Image courtesy of Petit Biscuit’s Facebook page
What was the coolest thing you did while you were 18?
If your answer is “nothing much—start college, maybe finish going through puberty (if you were lucky)” then your’re probably like the majority of the 18-year-old population. But if your answer is “create a distinctive yet popular type of tropical house music, amass millions of monthly listeners on multitudes of music streaming sites, create a hit song with over 220,000,000 plays, and go on a world tour before your 19th birthday,” than you’re probably French EDM producer Mehdi Benjelloun, better known by his stage name, Petit Biscuit.
Benjelloun got his start in music when he was only 11-years-old and purchased his first PC. He started messing around with creating music when he was 12, and released his first single, “Alone,” in May 2015, when he was just 16. However, Benjelloun’s real introduction to the electronic community happened when he released his smash hit, “Sunset Lover,” in June of the same year—and it’s been an explosion of popularity and recognition ever since. “Sunset Lover” flew to #6 on the French singles chart that year, and has had worldwide popularity since its release.
Benjelloun’s debut album, Presence, was just released on November 9th, 2017, and although it has a very similar feel to his earlier tracks, the music has more vocal features than his older tracks, reminding us of artists like Flume, Louis the Child, and Mura Masa, who are known for their bouncy electronic-vocal tracks. Presence boasts work with artists like Lido, Møme, and Panama, and includes some of his best work to date. The music is undeniably feel-good, and his tracks are perfect to bop to, helping to give you the endorphin boost you need to power through a Seattle winter.
Photo by Jonathan Bertin
Benjelloun’s music has gained recognition for his upbeat, tropical-house style music—his tracks are bubbly, with feel-good repeating guitar riffs, and bouncy bass making his music perfect to listen to on your headphones or perfect to see in one of the most exciting concerts the Neptune has hosted this year. Seattle is the first stop on his US tour, and the only one (other than a California show) on the west coast, and after hitting a few more cities he’ll continue touring in Europe.
Petit Biscuit comes to the Neptune on Wednesday, December 6th. Tickets are available here. The show is all-ages. Be sure to catch his performance because like I said, his stage name might translate to “small cookie,” but Medhi Benjelloun is no small fry.
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