Average age: 26 years old. Common point: a loud desire to invest in the French rock scene. That’s good, the Medicis group, born in 2021, almost has the makings of the big ones, and has buzzing news. Their new single, Timecrash, has just been released. A second single will emerge in January, then a third in February, before the eight-track album, Where we dive, expected in March 2025. Its release will be crowned by a release party at Quai M, current music scene in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée), on March 28, 2025. Before that, Medicis is scheduled at the Salle de la Cité, in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), on December 6 next year, as part of the Bars en Trans, the prestigious Transmusicales.
“I have the feeling that they have something to play”
The four members, from Sables-d’Olonne (Vendée) and Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), meet halfway to rehearse at Quai M. Its director, Benoît Benazet has already offered them two residencies in his Club. All comfort. He detected their “high potential”. Boosted by Sablais Nicolas Bonnière, guitarist of the Eiffel group, Benoît Benazet has been supporting their project for several months, “which is already qualitatively very advanced. Certainly, their fairly classic rock, but in tune with the times, is at the crossroads of the British groups Royal Blood and Mogwai. However, in France, Medicis is the only one to do it perfectly well. I really feel like they have something to play for. »
Julien Bouchereau le Sablais, singer, bassist, keyboardist, and Victor Chevalier, from Nantes, guitarist, keyboardist and singer, college friends, started music together. “When we met in 2019, the idea of starting our first group germinated, with Thomas Guignard on drums,” relates Julien Bouchereau. The trio, called Scarlet, is joined by a pop singer. But it doesn’t stick. “ We wanted to do something more rock, in the Arctic Monkeys spirit. » Guitarist Nicolas Masson is recruited.
Atmospheric and explosive
The style is refined. “We went with a noise, post-rock aesthetic. » The « voyage musical » de Medicis likes atmospheres “atmospheric”, then suddenly launches into a powerful, explosive riff. The clan is perfectly in place. The audience, stunned, asked for more. Medicis performed around thirty times in 2022. The year 2023 was often dedicated to studio recordings.
When it was born, the group talked about the possibility of singing in French. “We liked the idea of appropriating a famous name from French history and reusing it in a slightly pop art approach,” relates Julien Bouchereau. Ultimately, Medicis opted for English texts, but the historical name remained. And furiously decided to stay.
