Sunday Music Vids: M83

Sunday Music Vids: M83

: Published on Sunday, January 08 2012; Written by Katie Marzullo

When you name your band after a cosmic body, it’s no surprise that your music tends to be a bit out of this world…

Such is the case with M83, the brainchild of French musician Anthony Gonzalez. The name refers to Messier 83, a pinwheel galaxy discovered by a French astronomer in the 18^th century. So, it makes sense. M83 has been around for over a decade now, but like all Euro-groups, they have yet to really hit the mainstream here in the States. However, their music is not entirely unfamiliar to our ears – the band has been making a killing lending their sound to a variety of film and television projects. They’re a popular go-to band for many European television shows (and a particular favorite of British reality series “Top Gear”), but you can also hear them Stateside on the soundtracks for shows like “CSI: Miami” and “Gossip Girl” and in films including Red Riding Hood and the Miley Cyrus romance The Last Song.

It didn’t surprise me a bit to find out that Monsieur Gonzalez is heavily influenced by the music of the ‘80s, as M83’s sound is extremely reminiscent of the synth-heavy electro-pop from that era, made popular by groups like Eurythmics, New Order, and Depeche Mode. The ‘80s revival has definitely been going strong as of late (see: Katy Perry and La Roux), so it’s only a matter of time before the nostalgic masses here in America embrace M83 on a larger scale.

Until then, please to enjoy some of M83’s more interesting music video offerings. Gonzalez and Co. almost never appear in there own videos, relying instead on average-looking young people going about their mundane yet somehow kind of beautiful lives. (My personal fave of the bunch her is probably “Graveyard Girl” – if someone made an entire music video about Ally Sheedy’s character from The Breakfast Club, this is how I think it would look!)

“Midnight City”