Matthieu Chédid was born in 1972, a year before his singer father Louis Chédid brought out his first album. Aged only six, Matthieu was in the backing choir on Louis's first hit, "T'a beau pas être beau ", accompanied by his elder sister, Emilie.  

And he has hardly left the studios since. As an adolescent, he was already an excellent multi-instrumentalist and musician with a highly personal and playful imagination. With friends Julien Voulzy, Pierre Souchon and Mathieu Boogaerts, he formed several groups, including Les Poissons Rouges and Les Bébés Fous. 

As an adult, Matthieu naturally became a professional session musician, working with numerous artists: Philippe Chatel, Nina Morato, NTM, Sinclair and Billy Ze Kick. He did the arrangements for Faudel's first album. And he appeared on stage alongside his father. 

And so the release of his first album, "Le Baptême", in 97 came as no surprise. 

Backed by a group of friends, Matthieu came up with 16 groovy, poetic tracks. In his high-pitched voice he sang a whole range of stories with a naturalness tinted with caustic humour. For the lyrics, he called on the talents of Nathalie, the singer of Billy Ze Kick. Following in the footsteps of Emilie and Matthieu on "T'as beau pas être beau" twenty years earlier, Joseph and Anna, the two youngest Chédid children, sang in the backing choir on "Nostalgic du Cool".  

Already a highly experienced studio musician, he perfected his live performance skills, appearing in all the quality small Paris venues: the Cithéa, the Divan du Monde and the New Morning. On December 12th 97, he graduated a rung higher on the ladder by appearing as support band for Scottish group Texas at Bercy in front of 12.000 people. Around this time, he accompanied CharlElie Couture on a tour of clubs and then played for three nights at the Etoiles from February 2nd-4th 98. 

On stage, each song is illustrated by its own accompanying act. Occasionally a troupe of actors ("Les Acariens") join M, dressed in his red stage costume, the inevitable tuft of hair sprouting from his forehead. The childlike yet ironic world of his music is now part of the musical landscape. Navigating between frenzied passion, playfulness and perfectionism, M the musician or M the magician began by captivating professionals and is now winning the hearts of a public in search of dreams.

M's innovative style has certainly caught on with audiences and critics alike, and when he performed at the famous Francofolies de la Rochelle in 1998, the talented young singer/songwriter was awarded the Prix Félix-Leclerc (a Canadian award which helps promote young up-and-coming artists in France and Quebec).

By the summer of 98 M had earned such an excellent reputation for his songwriting that Vanessa Paradis invited him to pen a series of tracks for her new album. He also began writing material for a new album, "Je dis aime", which came out in the autumn of '99. M's new album offered a poetic take on a series of banal, often absurd, events of everyday life, fusing fantasy, humour and tender, sensitive lyrics.

Following the release of "Je dis aime", M focused his attention on his live shows, performing with his two faithful accomplices, Vincent Segal (on bass and 'cello) and Cyril Atef (drums and percussion). Towards the end of the year, M set off on a major French tour, stopping off in Paris to perform at the Elysée-Montmartre for gigs on the 22 and 23 November. Young Matthieu established a real contact with his audience, laughing, joking and chatting with fans in the audience between songs and Hendrix-style guitar riffs. Needless to say, M's enthusiasm proved highly infectious and the audience responded warmly to his laid-back, relaxed approach.

Rapidly establishing himself as one of the most original artists on the French music scene, M hit the road again in the spring of 2000. His concerts proved increasingly successful and began to attract a growing number of fans. As for his performance at the Olympia in March, tickets were sold out weeks in advance. Meanwhile, M continued to enjoy chart success with a string of popular singles including "Je dis aime", "Onde sensuelle" and "Bleu électrique" (recorded live at the Elysée-Montmartre).

The high point of M's recent career came when he triumphed at the annual "Victoires de la Musique" awards, held in Paris on March 11th. M quickly proved to be the star of the evening, carrying off the award for Best Male Singer of the Year as well as Best Concert. Following this success, M hit the road again, attracting even bigger audiences.

In June 2000 M triumphed in Paris at La Cigale, playing to a packed house four nights running. Appearing at several major music festivals over the summer months, M found time to head out to the Montreux Festival on July 9th to take part in a special tribute to Serge Gainsbourg. He gave a memorable performance of Gainsbourg's "Nazi Rock" and the early classic "L'Eau à la bouche". M continued his hectic tour schedule throughout the autumn of 2000 and won rave critical reviews in December of that year for a stint of five shows at the legendary Olympia.

Thanks to his charisma, his winning humour and his boundless on-stage energy, M has become one of the most popular figures on the modern French music scene. Following the phenomenal success of his latest tour and the album "Je dis aime" (sales recently topped 200,000!), M decided to take a break from his hectic tour schedule and he is currently 'resting' out of the media spotlight.

Bowing to popular demand, M released a double live album, "Le Tour de M", in June 2001. The album featured tracks which had been recorded at different stages of the singer's tour and, breaking with record industry norms, M refused to have any of the live versions of his songs reworked in the studio. Fans were treated to a 100% authentic album which captured the atmosphere of festivals and live venues up and down the country and portrayed M's songs in all their raw vulnerability.

