CHART HIGH: Music duo Klingande are pianists in their own right.
By Geoffrey Rowlands
The saxophone features prominently in the work of French dance music duo Klingande. But while they are fine musicians in their own right, neither Cedric Steinmyller nor Edgar Catry play the instrument.
“We have a live saxophonist who plays with us on as many shows as possible,” Cedric explained. “We love the saxophone sound and include it in virtually all of our tracks. Some of the pieces are newly created but most of what you hear is taken from samples of fantastic saxophone solos which we’ve tracked down on what are usually little known songs.”
Although nothing like as prominent as the sax, piano is the second notable instrument in Klingande tracks. Both members are excellent pianists with Edgar being particularly proficient.
“I didn’t take up the piano until I was 16,” he revealed. “This is ridiculously late in life to become a really good player but I just fell in love with the instrument. So much so that I spent four years studying piano at music school.”
Cedric occupied these years by studying music production in London. “I started playing piano when I was a child,” he stated. “I always wanted some type of career in music but not necessarily as a musician. I got into DJing and producing. I wanted to become as good as possible and felt I should learn from people who really knew the business so music production school was the right place for me.”
Having known each other since childhood, the boys, now in their mid-20s, joined forces to become Klingande after Cedric completed his studies and returned to their home town of Croix in northern France.
“We shared a love of electronic artists such as Klangkarussell, Bakermat and Nico Pusch,” Edgar remarked. “I liked the idea of creating music with my old friend and we became Klingande in December, 2012.”
They found their name through Cedric’s love of Swedish culture and the Swedish language. “Swedish is a beautiful, melodic language,” he stated. “When Swedish people speak, it sounds like they are singing. Some comedy shows have made fun of this trait but I love it. The Swedish word klingande means chiming or sounding which seemed perfect for our brand of melodic house.
“I also enjoyed the work of many Swedish house music producers so using a Swedish word for our name was a kind of tribute to those artists. It also meant people didn’t know we were French.”
Their international smash hit, Jubel, was the first Klingande song which Cedric felt was good enough to release. “I’m maybe too much of a perfectionist,” he laughed. “Nothing we made ever seemed right. But Jubel came together from playing around with some chords, adding sax and having my friend’s sister Lucie provide the vocals. We suddenly had something which I believed was really special so we put it on YouTube and SoundCloud.”
Nearly 42mn YouTube views later, Jubel has become one of the signature hits of 2014 climbing pop charts and filling dancefloors in equal measure. Klingande’s next single, Punga, boasts a similar sound and has already been a hit in several countries.
“We actually released Punga as a single before Jubel,” Cedric explained. “But it was only available in certain countries so Jubel is really our first world-wide single and Punga will be the follow-up.”
Despite the saxophone and piano sound becoming instantaneously recognisable as Klingande music, Cedric is already looking towards something new. “As much as I love the saxophone sound, I never want Klingande to be limited in any way. I’m sure sax will feature in many of our future songs but it’s important to have a variety of sounds. I’d like people to hear our music and perhaps be a little surprised when they discover the track is by Klingande.”
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He now follows in the footsteps of Sir Elton John who bought his beloved Watford F.C. in 1976. Although no longer the major shareholder, Elton still has a significant financial interest in the club and remains as the life President.
Louis has bought Doncaster in partnership with former club chairman John Ryan. They have set up the Tomlinson Ryan Trust through which they hope to attract £2mn via a crowdfunding project. If their target is reached, the money will provide much needed investment for a team which was relegated to the third tier of English football at the end of last season.
While £2mn seems an overambitious target, well over £500,000 has already been pledged. A range of inducements are offered to pledgers most of which involve Louis. Full details can be found at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/trust.
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Her debut release, the four-song EP1, was issued late in 2012. EP2 followed nine months later. Her first single, a collaboration with Los Angeles-based brothers Andrew and Daniel Aged, collectively known as Inc, came out last February.
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