Mister Mystère
Encyclopedia
Mister Mystère, released in 2009, is the fourth studio album by French singer-songwriter Matthieu Chedid
in his persona as -M- (or fifth if including the instrumental album, Labo M
). It was his first studio album after a six year hiatus during which he had concentrated on live music along with side projects including collaborations with his father, Louis Chedid
, Mali
an musicians Amadou & Mariam
and French singer Vanessa Paradis
(notably on the album Divinidylle).
Commercially successful in France Mister Mystère sold 51,000 copies in the first week of release, out-selling rival albums One Love
by David Guetta
and Volume 10 by Marc Lavoine
. It spent only one week at number 1 in France but has remained in the top 100 to this date.
, author Georges Kretek, filmmaker Guillaume Canet
and much of his own family including father Louis (mixing, lyricist on Hold-Up), brother Joseph (drums), sister Anna (chorus) and another sister Emilie who helped with the production of the accompanying DVD.
Part of the content was available through an Opendisc
Enhanced Music CD which had to be used in conjunction with the album's website
Matthieu Chedid
Matthieu Chedid is a French rock singer-songwriter and guitar player.-Biography:...
in his persona as -M- (or fifth if including the instrumental album, Labo M
Labo M
Labo M is the third studio album by French singer-song-writer Matthieu Chedid in his persona as -M-. It's an all-instrumental work which, considering that one of -M-'s trademarks had previously been his inventive wordplay, caused some degree of discontent amongst parts of his fan base...
). It was his first studio album after a six year hiatus during which he had concentrated on live music along with side projects including collaborations with his father, Louis Chedid
Louis Chedid
Louis Chedid is a French singer-songwriter of Lebanese origin.-Biography:Louis Chedid is the son of the writer Andrée Chedid and the father of Matthieu Chedid ....
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
an musicians Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia . The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music...
and French singer Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model and actress. She became a child star at 14 with the worldwide success of her single "Joe le taxi"...
(notably on the album Divinidylle).
Style and reception
The reappearance of -M- in a more sombre 'black-and-white' persona without his former reliance on vivid colours (notably pink) and wild distinctive haircut caused considerable media attention. The music remained an idiosyncratic mix but was declared by critics to be 'innovative' with 'more sensual' lyrics that overall represented a 'successful metamorphosis' for the artist. However, other critics saw the project as falling flat and Telerama considered that only Délivre and L'élixir really broke the funky monotony of the work.Commercially successful in France Mister Mystère sold 51,000 copies in the first week of release, out-selling rival albums One Love
One Love (David Guetta album)
One Love received generally favourable reviews from most music critics. According to Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 66, based on ten reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews"...
by David Guetta
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta , known professionally as David Guetta , is a French house music producer and DJ. Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster and Pop Life...
and Volume 10 by Marc Lavoine
Marc Lavoine
Marc Lucien Lavoine is a French singer and actor. In 1985, his hit single "Elle a les yeux revolver" allowed him to reach the top of the French chart and marked the beginning of his successful singing career....
. It spent only one week at number 1 in France but has remained in the top 100 to this date.
Collaborators
The team with whom Chedid created and recorded the album included Brigitte FontaineBrigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry and world rhythms...
, author Georges Kretek, filmmaker Guillaume Canet
Guillaume Canet
Guillaume Canet is a French actor and film director.Canet began his career in theatre and television before moving to film. He starred in several films like Joyeux Noël, Love Me If You Dare and The Beach...
and much of his own family including father Louis (mixing, lyricist on Hold-Up), brother Joseph (drums), sister Anna (chorus) and another sister Emilie who helped with the production of the accompanying DVD.
Track listing
- Disk 1
- Mister Mystère
- Phébus
- Est-ce que c'est ça?
- Le roi des ombres
- Tanagra
- L'élixir
- Ça sonne faux
- Destroy
- Semaine
- Amssétou
- Tout sauf toi
- Hold-Up
- Délivre
- Disk 2
- Lettre à Tanagra (Lettres à Tanagra)
- Brigand(Lettres à Tanagra)
- Crise (Lettres à Tanagra)
- Je les adore (Lettres à Tanagra)
- Disk 3 (only released on iTunes)
- Le roi des ombres (Demo)
Part of the content was available through an Opendisc
Opendisc
Opendisc is an Enhanced Music CD application for enabling multimedia content when a compact disc is played on a personal computer. Opendisc asserts that its technology conforms to the Blue Book specification and does not contain copy-protection functions...
Enhanced Music CD which had to be used in conjunction with the album's website