On 1 May 2002, Matthieu Chédid celebrated a happy event in his personal life when his partner, Céline, gave birth to a baby girl called Billie. Inspired by this new addition to his family, Matthieu was soon back at the drawing-board, writing songs for a new album in July. However, before this album came out, M fans were treated to the release of an album of instrumental pieces in the spring of 2003. This album, entitled "Labo M1", featured a ‘bric-à-brac’ selection of demos and previously unreleased takes from the recording studio.

Throughout his career, M has proved keen to branch out and work on different projects. In recent years, for example, he has become increasingly involved in the film world, composing and recording the theme song for Vincent Perez’s first film, "Peau d’ange" (released in France in October 2002). M also recorded the theme song for Sylvain Chaumet’s animated film "Les Triplettes de Belleville" (released in June 2003).

Then, in collaboration with his two loyal collaborators, Cyril Atef and Vincent Segal, M concentrated on honing the songs for his non-instrumental album, "Qui de nous deux ?" (finally released in November 2003).

While Matthieu resumed the pose and posturing of his flamboyant M persona on his new album, there was also a pull away from his alter ego, a desire to break away and become simple Matthieu Chédid again (both on stage and on record). Matthieu’s recent fatherhood seemed to bring out his sentimental side, too, with songs such as "le Radeau" and "la Corde sensible" leaning towards more simple, sober arrangements and a more intimate form of songwriting. All in all, "Qui de nous deux?" (Which of Us?) dealt with deeper themes and an avowed desire to move onto a more personal level - as on the song "Je me démasque" (Unmasking Myself).

M hit the road again on 13 February 2004, kicking off an extensive tour with a first concert in Clermont Ferrand. This tour included a one-off date in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on 19 June 2004, which gave the singer the chance to revisit his family’s roots. Matthieu’s grandmother, the writer and poet Andrée Chedid, his grandfather Louis Antoine and his father, the singer Louis Chedid, were all born in the land of the Pharaohs.

M's success continued to build with impressive momentum and everywhere he played his concerts sold out weeks in advance. On 2, 3 and 4 August 2004, the mega-quiffed wonder brought down the house at Le Spectrum, appearing at the Francofolies music festival in Montreal. After this appearance, M took a two-month break from touring. But when he returned, the box-office success continued with tickets to his shows selling like hotcakes. On 26, 27 and 28 November 2004, M triumphed once again packing out Bercy stadium in Paris.

January 2005 saw the release of "Live au Spectrum", a mini-CD featuring 9 songs recorded at M's concert at Le Spectrum in Montreal. The CD was only released in Quebec – but, bowing to popular demand, soon made its way to French record stores as an import!

Meanwhile, M continued his marathon tour, playing dates right through until 20 June 2005 when he rounded things off with a grand finale at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London. (A staggering 700,000 fans had attended M's concerts by the end of the tour). 31 October 2005 saw the release of "En tête à tête", a double live CD of the tour, and this was soon followed by a DVD filmed at Bercy stadium. This marked the end of the "Qui 2 nous 2" cycle and M's pink period.

No Christmas break for M in 2005! The singer appeared at the Olympia in Paris on Boxing Day, sharing the stage with the likes of Cali, Arthur H and Albin de la Simone, for a fund-raising concert where proceeds were donated to the charity "Clowns sans frontières."

In 2006, Matthieu's father Louis Chédid joined forces with songwriter Pierre-Dominique Burgaud and the pair created a 'musical tale' for children entitled "Le soldat rose" (The Pink Soldier.) Chédid and Burgaud turned their project into an album featuring an all-star cast and Matthieu was recruited to play the role of the pink soldier.

In February 2007, Matthieu Chédid won a coveted French "Cesar" award for Best Film Music thanks to the impressive soundtrack he composed for Guillaume Canet's film "Ne le dis à personne." Later that same year, Chédid teamed up with Sean Lennon to perform a duet on "L'éclipse" (a song Lennon originally penned as "Parachute.")

Chédid went on to prove his studio credentials, too, producing Vanessa Paradis' new album, "Divinidylle," released in September 2007. He also contributed several tracks to the album and recorded a duet with the French pop diva ("Les Piles", written and composed by Thomas Fersen.) M also accompanied Vanessa Paradis on her ensuing tour, taking to the stage as her resident guitarist.

By the time he celebrated his 37th birthday, M had established himself as one of the prime movers and shakers on the French music scene. He was thus free to take his time over the making of his next album, which was finally released in September 2009. "Mister Mystère", which had been eagerly awaited by fans and critics alike, found M abandoning his kitsch pink suit and gelled-up hair in favour of a more sober, black-and-white image.

"Mister Mystère" revolved around the core theme of duality (one of M's favourite songwriting subjects) and featured lyrics penned by the zany French 'chanteuse' Brigitte Fontaine. The album - marketed as a "percept" rather than a "concept" album - was designed to be perceived by all the senses and the CD was accompanied by a DVD of highly stylized video clips which made full use of split-screen technology. Matthieu kept things in the family with this new release, enlisting the services of his sister, his brother and his father to help him out in the making of "Mister Mystère."

In the run-up to the album's release, M performed a series of concerts across Quebec and Montreal in July. He is due to take his "Mister Mystère" show on the road in France this winter, kicking off a major national tour on 2 November 2009.

September 2009