Madeon

Madeon is the stage name of Hugo Leclercq, a French electronic musician from Nantes, France, born in 1994. He starts composing music at the age of 11 and adopts the Madeon name in 2010, initially working in a nu-disco style and describing his own sound as electro-pop-house. His music is associated with dance, EDM, electro house, electronic, electropop and French house, and he releases through popcultur.

Early recognition

He first gains wider attention in 2010 through a remix of Pendulum’s The Island, which receives award recognition and draws praise from Skrillex and Pendulum’s Rob Swire. In 2011 he remixes Yelle’s Que veux-tu and deadmau5’s Raise Your Weapon, the latter also receiving public approval from deadmau5. That same year, his live mashup Pop Culture goes viral, combining 39 pop songs into a single performance piece. He also appears on Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 feature 15 Minutes of Fame, and performs a 20-minute set in January 2012 as part of a Pete Tong showcase for emerging electronic artists.

Performance style and influences

Madeon uses a Novation Launchpad in live performance and FL Studio for production. He cites The Beatles and Daft Punk as major musical influences. His live set at the Pete Tong showcase includes material such as Pop Culture and Icarus, along with mashups and edits built from songs by other artists.

Releases and collaborations

His planned debut EP is cancelled in favour of singles, beginning with Icarus. He works with Ellie Goulding on Stay Awake, which is intended for her Halcyon album but later appears as a standalone release. In 2015 he releases his debut album, Adventure, on Columbia. The album reaches number one on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums chart and includes the singles Pay No Mind and Nonsense. The album release is followed by two headlining tours.

Later work

In 2016, Madeon collaborates with Porter Robinson on the animated single Shelter. The song becomes a major part of the Shelter Live tour, during which he performs it alongside a range of earlier material. In November 2019 he releases his second album, Good Faith. The Good Faith Forever tour is noted for its visuals, stagecraft and story elements, and the era ends with its final show at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.