Hurry Up We're Dreaming they recorded the soundtrack for Tom Cruise's film Oblivion.

M83: Hurry up we're dreaming (about advertising!)

There are times when TV producers and advertising people seem to be listening to the same music.

Previously Moby's Play album seemed to be a ubiquitous soundtrack to adverts, TV news and magazine features. At other times it was Royksopp's Melody A.M that was the CD that the TV producer and advertising agency executive kept on their desk.

Right now it seems to be the turn of France's M83, who seem to be soundtracking everything on TV at the moment.

Sure, they did a proper soundtrack to Tom Cruise's Oblivon movie, earlier this year, but their work being incorporated into advertising campaigns has probably given them a bigger exposure.

So even if you've not consciously been listening to one of France's biggest musical exports, chances are you know some of their music without even realising it.

For example, Persil uses Outro for their For Whatever Life Throws at you campaign.



The advanced cleaning properties of contemporary French electronica obviously attracted another with Midnight City featuring in a campaign for Ariel.




M83 are also there to help you choose which clothes you wash,  for those who buy expensive American lingerie.



My Tears are becoming a Sea was an appropriately aquatic soundtrack for the UK trailer for the film Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os)



In another promo, Channel 4s' gritty drama Red Riding in 2009 featured the track Gone from the Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts album from 2003



Curiously, it wasn't the band's only association with things Red that involved Riding, the song Just a Fragment of You credited to Anthony Gonzalez from M83 and Brian Reitzell featuring in the soundtrack of the 2011 film Red Riding Hood.



Meanwhile, France's car industry was quick to get wise to the epic and technological sound of M83, using it in the Capture Life campaign for the Renault Captur.

M83: Claudia Lewis video

A new video has emerged for the M83 track Claudia Lewis, another song that featured on their 2011 Hurry Up we're Dreaming collection.

The video, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, is the latest to come out as part of MTV's Supervideos series.

The idea of the Supervideos was to bring directors and actors together to make music videos. While not the 'official' videos by the acts involved, they provide an interesting alternative visual take on the song.

Previous videos have included LCD Soundsystem's Pow Wow directed by Training Day writer David Ayer and starring Anna Kendrick, best known for her part in the George Clooney movie Up in the Air that saw her get an Oscar nomination.

The director of the new M83 clip is Bryce Dallas Howard, the daughter of Oscar winning director Ron Howard. She's established herself as an actor and director in her own right

The actress that features in the video is Lily Collins, daughter of former Genesis drummer and 80s solo star Phil Collins.

M83 have of course released the soundtrack to the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion since their last full album, but the new video certainly serves as a reminder that we could certainly be doing with some new material from M83 before too long.

M83: Oblivion

M83's title track to the new Tom Cruise film Oblivion has appeared online.

The track Oblivion features vocals by Norwegian singer-songwriter Susanne Sundfør.

Given Anthony Gonzalez's apparent like for the more cosmic things (the band is names after a galaxy after all) involvement in the soundtrack of a science fiction film seems an obvious move.

Gonzales composed the score with Joseph Trapanese, who arranged five tracks on M83's Hurry Up I'm Dreaming album, and worked with Daft Punk on the Tron: Legacy soundtrack.

The track StarWaves - a slow instrumental - from the film soundtrack emerged earlier.

The film is based on a graphic novel by the same name, which was written by Joseph Kosinski, who made his film directorial debut with Tron: Legacy, a film that also memorably featured a French band's soundtrack.

2011's Hurry Up We're Dreaming gave M83 their biggest commercial hit, and a film soundtrack seems a good move in that it allows them to build on the success of that release without the weight of expectations of a new album. Although a soundtrack for a $100m movie is hardly a low key release.

That being said, the song - complete with its 80s influences - could easily be imagined as a massive hit single along the lines of songs like Show Me Heaven by Maria McKee from Days of Thunder or Take My Breath Away by Berlin on Top Gun.

Of course, those with longer memories recall Tangerine Dream, a European electronic act with a cosmic attitude, doing the soundt
rack for Risky Business, an early hit for Tom Cruise.

Whether or not Tom Cruise remains the big draw at the box office that he was in the 80s remains to be seen, but there's no denying the soundtrack certainly deserves top billing.

The film Oblivion is released on April the tenth.

Grammy Awards - M83: Wait

With the details of the shortlist for this year's Grammy Awards released, it's encouraging to see some French artists in the running.

True, there are 80 categories so statistically it would be more of a surprise if there weren't any, but yet again its good to see some French acts getting recognition in the US.

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming by M83 gets a nomination in the Best Alternative Music Album, up against the likes of Bjork and Tom Waites, not to mention Fiona Apple and Gotye.

Amadou & Mariam get a nomination in the Best World music category for the Folila album. Woodkid get a nomination for best short form video for Run Boy Run.

There are also nominations in the best solo classical vocal category for Nathalie Dessay and in the Best original film soundtrack for Ludovic Bource for The Artist.

Meanwhile, another track by M83 gets an official music video. This time its the track Wait that gets the bog screen attention.

It's a suitably cosmic affair for a band that is, after all, named after an astronomical object listed by 18th century French astronomer Charles Messier, the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. The music is as epic as it always was, and the 2001: A Space Odyssey style of the video are certainly appropriate.

It's another track from their sixth album Hurry up We're Dreaming, an album that even so long after its original release continues to win over critics and new fans alike.

The winners of the Grammy Awards will be announced at the award ceremony on February 10.

M83: My Tears Becoming a Sea - Rust and Bone

A song that's gained a renewed life after its appearance in the UK trailer for the film Rust and Bone.

My Tears are becoming a sea featured on the M83 album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, and album that's secured a place as one of the classic albums of the last few years.

The film debuted at Cannes earlier this year, and while not a winner of the palme d'or, it gota positive critical reaction, and more recently won the Best Film award at the BFI London Film festival.

Some suggest the film could earn Marion Cotillard her second Oscar award.

The soundtrack for the flim was composed by Alexandre Desplat, who previously worked on Cotillard's earlier film Coco Before Chanel, and with Rust and Bone director Jacques Audiard on the films A Prophet, A Self Made Hero, Read My Lips and The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Desplat's film soundtrack career also included work on Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Queen, Twilight: New Moon and both Harry Potter and the Deathley Hallows movies. He's been nominated for an Oscar four times and won two César awards as well as a Golden Globe and a Bafta.