MAI LAN

Mai Lan, a multifaceted French creator working across design, visual art, and music, first drew widespread notice through her vocal role on M83’s album Junk. An assured presence and magnetic style developed early thanks to her upbringing in an artistic household as the daughter of counterculture artist Christian Chapiron, also known as Kiki Picasso, alongside her brother Kim, a film director. An initial step toward wider visibility arrived in 2006 when she supplied songs for Kim’s film Sheitan. Through her affiliation with the Kourtrajmé production collective she further explored fashion design. Her self-titled debut LP from 2012 blended rap, sampling, and pop in a genre-defying manner that recalled CSS, Feist, and Yelle. Max Labarthe served as producer, and the album featured French rappers Nikkfurie and Orelsan on the track “Oysters.” International exposure broadened significantly with the April 2016 release of Junk. The standalone single “Technique” followed in June, its lean electro sound reflecting the unconventional, rhythm-focused approach of Peaches and Jain while co-written by Labarthe and Nick Sylvester (Shamir). Alongside M83 tour dates she commenced work on her sophomore album that year.