Bio English

BIOGRAPHY

ENGLISH VERSION

-If you don’t have time to read it all, you can jump on the shortcuts and only read keywords in bold !

Mathieu Thioly was born on February 18 1981 in Geneva, Switzerland. He is  a singer, lyricist, composer , multi-instrumentalist musician (vocals, piano, bass, guitar, drums, percussion) and arranger . He is also a producer and musical director. 

During his early years at the Conservatoire Populaire de Genève, he learned drums , harmony, guitar , music theory and jazz piano . He was very young when he began to write his first songs and arrangements on a four-track Tascam cassette recorder, the new music technology craze of the time (90′). He then explored different paths and created his musical universe inspired by his models of the time, such as french singer-songwriter Jacques Higelin , swiss singer-songwriter Stephan Eicher, and international artists such as Stevie Wonder, Nirvana or The Beatles 

In 2001, then barely 20 years old , he moved to  Montreal  on a whim. The wide open spaces, the love of french language, the art of songwriting ; Quebec is a magical place , a source of inspiration for his compositions and musical creation. He settled there for ten years. 

He continued his studies in music at the Université du Québec à Montréal, in singing and piano . He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in popular music performance in 2006. At the same time, he surrounded himself with musicians, played in various clubs in Montreal and composed most of the songs that appeared on his first album a few years later. He collaborated with lyricist Rosalie Lessard who wrote a few songs with him and inspired the title « Au blanc des jours ». 

From his meeting with guitarist and producer Louis-Philippe Amiot came the project of recording this first album with great means in the legendary Montreal recording studio RCA Victor .  This self-produced opus was released in 2009. It was distributed in Quebec record stores by DEP Distribution and by Believe Digital on download platforms. Mathieu Thioly is notably invited to  Radio Canada  on the Première Chaîne  and on Espace Musique in the local famous Monique Giroux  show to talk about his album and to sing a few songs live. The first single « Dix ans dans la lune »  is released on the  radio  and a few pretty stages  offered him the opportunity to meet the Quebec public, notably at the  Studio-Théâtre de la Place des Arts in Montreal.

Enriched by this decade of musical experiences across the Atlantic, he returned to settle in Geneva in 2011 where he undertook a Master’s degree in teaching at the Haute École de Musique. Subsequently, between teaching music, writing songs, composing and studio production, he found a creative balance that allowed him to pursue his artistic path with a free mind.

In 2016 , he met Nicolas Rochat, producer and sound engineer at Studio Trackers . Together, they began a fruitful collaboration . In 2017, they began recording and producing several tracks in the studio.

In November 2018 , Mathieu Thioly released  « Archipel ».  A second album of 10 tracks produced between Geneva, Montreal and the Vallée de Joux. It received a warm welcome in French-speaking Switzerland. He was notably Eric Grosjean ‘s guest  on the show  Paradiso  on  RTS  Première in January 2019. 

The song « Je pars »   became  the first radio single  and was a great success . The clip was selected as « ON AIR   » on SRF SWEI and was broadcast in rotation on Swiss channels. The song « À l’endroit, à l’envers » was the second single to have great radio success : podcast . In the process, he made a few television appearances with his songs on the music shows Mégaphone and Ça part en live ! During the following year, Mathieu Thioly gave a series of concerts and defended his album on stage. In 2019 , he returned to lock himself away in the studioto record new songs . On the platforms, he released « Chaleur Bay » in 2020,  which is the first dreamlike tableau of a quadriptych of exiled songs . In 2021 , he released a second track, « Fou Dream », an irresistible pop-erotic song ! Like distant islands, these bonus tracks are added to the « Archipel » playlist. In parallel of his studio productions, Mathieu Thioly began in 2020 a series of intimate concerts in an acoustic triowith  Vivien Hochstätter on percussion and  Benjamin Vuillermoz on guitar . Many concerts were unfortunately cancelled due to the restrictions of 2020, but a few videos were shot.

It is with lots of ideas in mind that Mathieu Thioly began in 2021 a new inspired and inspiring collaborationwith the music video director Frédéric Chane-Son who puts into perspective the captivating images of the song « Chaleur Bay » in a first double exposure video . A clip with a setting of sun and sand which, with a touch of nostalgia, takes us back to the delicious memories of summer. 

Together, they then wrote the script for a video clip for the song « Fou Dream » . The film has a dream cast , a grand shoot and Chane-Son ensures its  direction with a master hand . Offbeat, funny , daring, decadent, colorful , delirious, sparkling, sexy , pop, glamorous , here are a few words that describe this new 3 minute 13 second clip released in May 2022. 

– Selection at « SRF Musik », Switzerland, 2022 
– Selection at the « Annemasse Film Festival », France, 2022 

In September 2022, Mathieu Thioly finalized with Nicolas Rochat the studio production of the song « Goodbye Montréal »,  the third part of his EP Quadriptyque, which was released in early October. Posted exclusively on the Swiss platform Mx3 , the song was barely released and was already being broadcast on the radio a few hours later on Option Musique RTS. To listen to Cassien Brey’s presentation again, click here: podcast. In July 2023 , Mathieu Thioly is invited to play at the Avignon Festival for three nights. He takes advantage of this event to revisit his songs in piano & voice mode, accompanied for the first time by a looper. This new staging of his songs allows him to reconnect with his pleasure of doing concerts. 

In November 2023 , he completes his EP « Quadriptyque »  by releasing the fourth and final track from the playlist he had been keeping in reserve: « Posey ». It is in a burst of contagious excitement  that this last song receives a warm and immediate welcome from the public and the media.Barely released on streaming platforms, « Posey » enters heavy rotation on the radio , notably on Option Musique RTS , where Thioly finds a demanding audience, fond of Swiss and French songs. 

In 2024, Mathieu Thioly will continue promoting his album « Quadriptyque » . He will resume concerts as a trio , with a first date announced for January 18, 2024 in Carouge. See details on the LIVE page. After several years of working in the studio with his sidekick Nicolas Rochat , the latter will join Mathieu Thioly on stage for the first time ! On the machines , a worthy soundmaker of current music, Rochat will bring samples , loops , beats and a whole bunch of anglified stuff , tinkered with in the recording studio for so long. Thioly and Rochat will also be accompanied by the talented Tom Mendy, a renowned bassist on the Geneva jazz scene who will make the famous midnight blue Rickenbacker purr like never before (yes, the very one we hear on all of Thioly’s tracks since 2016). Concerts to come in 2025 ! 

At the same time, Mathieu Thioly never stops writing. An inspired artist always ready to take on new challenges, he is already devoting himself to composing new songs and producing a new album in the studio.