Biography
Though best known to many for his ubiquitous Levi's commercial and the 1999 European number-one hit "Flat Beat," film director Quentin Dupieux issued strong electronic work under the Mr. Oizo name. Eschewing the prevailing currents of commercial-oriented hipster trance and jungle, the midtempo techno track relied on heavily distorted effects and a playful sensibility that matched its visual counterpart, the endearing yellow puppet. After the single's unexpected breakthrough, Dupieux kept issuing unconventional Mr. Oizo albums that shaped various strains of experimental dance music.
Dupieux started making short films for French television while still a teenager, completing eight projects from 1994 to 1998. His entry into the music sphere occurred in 1997 after leading French dance figure Laurent Garnier happened to purchase a car from Dupieux's father. Dupieux went on to helm the clip for Garnier's "Flashback" and the extended video Nightmare Sandwiches, which starred Garnier and used his music. That same year he entered music production, placing his first single, "#1," on Garnier's F Communications imprint. Once the video for follow-up "M-Seq" reached an advertising agency, Dupieux received the assignment to direct the spot introducing Levi's new non-denim trouser line. The offbeat advertisement, which showed puppet Flat Eric energetically nodding along from the passenger seat of a Chevelle as the driver remained impassive, gained widespread European recognition, while the accompanying single on F Communications topped charts throughout the Continent and ultimately moved more than two million copies.
The required debut album, Analog Worms Attack, appeared in October and secured U.S. release the next year. Dupieux additionally directed Alex Gopher's "Party People" video. After pausing to convert his studio setup from analog to digital, the computer-based Moustache (Half a Scissor) surfaced in 2005. The glitch-filled, high-energy record marked a sharp departure from prior material and was labeled "unlistenable" by its own label, F Communications. Even so, it attracted a modest cult audience and later influenced the wave of French dance producers led by Justice and the Ed Banger roster. Fittingly, Mr. Oizo joined Ed Banger in 2006, issuing the Transexual EP on the label in 2007. Dupieux's debut feature, Steak, also premiered that year, its score composed by him alongside SebastiAn and Sébastien Tellier.
Lambs Anger arrived in 2008 as Mr. Oizo's most overtly dancefloor-oriented album so far and included a guest turn from Uffie. Following contributions to Uffie's 2010 debut Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, Dupieux teamed with Gaspard Augé of Justice on the soundtrack for his subsequent film Rubber. The fourth proper Mr. Oizo album, Stade 2, emerged in 2011 and restored elements of dissonance and glitch. That year Brainfeeder, the imprint founded by Flying Lotus, issued the first vinyl edition of Moustache (Half a Scissor). Film projects occupied the ensuing period as Dupieux directed Wrong (2012) and Wrong Cops (2013), each accompanied by Mr. Oizo scores. The latter picture featured Marilyn Manson, who also supplied vocals to the track "Solid" on the 2013 EP Amicalement. Dupieux returned to Brainfeeder with 2014's The Church, emphasizing his cartoonish sense of menace and affinity for West Coast hip-hop textures. Back on Ed Banger, the 2015 single "Hand in the Fire" featured vocals from pop artist Charli XCX. A substantially altered take of the song appeared on the 2016 album All Wet, which also contained contributions from Peaches, Boys Noize, Skrillex, and additional guests.
Dupieux started making short films for French television while still a teenager, completing eight projects from 1994 to 1998. His entry into the music sphere occurred in 1997 after leading French dance figure Laurent Garnier happened to purchase a car from Dupieux's father. Dupieux went on to helm the clip for Garnier's "Flashback" and the extended video Nightmare Sandwiches, which starred Garnier and used his music. That same year he entered music production, placing his first single, "#1," on Garnier's F Communications imprint. Once the video for follow-up "M-Seq" reached an advertising agency, Dupieux received the assignment to direct the spot introducing Levi's new non-denim trouser line. The offbeat advertisement, which showed puppet Flat Eric energetically nodding along from the passenger seat of a Chevelle as the driver remained impassive, gained widespread European recognition, while the accompanying single on F Communications topped charts throughout the Continent and ultimately moved more than two million copies.
The required debut album, Analog Worms Attack, appeared in October and secured U.S. release the next year. Dupieux additionally directed Alex Gopher's "Party People" video. After pausing to convert his studio setup from analog to digital, the computer-based Moustache (Half a Scissor) surfaced in 2005. The glitch-filled, high-energy record marked a sharp departure from prior material and was labeled "unlistenable" by its own label, F Communications. Even so, it attracted a modest cult audience and later influenced the wave of French dance producers led by Justice and the Ed Banger roster. Fittingly, Mr. Oizo joined Ed Banger in 2006, issuing the Transexual EP on the label in 2007. Dupieux's debut feature, Steak, also premiered that year, its score composed by him alongside SebastiAn and Sébastien Tellier.
Lambs Anger arrived in 2008 as Mr. Oizo's most overtly dancefloor-oriented album so far and included a guest turn from Uffie. Following contributions to Uffie's 2010 debut Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans, Dupieux teamed with Gaspard Augé of Justice on the soundtrack for his subsequent film Rubber. The fourth proper Mr. Oizo album, Stade 2, emerged in 2011 and restored elements of dissonance and glitch. That year Brainfeeder, the imprint founded by Flying Lotus, issued the first vinyl edition of Moustache (Half a Scissor). Film projects occupied the ensuing period as Dupieux directed Wrong (2012) and Wrong Cops (2013), each accompanied by Mr. Oizo scores. The latter picture featured Marilyn Manson, who also supplied vocals to the track "Solid" on the 2013 EP Amicalement. Dupieux returned to Brainfeeder with 2014's The Church, emphasizing his cartoonish sense of menace and affinity for West Coast hip-hop textures. Back on Ed Banger, the 2015 single "Hand in the Fire" featured vocals from pop artist Charli XCX. A substantially altered take of the song appeared on the 2016 album All Wet, which also contained contributions from Peaches, Boys Noize, Skrillex, and additional guests.
Albums
Singles
