Stromae
Encyclopedia
Paul Van Haver, better known as Stromae [stromaj] (born 12 March 1985, Brussels
, Belgium
) is a singer-songwriter
of Belgian
-Rwanda
n origin. He has distinguished himself in both hip hop
and electronic music
. He first became famous with the song "Alors on danse
" which remained at number one for several weeks in numerous countries throughout Europe
.
to a Rwandan father, whom he only got to see three times in his life, and a Belgian mother. At the age of eleven Paul Van Haver already showed an interest in music and attended 'l'Académie Musicale de Jette', where he studied music history and learned to play the drums.
In 2000 he appeared as a rapper called Opsmaestro, though he later changed his stage name to Stromae (a syllablic inversion of "Maestro", a practice called verlan
). It was with this name that Van Haver became successful.
At the age of 18, he founded a rap group called "Suspicion", along with rapper "J.E.D.I." in Eichof. They produced the song and music video "Faut que t'arrête le Rap...", though later, J.E.D.I. decided to leave the rap duo.
In order to finance his private school education, Van Haver worked part-time in the hospitality industry, but his school performance wasn't up to standard. It was only later, when he registered at l'Institut National de Radioélectricité et Cinématographie, that he released his first album "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...".
During his study at the film school of Brussels, Stromae decided in 2007 to concentrate fully on his musical career. This resulted in his debut-EP "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…".
In 2008 he signed a 4-year record deal with "Because Music" and "Kilomaître".
In 2009 Paul worked as a young trainee at the musical radio station NRJ in Brussels. Vincent Verbelen, Music Manager, was impressed by the talent of Stromae's first single 'Alors on danse' and decided to air it for the first time on NRJ. The response from listeners ( including important personalities ranging from Anna Wintour, Jean-Claude Vandamme, The Rock, or French president Nicolas Sarkozy...) was one of extreme enthusiasm and Stromae's career was launched. Sales quickly rose to number one in Belgium in just a matter of weeks.
Vertigo Records
, a label of Mercury Records
France (Universal Music Group
) signed him for a worldwide licensing deal soon after this.
By May 2010 the track Alors on danse had reached number one in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Romania and the Czech Republic.
On September 2, Stromae collaborated with Kanye West
in a remix of his hit Alors on danse.
In 2010, he was nominated for "Best Dutch and Belgian Act" at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Of his music and its influences he has said : " I was in a little group doing rap music. I thought that rather than copying the French sound, I'd focus on a more American style but give it a European spin. And then I rediscovered 90s Eurodance
. For a long time we were ashamed of that sound but in fact there's a lot to discover, it has its roots in everything from house to salsa. I also really admire Jacques Brel
- he has been a huge influence on me - but also all sorts of other stuff, Cuban son, and the Congolese rumba
which I heard as a child; that music rocked the whole of Africa." The critic Molloy Woodcraft : " He combines 90s electro synths and beats with a laidback delivery to mesmeric effect".
He is one of the ten winners of the European Border Breakers Award
2011.
On February 9, 2011, his debut album 'Cheese' (with hitsingle "Alors on danse") won the award for Best Dance Album at the Victoires de la Musique
.
On May 23, during the recording of the French TV show Taratata
, Stromae did a mashup of Alors on danse
and Don't Stop the Party
with the Black Eyed Peas. Stromae also announced he would perform for the first act of two concerts of the band on June 24 and 25, 2011 at Stade De France
.
Stromae had previously met Will.i.am
at the NRJ Music Awards
in January. Will.i.am told him that he liked "Alors on danse" and said he wanted to collaborate with Stromae.
In 2011, he received one nomination for "Best Belgian Act" at the MTV Europe Music Awards
.
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
) is a singer-songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
of Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
-Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n origin. He has distinguished himself in both hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
. He first became famous with the song "Alors on danse
Alors on danse
"Alors on danse" is a 2009 song by Belgian singer Stromae, released in September 2009 in Belgium and in February 2010 in the rest of Europe. The song reached number one in Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,...
" which remained at number one for several weeks in numerous countries throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Life
He was born in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to a Rwandan father, whom he only got to see three times in his life, and a Belgian mother. At the age of eleven Paul Van Haver already showed an interest in music and attended 'l'Académie Musicale de Jette', where he studied music history and learned to play the drums.
In 2000 he appeared as a rapper called Opsmaestro, though he later changed his stage name to Stromae (a syllablic inversion of "Maestro", a practice called verlan
Verlan
Verlan is an argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words...
). It was with this name that Van Haver became successful.
