The Band

About Mam

Viviane Arnoux and François Michaud have been playing happily together since 1992. The two of them worked out an original musical project for accordion, violin (or viola) and vocals by altering the habitual roles of each musical instrument.

A new jazz form was born that transmuted folklore and ethnic world music into original compositions, arrangements and improvisations. Stimulating and natural, this provocative fiesta of rhythms and melodies feeds on acoustic explorations and the urge to sing and bring together new sounds. Musicians are invited to join as guests while listeners are welcome to the feast.

These two restless musicians, the founders of MAM, often play in duos; yet, always anxious to make novel musical encounters they delight in performing with fellow musicians of different backgrounds. They recorded 5 CD’s with Buda Musique in various formations from duet to quintet ( guest cello, percussion and drums). Their version of “Mission Impossible” (Lalo Schiffrin) was twice compiled and played on tv (France 2). They recorded 3 CD’s with Japanese singers, participated in those by Mama Kaya (2), Thomas Pitiot (2), Gérard Pitiot (3), Jean Piero, Alifair, Gilliane Kim, Thomasi. They “made a pass” at the racy swing musette of accordionist virtuoso François Parisi (“Jazz in my Musette”). They put on a Brassens performance minus guitar and moustache but with the female singer Guénaëlle and are currently working on an ambitious “electroshock multifaced project” with Fab, a machine and music genius, and Maurice l’Ampoule, a “sweet creazy” VJ-setter-lightner .

Travelling is for them an “art de vivre” and no wonder then they have often performed abroad: Montreal, Vancouver, Ouagadougou, Tripoli, St Louis in Senegal, Skopje, Ljubjana, Innsbruck, Dresden, Bruges, Friburg, Halmstad… in addition to crisscrossing hexagonal France. This season’s menu will be promotion of the new show “Musique Acoustique Machines & vidéo” and of the 6th album “Meddled Times”, which was recorded and mixed in NYC.

Mam Members

Viviane Arnoux
(accordion, vox)
Viviane Arnoux (accordéon, voix)She was born in a free county (Franche Comté!) in sweet Doubs, a perfect environment for the fulfillment of her talent. At age 4, she and her accordion began to cavort to the rhythms of world musics, waltz and swing, rock and jazz.

  • CDs and tours with Hugues Aufray (5 albums), Ray Lema, Baba Djan, Kekele, Thomas Pitiot (2), Céline Caussimon (2), L’Attirail (2), Abed Azrié. Tours with I Muvrini, Sam Mangwana, Manau, Corinne…
  • Recordings with So Kalmery, Nana Mouskouri, Patrice Leconte, Jannick Top, Bushman, Georgian Legend, Limborg (3), Yves Saint-Laurent, Mama Kaya (2), Thomasi…
  • Compositions for short movies, dance shows and songs

François Michaud
(violin, viola)
François Michaud (violon, alto)He left Quebec as a kid and ever since has taken his violin across continents and into music academies, catching an alto on the way, africanizing his classical music and jazzifying his folk.

  • CDs and several tours with Cordacor’ (3 albums), Quatuor IXI (2), Artango, Abed Azrié (2), Stéphane Delicq (3), Jean-Philippe Watremez, Thomas Pitiot (2), La Rasbaïa, Thomasi (2), Tavagna, Gilliane Kim (2)…
  • Has worked with Francis Lemarque, François Castiello, Matmatah, Salvatore Adamo, Bénabar, Bruno Girard, Mama Kaya (3), Latcho Drom, Riccardo Del Fra, Antoine Hervé, Dominique Pifarély, Louis Sclavis, François Raullin…
  • Compositions for theater and cinema.

Fab
(machines, vox)
Fab (machines, voix)
Who would be surprised that a musician claiming French, Quebec and NewYork backgrounds be a singer, a saxophonist, a pianist, an arranger, a programmer, a sound engineer and a director.

Yet we are surprised indeed by his exceptional and mature musicality.

  • Concerts in the US with his own bands : Slant, Astroglide, Honey and the Bees.
  • Composer/director for Sean Lennon, Jennifer Lopez, Warner Brothers, Toots and the Maytals, Willie Nelson, Lucy Woodward, Ben Harper, Washington Heights film soundtrack, MAM (5 albums)…
Composed the song for the United Nations’ charter.
  • Image compositions : Publishing Companies, Thundersky Pictures, Bay Networks, Motorola, Dragon Software, Apple Computers, Siemens… Show and event compositions : Media 100, Videonics, Electric Image.