Madeon - The City EP

 And not a sing bass drop was heard...

Electronic and bass music is a genre that I love when it is done right. By this, I mean it is actually cohesive, structured music that is fun to dance too. My problem with a lot of electronic music is it is so A.D.D. that there is no sense of structure. It doesn’t feel like a song to me, it just feels like the artist is sitting there throwing in any sound they can and if they make if fast, people will dance and like it. Either that, or they take the dubstep route and think a large bass drop will make the song automatically good. Those 2 ideas are what I have been hearing a lot in electronic and bass music lately, and I’m getting really tired of it. Then came a glimmering light of hope in the form of the short, 5 song EP by Madeon, The City. It is only 5 songs, most of them remixes of Madeon’s former singles, but that doesn’t matter to me. It’s time to get into the reasons why This City was my favorite EP of 2012, and why I am going to keep a sharp eye on Madeon in the next year or two.

Lets drop this bomb first. Madeon, his real name Hugo Pierre Leclercq, is only 18 YEARS OLD! I don’t know about you, but this blew my damn mind when I found this out. At 18, this kid has got a video with over a million hits on Youtube (his first single “Pop Culture” check it out) and 3 of his songs being used on national commercials or media products. So, how did this kid rise to fame? Well, This City shows you why real quick. The opener, the title track “The City”, is a expertly well crafted electronic song with great production and an endless use of different synth sounds, but has the sensibilities of great pop songs. Catchy lyrics, a wonderful chorus, it is just one of those songs that you want to put on a party and have everyone go, “Holy Crap! What is this song? This is AWESOME!” As if that isn’t great enough, the extended version of the song is even better. Where most extended versions show quickly why they weren’t the song sent to the radio, the extended version of “The City” is even better in my opinion because it keeps everything I love about the original song and just keeps it going. I know that sounds kind of stupid, but I can’t put my finger on the technical terms I can use to say why I like the extended version more.

The rest of the EP consists of excellent remixes or live versions of his other singles. The remix of his awesome song “Finale” done by Netsky starts slow, but picks up the pace pretty well as the song goes along. I still recommend the original version of “Finale” by Madeon more, as it is a great pump up song. Some video game players might know “Finale” as it is the song that opens up Play Station All Stars. Actually, that is how I found out about Madeon because I loved that opening song so much and decided to look up Madeon’s other work.

We then move on to the live version of “Icarus”. “Icarus” is a perfect electronic song in my opinion. The synths get you amped up to dance, it doesn’t feel unfocused by having too many sounds forced in by the artist, and it doesn’t feel like it has to be fast to be good! It just makes you smile and want to boogie! The final song is a remixed version of “Icarus” by Fred V. & Graffix. It is the weakest song on the EP, but it still is a great song to put on at a party as it’ll have everyone moving quick.

The Final Verdict:  Madeon’s The City might be a game changer in the terms of electronic music in my opinion. Everyone who I have showed it too doesn’t know exactly what type of sub-genre to classify it under. It is something unique and entertaining. It isn’t overproduced, and it has a pop sensibility most electronic music tries to turn away from. As for what Madeon is doing in 2013, the only known information is that he is working on a song with Lady Gaga for her next album, so it is safe to say people are noticing the talent

FINAL GRADE: A+
CHOICE CUT: EVERYTHING!...but I guess “The City (Extended Mix)”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyU2Ju46R1Q