WOODKID exclusive first listen to debut album
This past Monday I was lucky enough to be invited and attend a VIP listening party for Woodkid’s debut album Golden Age. The album is set for worldwide release next month, and for anyone who has been following Yoann Lemoine’s career, you’ve been hanging on with eager anticipation of what’s to come.
The venue: Soho House in West Hollywood. The room: a throw back to a Hollywood producer’s cigar and whiskey lounge. Plush red chairs, very low lighting, and (no joke) blankets were provided.
With only 50 people in attendance, all industry folk, tastemakers, and the very shy Yoann himself (how did I get in? that is a great question), everyone was ready to be invited into Woodkid’s cinematic world.
What I can tell you is that there are some definite “hits” (if you can call them that) on the Golden Age. The reason I say “hits” is because Woodkid is anything but traditional. As he explained during his Q&A, he calls his music “pop” but what he creates is on a completely different playing field.
He surrounds himself with contemporary beat makers, electro-artists, and pals such as Sebastian, The Shoes, and basically the whole Ed Banger crew. But his music does not reflect any of their sounds. When I asked him how he managed to take a completely different path than his mates, he simply explained, “I am extremely influenced by them all. I am not a classically trained virtuoso. Woodkid is completely programmed and digital.” When you listen to the orchestral arrangements encompassed in his work you can’t imagine that he is a machine. This notion threw me for a loop, and I began to question- what is my reality and what is his?
Perhaps, at the end of the day, this is exactly what he intended for us to feel all along. Kudos my friend. Very well played.
PS. Post screening I managed to crash a party hosted by the band Fun. Thanks for the specialty drinks dudes.
corispelling 
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