In late 2024, Madeon was nursing a broken heart at home in Los Angeles. His relationship just recently ended and it didn’t work out. But in the whirlwind of emotions the situation evoked, he eventually identified an opportunity.
explore
Check out the latest videos, charts and news
“I realized that this moment of clarity in the aftermath is a moment in which I try to redefine who I am, so that I can play a new version of myself, not just to others, but in a way to myself,” says the French producer. “I remember trying to be more sarcastic and appear stronger and brasher than I actually was as a defense mechanism. I thought, ‘Oh, this is a version of myself that might be worth taking a snapshot of, because it transforms.'”
He ended up working on the music that will make up his third studio album, Victory, which is released today (June 26th). The project comes seven years after 2019’s acclaimed Good Faith, and presents not only the emotional arc of a painful breakup, but also new territory for the Madeon Universe.
While their 2015 debut Adventure was tight electronic with French Touch influences and Good Faith shined with gospel choirs and rainbow visuals, much of Victory is in the experimental electro/punk/pop lane, with songs like album opener and lead single “Hi!” It references the artist’s long-standing interest in the genre and personal memories. (“I remember having a lot of fun making it, but it was so different from my normal work that I didn’t think I could put it out there in a responsible way,” he says. “Then I sent it to Porter Robinson and he was like, ‘This is amazing,’ so I decided to make it the lead single and not just the song, which I felt was bordering on irresponsible.”
Victory is also his most fashion-forward work to date, with the corresponding photograph depicting the artist in architectural haute couture. “I felt like fashion fit really well with some of the album’s themes, the idea of concealment and self-expression and how to make yourself appear more powerful or aggressive than what’s underneath,” he says. It was a tool he first used when Lady Gaga was working on her 2013 album Artpop, on which he co-produced three songs. (He later worked on her Chromatica as well.) “It felt like a whole other vocabulary that I didn’t have access to at the time, and it felt like an unknown world.”
Speaking to Billboard on a recent Wednesday afternoon, the artist born Hugo Pierre Leclet looked more formal (or maybe more French) than most of the crowd at this busy Hollywood lunch spot, wearing smart pants, a white button-down, and a maroon tie.
Beneath his thick beard, the babyface fans have known since Madeon broke into the dance world in the early 2010s is still visible. He emerged on the scene as part of the first generation of electronic producers raised almost entirely on internet culture, among a collective of artists like Porter Robinson and Zedd. Words like “prodigy” were thrown around about him, especially after he posted “Pop Culture,” a mashup of 39 songs he performed live with a programmed button controller, on YouTube in 2011. The now famous clip was viewed six million times on YouTube in six days. (There are now 68 songs.) He was 17 when it happened and had already been making music for more than five years.
The now 32-year-old producer is endearing, charming, philosophical, and strikingly intelligent and self-aware when he talks about his music, his inner life, and the fusion of the two. (He eats a falafel bowl for lunch, declares at the end of the meal, “I’d like some pastry or dessert,” and then orders a brownie the size of a roof tile and devours it.)
He had spent years on “another creative journey” trying to produce a follow-up to Good Faith, but post-breakup inspiration led him in a different direction, and Victory was quickly completed in late 2024/early 2025 (he produced several of the album’s 10 songs in the same week). This work was primarily done at his home in Los Angeles, with subsequent production taking place in New York with collaborators including Mikey Freedom Heart of Bleachers.
The core idea was to move beyond emotionally composting his breakup and lean into interests and elements that had not previously appeared in Madeon’s work. “I don’t know if artists like to make albums that are filled with everything they like,” he says. “When I listen to an album, I don’t want to hear a playlist of someone’s broad tastes. I want them to curate the single point of view they’re trying to convey.”
“Victory” is thus similar to “Good Faith” in its presentation of the concept of deciding “what to exclude from my tastes and what to focus on.” (“I love curating arbitrary rules,” he says.) Good Faith is built on R&B chords, gospel choirs, and sultry, toned-down vocals, so none of those elements are allowed on the new album. “And by the same token, I decided to exclude many of my tastes from this album so that I could curate a clear proposition.”
