Montpellier’s Kazy Lambist in concert Thursday at Rockstore: “I assume I’m making southern music!”

“I have a little obsession with the Mediterranean Sea.” Arthur Dubreucq was born in Montpellier thirty-two years ago, and although he found his pseudonym in Canada, seventeen years later during a school exchange year in British Columbia (Kazy Lambist would be the name of a local twister), its inspiration remains and remains profoundly Mediterranean. As evidenced by his new album Moda (Cinq7 / Wagram) which means we can see it this Thursday at the Rockstore. Superbly but without the slightest bouzouki pinch, cajón rub or derbouka snap. At Kazy Lambist, Mare nostrum is not about sounds but about thrills.

On the borders of atmospheric electro à la Air and synthetic pop à la Sébastien Tellier, his music evokes an early summer evening, with our feet in the sand, when the sun is no longer blinding but luminous, the heat more overwhelming but enveloping, and then the atmosphere unbuttons with lightness… “I admit that it’s a time of day that suits me well, with all the colors that go with the transition from day to nightconfides Arthur Dubreucq. I am quite nocturnal by nature but I like the moment of the sunset, I have good memories of twilights in concerts… And then, the sunset marks a beginning somewhere, I like that!”

But the twilight, over time, does not go without fading the mood of those who blossom there: the song like the melody exudes in the long run an elegant way of melancholy. “It’s true that I tend to be a little nostalgic,” recognizes the singer. “I know that, so I try to compensate for my nature by offering pieces that can be a little catchy, even danceable. So as not to dampen the atmosphere. That’s not the idea!”

A swaying groove

But let’s stay calm and drink fresh: for as much groove as Kazy Lambist’s electro-pop is, this one is never the type to beat up, his thing is more tossing, undulating, swinging, see, in softness and depth. Arthur Dubreucq smiles: “It’s true that there is a certain gentleness in us. The Mediterranean is a very gentle sea, the waves are not huge there. We also enjoy an ideal climate… Unconsciously, this is reflected in the music.” And added: “I completely embrace making southern music!”

An amusing detail, which you probably have to be from the region to fully appreciate, the first track of his album is titled Cinémed, nickname of the Montpellier International Mediterranean Cinema Festival. “Ah, Cinémed… I went there every year when I was younger. It was thanks to this festival that I was able, before traveling, to discover other cultures beforehand. I enjoyed being there. see Greek, Turkish, Palestinian films, etc. A whole Mediterranean culture, in fact, and that’s what I found interesting: discovering everything we had in common.”

The taste for sharing

After a successful first album (33 000 Ft.in 2018) and the tour that accompanied its release, Arthur Dubreucq took his time to publish his second long format… but was not idle. He has published several EPs, including one with Jean-Benoît Dunckel of the group Air, numerous DJ sets in France and Europe, given concerts in Turkey, lived for two years in Rome, toured in North America with Kid Francescoli, his colleague in southern electro-pop (Marseille)… A multitude of experiences of which his new recording contains the echo: the Turkish singers Sedef Sebüktekin and Den Ze, the jazz group Emilie Londonien, the saxophonist Jowee Omicil, Montpellier singer Nelly Lawson, Californian Julietta… Moda full of collaborations (featurings). “That’s what I like the most, what gives me energy: working with artists I love, exchanging, creating together. Afterwards, I put my hand into production. Basically, I considers myself more as a producer than a singer.”

Having seen him at the end of August in concert at the Palmarosa festival in Montpellier, we have the right to disagree on this point: with only two musicians, he managed to hold the big stage with a relaxed class (which said typically Mediterranean?) and won the support of a crowd who did not necessarily know him. “It was one of our first concerts with our singer Woody and our bassist Sabine Stankors. We had to do three festivals before, we weren’t necessarily yet familiar with everything but since then, we’ve toured quite a bit. At Rockstore, we will be able to give the full concert, longer than the festival format, and we will be able to work on the lights, the visual dimension is very important to us. It’s going to be cool to present all of this at the Rockstore, at home!”