Mehdi Benjelloun (born 10 November 1999), known by his stage name Petit Biscuit (), is a French DJ and music producer. The 23-year-old French producer has been making music with his distinctive style, forged through combining acoustic elements, electronic production, and his vocal manipulations. The eclecticism of this combination is reflective of his background in the polar spheres of electronica and classical music. He has toured the world, including a performance at

Coachella Coachella may refer to: * Coachella, California * Coachella Canal, in California * Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California * "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey See also

* Coachell ...

in 2018.

Early life

Mehdi was born to a Moroccan father and a French mother. Mehdi learned to play instruments such as piano, cello, bass and guitar but preferred electro house sounds as he was able to produce "unlimited combinations of music". He wrote his first songs in secret in his room. His early musical interests and inspirations included

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

. Benjelloun was a regular high school student who balanced school work by day and music by night. The name "Petit Biscuit" is said to come from his love of French pastries his grandmother would make. In July 2017, he graduated from high school, with a Baccalauréat Scientifique (high school diploma with a specialty in science) ''mention très bien (with honors)''. From September 2017, he started studying at Paris-Dauphine University and left the university to focus more on music in March 2018.

Career

He released his early works on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

until he got noticed by distributor Electro Posé, under whom he published "Sunset Lover" on 15 June 2015 as the lead single from his eponymous EP. It got over 62 million views and more than 400 millions streams. "You", "Palms", "Night Trouble", "Midnight Sky" and "Memories" were released as promotional singles on 15 June 2015.You - Single de Petit Biscuit sur Apple Music
/ref>Palms - Single de Petit Biscuit sur Apple Music
/ref>Night Trouble - Single de Petit Biscuit sur Apple Music
/ref>Midnight Sky - Single de Petit Biscuit sur Apple Music
/ref>Memories - Single de Petit Biscuit sur Apple Music
/ref> He released the single "Oceans" on 22 July 2015. He released his debut eponymous EP, ''Petit Biscuit'' on 13 May 2016. Sunset Lover became an international breakthrough hit amassing over 350 million streams. Petit Biscuit's debut album "Presence" was released in December 2017 and was described by

Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...

as a "powerful, momentous album". It was

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

Album of the week in Australia upon release and features artists

Lido Lido may refer to: Geography Africa * Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco Asia * Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing * Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok * Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...

Bipolar Sunshine Adio Marchant (born 24 September 1987), known professionally as Bipolar Sunshine, is an English singer and songwriter from Manchester, England. Previously the co-vocalist with the band Kid British, he embarked on a solo career in 2013. Career M ...

Cautious Clay Joshua Karpeh (born January 30, 1993), known professionally as Cautious Clay, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.

and includes hits "Waterfall" and "Sunset Lover". He performed at the

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

– the French equivalent of the

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

– and was nominated for his album, "Presence." To stay independent, he created his own label, "Petit Biscuit Music". On 15 April 2018, he performed at

* Coachell ...

for the first time. He has also toured multiple countries, including

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. At the beginning of 2019, Petit Biscuit released "Wide Awake," which was described by

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

as a "glitchy bass instrumental", and "We Were Young," featuring

JP Cooper John Paul Cooper (born 1 November 1983) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known for featuring on the Jonas Blue single " Perfect Strangers". The song was certified platinum in the UK. His follow-up solo single was "September Song". ...

, as a "young love daydream". On October 30, 2020, Petit Biscuit released his second studio album, "Parachute" via Écurie Records.

Musical style and influence

Petit Biscuit produces electronic music with a clean, melodic and atmospheric sound. He describes his music as a call to travel, deep human reflection, natural, and sensual things.

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Remixes

Awards and nominations

International Dance Music Awards The International Dance Music Awards or IDMAs is an annual awards ceremony held in Miami Beach, Florida, United States as a major part of the Winter Music Conference. The awards have been held every year since the conference's creation in 1985 ...

Berlin Music Video Awards

Berlin Music Video Awards is an international festival founded in 2013 that puts the talents behind music videos into the spotlight. Supporting both unknown and famous artists, it is a primary networking event for the video and music industries in Europe. Filled with a vast selection of music video marathons, professional judges, live performances, filmmaking workshops and networking events, the festival is not only meeting ground for filmmakers, but also for musicians as well as all music enthusiasts.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit Biscuit 1999 births Living people French DJs French electronic musicians Tropical house musicians Musicians from Rouen Electronic dance music DJs French people of Moroccan descent