Artist To Watch: Petit Biscuit
By Christopher Appello
Better known by his quirky stage name Petit Biscuit, Mehdi Benjelloun is a French DJ and electronic music producer who attracted a large following in the United States with his 2016 self-titled EP. Containing his most prominent work “Sunset Lover,” Petit Biscuit’s debut release exposed the artist as one with a talent for painting mental images with sound alone. On his track “Iceland,” Petit Biscuit brings his audience on a sonically charged journey through a wintry, cold atmosphere of chimes and synths. Adversely, “Jungle” roars with a ferocious crescendo of beat drops and transitions that give listeners a sense of the animal kingdom.
Having released his debut 2017 album “Presence,” Petit Biscuit has solidified his name into the music industry, where he has birthed a new era of electronic sound. With a collection of 14 tracks, “Presence” stands as Petit Biscuit’s longest body of work, showcasing his artistry in its purest and most raw form. Biscuit’s “Problem,” featuring Norwegian singer and record producer Lido, carries a hypnotically smooth rhythm that forces you to let your hands wave free in the air. “Waterfall,” featuring Australian electronic band Panama, fuses both vibrant celestial cadences with a euphoric undertone that invokes an unparalleled positive energy.
In a 2014 with WERTN, Petit Biscuit shared the creative process in making projects like his debut album: “To create my sounds I do not really have a special process. I make it as it comes. I usually pick up my guitar, I start playing and as soon as I hear something that I like, I record it.”
Other than working and producing as a solo act, Petit Biscuit serves as one half of the indie-pop duo Mount Dreams with friend Romain Bauthier, better known by his moniker LUUL. Having released their first album entitled “Debut Album” in 2015, the dynamic pair has created a cohesive folk sound that transcends the mainstream builds and breaks of electronic music. With this project, Petit Biscuit was able to find that sound he wanted represented in his future solo pieces; consequently, hit success “Sunset Lover,” was inspired by the duo’s acoustic and smooth-beat atmosphere.
With a name like Petit Biscuit, the public is bound to hold some curiosity toward knowing the person behind such an ambiguously clever and witty name. According to website Revolvy, the stage name Petit Biscuit is said to capture Mehdi Benjelloun’s the qualities of his personality extremely well: humility, simplicity, and his French ethnicity.
At such a young age, Petit Biscuit is walking along the path toward becoming the next big name in the electronic genre of music. One day, the 19-year-old artist may be at the same level as ODESZA and Diplo, having toured the world doing what they do best: celebrating life through feel-good beats and spellbinding rhythm.