At the age of 18, he founded a rap group called "Suspicion", along with rapper "J.E.D.I." in Eichof. They produced the song and music video "Faut que t'arrête le Rap...", though later, J.E.D.I. decided to leave the rap duo.
In order to finance his private school education, Van Haver worked part-time in the hospitality industry, but his school performance wasn't up to standard. It was only later, when he registered at l'Institut National de Radioélectricité et Cinématographie, that he released his first album "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...".
During his study at the film school of Brussels, Stromae decided in 2007 to concentrate fully on his musical career. This resulted in his debut-EP "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…".
In 2008 he signed a 4-year record deal with "Because Music" and "Kilomaître".
In 2009 Paul worked as a young trainee at the musical radio station NRJ in Brussels. Vincent Verbelen, Music Manager, was impressed by the talent of Stromae's first single 'Alors on danse' and decided to air it for the first time on NRJ. The response from listeners ( including important personalities ranging from Anna Wintour, Jean-Claude Vandamme, The Rock, or French president Nicolas Sarkozy...) was one of extreme enthusiasm and Stromae's career was launched. Sales quickly rose to number one in Belgium in just a matter of weeks.
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
, a label of Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
France (Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
) signed him for a worldwide licensing deal soon after this.
By May 2010 the track Alors on danse had reached number one in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Romania and the Czech Republic.
On September 2, Stromae collaborated with Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
in a remix of his hit Alors on danse.
In 2010, he was nominated for "Best Dutch and Belgian Act" at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Of his music and its influences he has said : " I was in a little group doing rap music. I thought that rather than copying the French sound, I'd focus on a more American style but give it a European spin. And then I rediscovered 90s Eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
. For a long time we were ashamed of that sound but in fact there's a lot to discover, it has its roots in everything from house to salsa. I also really admire Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
- he has been a huge influence on me - but also all sorts of other stuff, Cuban son, and the Congolese rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
which I heard as a child; that music rocked the whole of Africa." The critic Molloy Woodcraft : " He combines 90s electro synths and beats with a laidback delivery to mesmeric effect".
He is one of the ten winners of the European Border Breakers Award
European Border Breakers Award
-Organization:The EBBA Awards were launched by the European Commission and are a European Union award. Selection and the award ceremony of the EBBA Awards are organized by Noorderslag Foundation, which has the mission to encourage the circulation of European pop music.-Partners:*European...
2011.
On February 9, 2011, his debut album 'Cheese' (with hitsingle "Alors on danse") won the award for Best Dance Album at the Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
.
On May 23, during the recording of the French TV show Taratata
Taratata
Taratata is a French TV show showcasing live and pre-recorded footage of current rock acts. Presented by Nagui since its début in 1993, the show was initially shown on France 2. This show often involves surprise and unlikely duets, as well as brief interviews with the artists...
, Stromae did a mashup of Alors on danse
Alors on danse
"Alors on danse" is a 2009 song by Belgian singer Stromae, released in September 2009 in Belgium and in February 2010 in the rest of Europe. The song reached number one in Belgium, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,...
and Don't Stop the Party
Don't Stop the Party
"Don't Stop the Party" is a song by American group The Black Eyed Peas. The song was written by members will.i.am, Allan Pineda, Jaime Gomez and Stacy Ferguson, along with Joshua Alvarez, and LeRoy, and produced by will.i.am. and DJ Ammo for the group's sixth studio album, The Beginning...
with the Black Eyed Peas. Stromae also announced he would perform for the first act of two concerts of the band on June 24 and 25, 2011 at Stade De France
Stade de France
The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...
.
Stromae had previously met Will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
at the NRJ Music Awards
NRJ Music Awards
The NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
in January. Will.i.am told him that he liked "Alors on danse" and said he wanted to collaborate with Stromae.
In 2011, he received one nomination for "Best Belgian Act" at the MTV Europe Music Awards
2011 MTV Europe Music Awards
The 2011 MTV EMAs were held in Northern Ireland's capital Belfast, on Sunday, November 6, 2011, at the Odyssey Arena in the Titanic Quarter area of the city and were hosted by Selena Gomez...
.
Tool Kit
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- Reason (software)
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Professional lpk25 (Laptop Midi Keyboard) - DigidesignDigidesignAvid Audio is an American digital audio technology company. It was founded in 1984 by Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks. The company began as a project to raise money for the founders' band, selling EPROM chips for drum machines. It is a subsidiary of Avid Technology, and during 2010 the Digidesign...
Mbox2 - EvolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
eKeys 49 (Midi Keyboard) - BanjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
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(23.25 mm 0.92 inch) - ViolaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...