This proposition includes not only the aforementioned elements of fashion and punk, but also a world constructed by the collaboration of these two elements. “I think the true recipe for creativity lies in combining two elements that seem arbitrary and not naturally connected,” he says. “If you present them side by side enough times, your brain draws connections and patterns. ‘Good Faith’ was a visual of a gospel choir and a rainbow, and they had nothing in common, but when you present them side by side multiple times, it gives people a Good Faith vibe.”
Victory’s atmosphere is a dark, rebellious attitude cloaked in Celine, acting as a shield against the turmoil beneath, with each track shedding emotional layers until Madeon gets to the heart of the matter on closer “Lonely Space Age,” as he sings, “I almost died/It’s a miracle I made it through the night.” This atmosphere is enhanced by the presence of Victory’s guest, rapper Eric the Architect. Eric the Architect simply slays it with the album masterpiece ‘Super Platinum’, Sam Gelaitly with ‘Red Jacket’ and Slaywiter with ‘Fire Away’.
This latter artist was added to the slot after Madeon decided that the solo version of the song needed more tension. “This is about conflict, war and heartbreak, so I felt like there was a lack of another perspective,” he says. The idea was for him and Slayyyter to work together for a few days at his home in Los Angeles, and they nailed it on the first day. “She killed it right away,” he says. “Her voice has so much charisma.”
Ultimately, Victory is a fascinating and satisfying listen, with previously released singles taking on new energy and context when heard as part of a complete work. Madeon intentionally tries not to fit into current trends in the dance world, but she thinks that might alienate people. If so, it might not be a bad thing
“There was a bit of rebelliousness about it, which appealed to me,” he says. “I often say that the greatest sin of an artist is being boring and giving people what they think they want. I think if you’re just pandering, you can recede into the background of people’s consciousness. Having had a long career, I felt like I had earned the right to take risks. I wanted to be brave, even if it meant risking everything going up in flames. That appealed to me.”
Madeon is taking Victory on tour this fall, planning a 32-date tour across North America by bus (which he calls an “invigorating” mode of transportation) in September, October, and November. (Madeon is also headlining the Electric Forest in Rothbury, Michigan, this weekend.) He made his debut with Victory’s live show at Red Rocks last October, and says he didn’t necessarily intend to wait that long to continue playing, but he missed several deadlines due to factors including “serious family issues.” “I had to prioritize those things, and I think that’s OK,” he says. “I don’t think anyone will remember the length of the deployment in five years.”
This additional time also created an opportunity to improve the show from its first iteration, allowing him to maximize his love for the fields he has formally studied: graphic design, animation, storytelling, and magic throughout the show’s production. Most of Victory’s live shows are created by him and his three core collaborators. They stayed home, disconnected from the internet, and drew inspiration from his collection of books on art, travel, fashion, opera, design, and architecture. For him, this collaborative process is a “simple reward” for having already completed the “most difficult and arduous” (and often lonely) task of creating the music itself.
All in all, it looks like Summer 2026 at Madeon has a lot to look forward to and satisfaction from. He has come out of deep grief to make a great album, has a big tour planned, and seems genuinely happy with his current situation. He recently posted on Instagram that he sometimes imagines being on a plane, the next available seat, and talking to his younger self sitting next to him. I ask him what he would say.
“First of all, you’re a professional musician, and so are your friends online. We all accomplished that. It’s incredible. It wasn’t a pipe dream. It amounted to something. You found a clear identity. You got to play Coachella, but it was a dream, that I had to meet quite a few of my heroes and form those connections. A lot of the music I wrote before I became an accountant was about the fear of normal office life, so you’re free from that fear. Of course, I had to drop out of school at an early age, so no other future was possible. ”
Source link
