What happens when a carpenter meets a florist and decide to make music together? The answer is Andriamad! Cécile and Kévin kindly agreed on answering our questions about their Eurovision adventure and their entry “Alléluia”.

Hi guys and thank you for the interview. So you’ve done it, you’re part of the French final line-up. How are you feeling?

Kévin: We’re thrilled. After the announcement we realized all the work to be done up until the final and that’s exciting. We’ve already met the other candidates, they are all great artists, and the atmosphere is just the best. We are enjoying working and sharing the moment with all of them.

 Andriamad is quite an original and mysterious name. May ask what is the story behind that name?

Cécile: Andriamad is actually my paternal grand-mother’s surname. It’s a name from Madagascar. Kévin and I met 4 years ago thanks to a common friend. Kévin was thinking about creating a duet and had published ads on social networks. Back then, I wasn’t realy into the music business anymore since I had other projects. Nevertheless, that friend decided to send him some of my demos.

Kévin: I loved Cécile’s voice straight away! We had to meet! A week later, it happened in a recording studio near Paris. We immediately started trying things, voices, instruments… That’s when Andriamad came to life. We chose the name not long after that moment. We wanted to stick to our roots, hers and mine.

How did you come up with the idea of taking part to « Eurovision France: C’est Vous Qui Décidez!”? Whose idea was it?

Cécile: It was our idea. Eurovision is a great challenge, a tremendous opportunity to take the stage, first at a national then an international level (if we are chosen obviously). We wanted to put ourselves to the test and to bring a positive energy after the year we’ve all been through.

 Some people are comparing you with Madame Monsieur. Are they mistaken?

Kévin: Madame Monsieur is a man-woman duet performing electro music. They took the Eurovision stage so yes, the comparison seems obvious. We have a deep respect for their work, but our music is quite different from theirs.

 « Alléluia » sounds like a world music track. Did you compose the song? What’s your message?

Cécile: Yes, we wrote and composed “Alléluia”. Just after the lockdown, we were eager to meet again in our studio in Paris, in order to create and share what we had done separately during that period. Then we decided we wanted to go for something completely new. We are travellers and we miss going abroad, discovering new faces and new landscapes. We do need to feed ourselves from cultures different from ours. Being different doesn’t mean being better or worse. Cultures exist and we have to enjoy them all. During our trips we’ve learnt from other ways and means, from the patience of the several populations we’ve met. “Alléluia” is all about this open-mindedness and positive curiosity we both cherish.

 Have we heard the final version of the song? Should we expect a few surprises?

Kévin: Yes, “Alléluia” may be revamped, at least the performance will be. We’re working hard on this point.

Why do you want to take the Eurovision stage? Are you fans of the event? Do you have favourite entries from past contests?

Cécile: As I said, we see it as a challenge, a way to put us to the test. It is a global event!

Kévin: It’s highly interesting to get feedbacks from people who do not belong to our music universe. This makes Andriamad move forward. Back in 2018, I loved the song and the performance of Netta with “Toy”. That was just unbelievable!

Do you have a special message to our readers?

Kévin: We want to thank you for all the messages and comments we receive. They go straight to our hearts and give us a kick to go further and beyond. Thank you so much guys, you’re the reason why we believe!

Merci Cécile and Kévin! And as we say in France “M****!” [rather rude word that is supposed to bring luck, Ed.]

If Andriamad is your choice for France, let us know in our poll: