The duo Andriamad was born from the meeting of Cécile, hailing from the French overseas territories, and Kevin, of Polish and Tunisian origin. Alongside their love for music, these two traveling friends developed their own musical style, which they named “electropical”. In the midst of their preparations for Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez, the duo took the time to explain to us why they want to advocate for the respect of all cultures on the Eurovision stage.
Cécile was still a florist when Kevin, a former carpenter, decided to leave everything and form a band. He then launched a call on social networks, to which a friend of Cécile’s answered. The latter sent Cécile’s old demos and Kevin immediately fell in love with Cécile’s voice. They met the following week, and united under the surname of Cécile’s Malagasy grandmother: Andriamad.
Cécile: “We met 4 years ago through a mutual friend. Kevin wanted to start a duo and had posted an ad on the networks. At that time I wasn’t really making music anymore, I had other projects. And this friend still sent my old demos.”
Kevin: “I immediately liked Cécile’s voice. The following week we met in a studio in Montreuil. The meeting was obvious! We immediately tried things, voices, instruments. Andriamad was born. The name came not long after, we wanted to connect to the roots of one or the other. We are friends, we see each other and we call each other a lot for the project, but we also each have a life of our own that is not intrinsically linked to Andriamad.”
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The two friends love to travel, and through their adventures they have discovered many different cultures. The coronavirus pandemic has sadly put a stop to that for the time being, but it has also highlighted the strength of relations between people. Thus, Andriamad would like to use the Eurovision stage to highlight France’s values of friendship:
“Eurovision is a great challenge, an opportunity to take the stage, first nationally and then internationally if we go all the way. We wanted to challenge ourselves and pass on a positive energy after this complicated year where everyone found themselves “isolated”. France has great values, especially that of being a welcoming country. Our song is about welcoming other cultures and respecting each other. It would really be a great opportunity to represent France on an international stage with a song like this one.”
If their travels and their spirit of adventure can be heard through their colourful and sunny music, it is not by chance. Their experiences have allowed them to develop their own musical style, atypical and unique, which they have named “electropical”.
“We are an electro duo (the genre name was found by our turner Furax). It’s a light, dancing, rhythmic and sunny music.”
Andriamad’s Alléluia
In the literal sense of the term, Alléluia or Hallelujah is in the Jewish or Christian liturgy a word that expresses the joy of the faithful. This term is used during prayer or at the end of certain psalms. Andriamad overcomes the religious connotation by using this expression of worship or rejoicing to celebrate differences:
“We celebrate difference, eclecticism and the colours of the world that make it rich.”
Moreover, this ode to the sharing of cultures is reminiscent of the Thai tourist slogan Same Same but different. An expression in which the duo fully recognises itself. Indeed, through their song “Alléluia” they wish to share what they have learned by going to meet foreign civilizations and change the judgment that we sometimes make about our fellow humans without really knowing them:
“Yes indeed, we heard this expression during our trip to Asia. Through the journey we meet cultures, customs and habits different from ours. Through the eyes of the other we learn a lot about our world and about ourselves. Thanks to our travels we have understood that all cultures are equal. We have to accept and respect them. It is true, it is not because one culture is different that it is better or worse than another. They exist and they have a lot to teach us. They are different as we are all different from each other, but they are and we are all precious.”
While the words of “Alléluia” are mainly in French, the refrain contains a sentence in English: “We are the people of the world”. These words are there to help get the message across to all European spectators:
“Eurovision is an international stage, our message is about meeting others, positive curiosity and union. It is a way of addressing everyone with our refrain in a language that is understood by the majority.”
Eurovision France: C’est vous qui décidez
If they win C’est vous qui décidez, Andriamad’s main concern is to make sure that their enthusiasm is contagious and that their performance is a shared one:
“We will work hard to take our song further in terms of scenography. We will remain us, two simple people who like to share our passion with enthusiasm.”
Always in a fraternal spirit, the duo would like to thank the audience that has been supporting them to achieve their goals:
“We thank the people who send us messages and comments! It goes straight to our hearts, it boosts us for the future, to go even further. And above all, thank you! Because it is thanks to you that we believe in it!”
Will you be singing Alléluia along with Andriamad? Do you want to listen to more electropical music ? Let us know in the comments box bellow.
I really like this song and I want it to win, as I explained on the previous post about the French entries. But to say “all cultures are equal” is nonsensical. What does that even mean? Swedish social democratic culture is equal to the Khmer Rouge’s culture of despot authoritarianism and killing fields? The European culture of finding and burning ‘witches’ in the Dark Ages? Perhaps they wanted to say “all people are equal”, but know this is also topically problematic because some people would then place it next to American-centric uses of that expression (which, if anything, shows how… Read more »
Also, to say “all cultures are equal” and then say “we celebrate differences” sounds slightly contradictory. I know what they probably mean and want to express — but they’d be wise to spend a little more time thinking it through, if they want the song to have some sort of coherent philosophy.
The lyrics aren’t that deep, so to rush out grandiloquent statements like these might make the intention seem a bit cynical (even if it’s not).
As a French, I’m sorry but I cant’ stand this song. It’s a matter of personal taste but even if I find the instrumental quite good, the lyrics kill of the power of the song. It’s a mix of all the cliché and premade sentences about uniting mankind. The subject of great of course, but the words used are uninspired and most of the time a caricature. It get’s me out of the song. I know a Eurovision sont will not change the world but it will only appeal to people that are already share their message, they don’t bring… Read more »
I have similar feelings to be honest. I love the music but the lyrics are *very* cliche, which is why I don’t think ultimately they will win against Barbara Pravi.
There’s something about them that makes me think they’re the biggest threat to Barbara. They’re likeable and their sound is contemporary but carry the laid-back spirit of old times Eurovision.
Since we’re talking about the French final, any official word about if the show will be un-geoblocked for the rest of the world or broadcasted in a global platform like Youtube?
They will broadcast it through the international channel (TV5Monde). I don’t know about your country, but here in Spain we can watch it by using a television operator.
The thing about TV5 Monde in Brazil is that it’s only available in certain cable companies, always on the highest priced plan or paid on the side. And it’s not even in HD. Plus I checked the schedule for Latin America on Saturday and there’s no mention to C’est vous qui decidez. I’ll keep checking for updates, but it would be way easier if they just un-geoblocked their site. Or even better, did like MGP and created a separated page just to broadcast it.
Yes, the MGP solution I think is the best one, you can access to our broadcast during this time and when it finish you can’t. I think I didn’t expressed myself quite well with the tv operator thing (I coulnd’t find the word). You can watch it on cable companies, and I think that the price for the one I use was about 30 euros (I’m not sure)
I’ve rechecked TV5MondeEurope to make sure that it was right, and it is in the programation:
https://europe.tv5monde.com/fr/guide-tv/divertissement/eurovision-france-c-est-vous-qui-decidez-f2-ep001-30-01-2021-423871
I’ve also read the TV5MondeAmérique and, as you said, no word about it. Good luck and let’s hope if you can watch it, because it seems a pretty interesting NF.
The worst thing is that maybe I won’t know if the geoblock will stand or not until the show starts. I hope Wiwibloggs can bring me some good news before that.
Don’t know the price here, but it works the same way. There was one year where my Internet connection went down and I signed TVE International so I could watch Eurovision.
The matter really is up to the broadcaster France 2, since they don’t have to provide access for global viewers if they don’t want to; this has only become common and polite practice since around 2014 ish. There are still some broadcasters that would prefer to hide their selections, for whatever reason. The BBC springs to mind. Plus I have never been able to access Croatia’s Dora either, in previous years. But the vast majority of broadcasters do open up, so I anticipate France 2 will provide something interesting.
BBC always geoblocked it when the UK had a final. If I’m not mistaken, KAN did the same for the Israeli final last year, but I guess this time it was available (I haven’t tried). But it’s weird that you couldn’t watch Dora, it normally works fine for me. Maybe it was a player problem and not a geoblocking one? Unfortunately, not all streamings are as steady as those from NRK and SVT. I think EBU should incentive the broadcasters to use Youtube. This year, 2 countries that normally only broadcasted on their sites already did it, Albania and Lithuania.… Read more »
Isn’t the BBC’s issue something to do with the TV licence fee, which prohibits broadcasting content freely outside of the UK?
A mandatory licence for a TV is such an outdated concept and approach anyway, I can’t see that lasting long anyway.
Although Voila is my favorite currently, I definately wouldn’t mind Andriamad winning as it would undoubtedly add much needed diversity to the eurovision lineup. I will say though that the vocals need to be stronger then what we heard in the snippets and the staging needs to be more well developed of course. Currently, Voila is the better package for me although it is more risky in a sense that it can easily be forgotten and finish bottom 5 if the circumstances weren’t ideal i.e. direct competition with too many ballads, running order etc… whereas I can’t really see Allelulia… Read more »
I think we will have a LOT of uptempo this year (top contenders such as Lithuania, Iceland, Russia, Norway, Cyprus, Greece, but also probably Sweden). So I think Voilà wouldn’t get lost at all (plus it’s a really particular ballad, not a typical Eurovision power-ballad). I see Voilà finishing top 10. For Andriamad probably 13-18th.
I’m not so worried – a standard Eurovision power ballad can be from anywhere (Malta, Israel, Spain, Poland) but “Voilà” is instantly recognisable as a French chanson (to me anyway.. but I think to many people). Patricia Kaas made top 10, from a terrible running order.. and if I had to compare Voilà to any other recent song… maybe Amar pelos dois?
Really hope that Andraimad with Alleluia will be the entry this year of France, i think they have the best song and voices