Automelodi @ Clock-Out Lounge

Friday, March 31st • 9 pm

When DJ Sharlese, host of KEXP’s Mechanical Breakdown show, champions an artist, it’s a good idea to pay close attention. Such is the case with Montréal, Québec’s Automelodi (aka synthesist/vocalist Xavier Paradis, aka Arnaud Lazlaud), who is headlining this event organized by Sharlese’s False Prophet crew. 

Since 2009’s Fait Ses Courses, Automelodi has ranked as one of Canada’s foremost synth-pop provocateurs. Singing in French and using hardware such as the Moog MG-1 and the Roland TR-808, Paradis has produced a body of work that can match that of the elites collected on the Tigersushi label’s So Young But So Cold: Underground French Music 1977-1983 comp of OG coldwave brilliance. He’s a master of effusively melancholy melodies and chilling textures, with a ready supply of dance-floor bangers (check “Vancances À Maiori,” “Navette De Remplacement,” and “Toujours De Jamais [hors-temps]” for proof). 

Francophiles and francophones will surely swoon to Automelodi’s suave synth hooks and seductive rhythms, but there are luxurious thrills in store no matter what language you speak.