Demon (musician)

Jérémie Mondon (French pronunciation: [ʒeʁemi mɔ̃dɔ̃]), known by his stage name Demon, is a French electronic music producer, born in 1977 in Paris. His music comes under the genre known as French touch.

Music career[edit]

The start of Demon's career was particularly influenced by the hip hop movement and artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Mobb Deep and A Tribe Called Quest.^[1] These artists heavily influenced his first recordings and he still has close ties to rap music, as he produces music for French rappers.^[2] Soon after his spell with hip-hop he joined the French electronic scene.

In 1997, he created the label 20000ST, in order to produce his first EP, A-Typique. At 22, he signed for Sony record label and recorded his first studio album, Midnight Funk, considered by critics as one of the classic albums of French touch.^[3] Several thousand copies of his single, You Are My High, have been sold and the song is being played in clubs worldwide.^[4] Major artists within French touch such as Daft Punk, Mr. Oizo, Etienne de Crécy and Matthew Herbert, have asked him to remix their work.^[5]

He then decided to explore other avenues in music, and brought out his album, Music That You Wanna Hear, which mixes electronic music and R&B. The album was recognised by critics,^[6] and it even fought against the declining CD industry. Demon later explained in an interview that this experience shaped his understanding of music production and the music industry in general.^[7]

Audiovisual components[edit]

Through drawing upon the diverse musical genres that he had explored, Demon has developed his audio-visual personality ; in particular through his work with the French graphics studio H5. You will often see clients in many of his videos. His well-known videos include:

• You Are My High: This is a video wherein a man and a woman are kissing throughout the clip – the video was up for nomination in the Victoires de la musique, as well as the MTV Music Awards.
• Happy Therapy : The designer Ora-ito and the photographer and cinematographer Arno Bani direct the video. It consists of an interplay of 3D shapes, including the faces of the designer Ora-ito and the actress Vahina Giocante.^[8]
• Happy Therapy, ARI Remix : Directed by Arno Bani and Demon. The breakdancing world champion B-Boy Junior shows off his talent in this video.
• In the Park : This clip includes the actress Mylene Jamponoi and B-Boy Junior along with his breakdancing crew Wanted posse.

Productions[edit]

He wrote and produced in 2010 the soundtrack for the video, De l'encre, directed by the artists in the group La Rumeur.

He directed the tracks for a number of rappers such as Booba, La Rumeur, 113, etc.^[9]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

• 2000 : Midnight Funk (20000st Records)
• 2001 : Branding (remix compilation) (20000st Records)
• 2002 : Wuz (with Alex Gopher) (Everlasting Records)
• 2004 : Music That You Wanna Hear (Small, 20000st Records)

EPs[edit]

• 1997 : A-Typique (20000st Records)
• 1998 : Electronic Boogie (20000st Records)
• 1998 : Regulate (20000st Records)
• 1998 : Elektra (20000st Records)
• 1999 : Lil'Fuck (Remix 1) (20000st Records)
• 1999 : Lil'Fuck (Remix 2)(20000st Records)
• 1999 : Midnight Funk (20000st Records)
• 2000 : Regulate (20000st Records)
• 2000 : You Are My High (feat. Heartbreaker) (20000st Records)
• 2001 : You Are My High (feat. Heartbreaker) (20000st Records)
• 2002 : Don't Make Me Cry (20000st Records)
• 2003 : In The Park (20000st Records)
• 2007 : Smiley® – Happy Therapy (Help Yourself)
• 2010 : I Think (Help Yourself)

References[edit]