R.E.D. (Rythmes Extrêmement Dangereux) (Ltd.Edition)

CD

1. Intro R.E.D.
2. Avant Nous
3. Voir La Nuit S'emballer
4. Le Monde
5. Mieux Que Nous (Feat. Soprano)
6. Go Mama
7. J'le Fais Quand Même
8. Wohoo
9. Entre Parenthèses
10. Je Te Mentirai
11. Ensemble
12. On Danse
13. Coeur Voyageur
14. Ma Jolie (Jolie)
15. Le Monde (Acoustique)

DVD

1. R.E.D. (Le Documentaire)
2. On Danse
3. Le Monde
4. Le Monde (Making Of)

As he has done every night for the past 2 months, M Pokora is preparing to take to the stage of the Palais des Congrès, just as he will for almost a year, to play the part of Robin Hood in the musical of the same name.  The show will be one of the season's biggest events: 400,000 albums, 800,000 spectators, 206 dates ... As for the DVD, it has monopolised the chart's top spot for more than 3 months.

Matt is quite used to reaching these dizzying heights: a champion of record sales (3 million units), a record-holder at the NRJ Awards (no less than 11 awards) and a proven showman (5 concert tours in 11 years); in one decade he has moved from a young prodigy of the urban pop scene to a heavyweight of French music ... even being ranked among France's favourite celebrities.

But Matt isn't the sort of person who gets carried away by his successes, his popularity or his past achievements. He is always looking to the future and is ahead of the game in his thinking. On this autumn Wednesday, he gathered his nearest and dearest together and told them that he had begun working on what is now his 6th solo album. "For me, image and sound have always been inseparable, when I hear the demo of a track, I immediately imagine the staging and the images that will accompany it." And out of this comes the R.E.D concept: an acronym for the French for "extremely dangerous rhythms" which, better than any great artistic explanation can, sets the tone of the album 

For nearly a year, whether on the roads of France, on a writing seminar in the countryside, in a night studio in Holland or in a Californian villa, Matt has thought of nothing else but his new record. On weekends he is on stage as the leader of Sherwood and during the week he's experimenting, formatting and refining in the studio. He is surrounded by a collection of people who each make their own contribution. Matthew Mendès, a long-time collaborator, brings a pop element and his highly effective productions. The young Joe Rafaa, from the urban scene, brings a modern feel and a touch of audacity to the melodies. The duo of Tristan Salvati and Yohann Malory, raised on French song-writing, also bring their expertise to the table. More surprisingly, among the writers are Mr. Maleek (Ben l'Oncle Soul) and Corneille alongside Miossec and even Jennifer Ayache from the group Superbus. Matt also looks for collaborators abroad: Philipp Lawrence (Bruno Mars), Wayne Beckford (Black Eyed Peas, Seal), Ester Dean (Rihanna, Nicki Minaj ...) or the mixer Tito Vasquez (Jason Derulo).

Just like a conductor, he is involved in every stage of the album's production: he has long discussions with writers, co-composes most of the titles and is involved in even the slightest mix. The result: an emotional journey created by music. From the funk energy of Avant Nous to the tribal feel of On danse and the ultra efficient Voir la nuit s’emballer and from the dynamic J’le fais quand même to the heady Wohoo, you can feel the artist's unique sense of entertainment. And there is no less emotion in the ballad Cœur Voyageur or J’te mentirai that remain true to the DNA of his greatest hits.

That said, two major developments can be observed. Firstly, in the performance: the artist has succeeded in taming his voice and bringing a different interpretation. So, in Entre parenthèses, a UFO-like production for a French title, offers a multi-tonal yet personal and restrained vocal delivery. Conversely Le Monde, a song about misunderstood love and emotional contradictions, is a track full of crescendo and power to which the artist gives all of his voice.

The second change relates to the texts and themes. Love remains the central theme but all its forms are evoked.  There's love at first sight at a train station (Wohoo), on a summer evening (Voir la nuit s’emballer) or in a music hall (Go mama). There is also the love of blood relations: with innocence, Mieux que nous deals with the difficult subject of parental separation from a child's point of view with a touching Soprano playing its part... The love of close friends: Avant nous is a funky nod to the world's greatest people. A love that disappoints: "J’le fais quand même", "J’te mentirai", "Le monde" talk about a couple's weariness, the first has a touch of irony while the other two feel more melancholic. But the unifying song Ensemble is above all else about the love he has for his profession, the stage and his audience.

Alternating between an amused seducer, a disappointed lover, a hurt child or a nomadic poet Matt reinvents himself at the whim of his extremely dangerous rhythms and offers us a journey in which every one of us can recognise a moment in our life. 

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