SALM for … Read Full Bio ↴Thomas Roussel and Yannick Grandjean are SomethingALaMode,
SALM for the intimate or those in a hurry, an exceptional duet, and I mean it because it is a rare thing to meet classical musicians fed on club culture – musicians just as thrilled by post romantics like Shostakovitch, Stravinski or Fauré among others as by Daft Punk ‘s Homework or Mirwais ‘ Disco Science; musicians who can launch a 2008 techno parade in front of 15,000 persons and the day after play for a happy few at the ICA in London; musicians eager to have their album mixed by Arnaud Rebotini, the dark prince of the dark touch to release it with Yellow, the historic label of electronic music with a French touch flavour.
SALM’s is a story of daring, of desire, and above all of counter-current, the story of two kids whose teenage years were as rhythmically played as a musical score – buoyant week-day hours spent at the Music School (the works : music reading, instrument practice, orchestration), the week-ends spent dancing at the An-Fer – a mythical club in the French history of electronics, the unavoidable venue for Laurent Garnier, Daft Punk, Jeff Mills and other icons of technomusic, an oasis of good music in the desert of Dijon’s clubbing in the 90s.
It is in the Eden of the An-Fer that a 15-year-old Yannick went through his electronic epiphany. It’s there that Thomas (then 18) met Jeff Mills for the first time. He shook his hand then, an anonymous fan in the DJ’s booth. He shook his hand again 12 years later as a collaborator, embarked on the grandiose “Blue Potential” project – Jeff Mills’ classics interpreted by a symphonic orchestra at the Pont du Gard in the summer of 2006. Mills could not believe what he heard but Thomas could : he was the arranger of this exceptional feat.
SALM was born in the wake of this concert, in October 2006, after the two friends had spent years maturing the project in their minds. One night, Thomas, the violinist, recognized for his collaborations in contemporary art, and Yannick, the cellist, first prize laureate of the School of Music, met again… around an old P.C. – caught up again in the sacred fire of “dance” music and the desire to leave the beaten paths of music, whether electronic or pop, a desire to merge all their passions into one, to evoke emotion with a fragile string or the pure sound of a synthesizer without wondering where they belonged – or if the rules of art permitted it.
The outcome? A first “electro-string” album dexterously mixing the clanging violins of “RondoParisiano”, as baroque as they come, the lofty soul of “ Little bit of feel good” and the heady pop bubbles of “5 AM” (with the young west coast rap singer K.Flay) : twelve masterclass titles uniting a very 70s Easy Loving (Francis Lay style, enough to make Dimitri From Paris jealous) to the pent-up wrath of “Dies Irae”, a warlike march of unimaginable beauty, a hybrid both deeply melodious and radically electronic, a daring fusion of universes which have long been on a quest for each other and which, thanks to SALM, finally prove to be a match made in heaven.
RondoParisiano
SomethingALaMode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La mode et la musique c'est identique
On peu créer sa petite musique de chambre sois-même
et c'est pour ça que je trouve que mode et musique; pas parceque ça commence tout les deux pas un M;
il y a des choses qui vont trés trés bien ensemble
Parceque la muisque aussi elle exprime son époque
Qu'est-ce que vous penseriez de l'époque Baroque s'il n'y avait pas la musique baroque?
The lyrics to SomethingALaMode's song RondoParisiano explores the close relationship between fashion and music. The singer begins by stating that whether something is considered in or out of fashion, it doesn't really matter. This is because both fashion and music are similar in the sense that they are a creative expression of oneself. Just like someone can create their own music, they can create their own sense of style. The singer then goes on to say that the reason why fashion and music are so closely intertwined is not just because they both start with the letter "M", but rather because they complement each other so well. Both fashion and music are an expression of the era they exist in, and they influence each other in profound ways. The singer poses a rhetorical question asking the listener to consider what the baroque era would have been like without baroque music, reinforcing the idea that fashion and music go hand in hand.
Overall, the lyrics of RondoParisiano serve as a celebration of the relationship between fashion and music. The song recognizes that both art forms are important and complement each other in unique ways. It suggests that fashion and music are necessary for cultural expression and that they are integral parts of our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Démodé, pas démodé vous savez hein...
Outdated, not outdated you know, right...
La mode et la musique c'est identique
Fashion and music are the same
On peut créer sa petite musique de chambre soi-même
One can create their own little music themselves
et c'est pour ça que je trouve que mode et musique; pas parce que ça commence tout les deux pas un M;
And that's why I find that fashion and music go together, not just because they both don't start with an M;
il y a des choses qui vont très très bien ensemble
There are things that go very well together
Parce que la musique aussi elle exprime son époque
Because music also expresses its time period
Qu'est-ce que vous penseriez de l'époque Baroque s'il n'y avait pas la musique baroque?
What would you think of the Baroque era if there was no Baroque music?
Contributed by London H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ArthurTipaldi
RIP Karl
@remixbeb
the song I thought of immediately this morning
@jubitolik
Found this track via shazam while drinking morning coffe in caffe bar in Split, Croatia. Amazing stuff! I am really suprised by such small number of views and comments. This is one of those tracks that will end up in tv commercial one day and become very popular. I am really enjoying listening it. Cheers!
@gringologie9302
They were very famous in french club between 2008 à 2011. Since then ? No signal.
@annakirkova3132
It was the music for the Chanel fashion show 2010 cruise... so It was very popular)
@thegto8535
It was a hit in France like 10-15 years ago and has already been used in commercial :)
@elektrodj66
i love combination of classic and electronic music
@sweetlife6299
this song is so good!!!
@ObeyYourMasteer
At the beginning he says "old-fashioned or trendy you know eh? Fashion and music are identical, you can create your little music yourself and that's why I think fashion and music, not because it starts the same, are things that go great together. Because music also expresses its time. What would you think of the baroque period if there wouldn't be baroque music? And at 2:29 "that's not rondo veneziano that's all"
@sweetcanary3006
thanks for that I couldn't figure out what he was saying at the beginning