Petit Biscuit interview: 'Music is a story of coincidences'

Electronic music prodigy on his work so far, performing live, and how his music has allowed him to pursue his passion for travel

Artist Mehdi Benjelloun - AKA Petit Biscuit (Ashley Parango)

In the rudimentary stages of a musician’s career, it’s no easy task enticing a big label or conducting an apt PR gimmick to lift them off the ground. But three years ago, aged just 15, Petit Biscuit had already been catapulted into the limelight without the need of either.

The French DJ’s track “Sunset Lover” took Spotify by storm, amassing a reported 350 million streams and counting. Since its 2015 release he’s been working his way up to an album, and now a worldwide headline tour.

Humble and apologetic for his lack of English, Petit Biscuit – born Mehdi Benjelloun – sits comfortably in the dressing room of the O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London, with his manager on hand to help translate.

“I’m sorry, I’m a bit tired,” Benjelloun admitted. “I was at a big-” he looks to his manager for help – “awards ceremony.”

Having only arrived in the city a few hours ago, the 18-year-old is still recovering after playing at Victoires de la Musique – the French equivalent of the Brit Awards – in Paris the night before. He’d been nominated for Album Révélation for his debut record Presence, which has only been out since November.

Success has come thick and fast for Benjelloun, but he’s brought with it a relaxed maturity that isn’t lost in translation. He understands not to expect the same head-turning numbers from every song he releases, and loves his live shows, as he gets to see a glimpse of his real fan base. There’s a desire for tangible praise over faceless digital acclaim.

“I usually say that it’s not in the story of the statistics,” he says. “Your tracks can be cool even if no one listens to it. It’s a story of coincidences. So you don’t have to be really attached about these statistics.

“This is why a live show is more human. I see each face. Even if there are a lot of people, I can see sometimes the face of the people looking, and I can know which person listened to my music.”

Despite what some may assume, Benjelloun’s talents aren’t limited to a mixing console. He was playing the piano, cello and guitar long before he began dabbling with synthesisers, and incorporates these instruments into his live shows where he can.

Aged 11, he was inspired to start playing with beats in his bedroom at his family home in Rouen, Normandy, where he still makes some of his music. This month he returned to the city to perform at an 8,000-capacity venue. It was comforting to see some familiar faces.

“It’s always good to play in your home town,” he says. “It’s important to show to the people you’re always thinking about them. Even if you go all around the world to play your gigs, you’re always happy to play your home town. I was really happy to show to Rouen that I’ve come so far.”

His young age is naturally an unavoidable topic given Benjelloun has achieved so much, so early in his career. Although he’s happy to talk about how that has affected him so far, he makes it clear that he wants his music to do the talking.

“A lot of journalists judge me because of my age,” he says. “Sometimes I tell journalists I don’t want to talk about my age, I only want to talk about my music. Why don’t they talk to all the other artists about their age? It’s only me.

“I think because I’m one of the first to have a career in this stage of my life. I think in the future there will be more and more artists who will start their career really young,”

With the prosperity and following he has built since leaving home to tour for the last two years, also comes more expectation. Each time Benjelloun takes to the stage or starts a new creation he looks to match the challenge of anxiety with more confidence.

“I have more pressure because there are more people behind me. Sometimes I think I can’t disappoint them, but I’m telling myself to stay myself, to make my own music, even if people don’t like it. I think sometimes people like your tracks, people don’t like your tracks. All the people are different.”

His album Presence is how he’s managed to capture his universe, and a clear example of how he’s grown as an artist. Where he began his career remixing other artists’ songs, young artists are now doing the same with his.

“I wanted to show to the people a different side to Petit Biscuit,” he says. “Maybe a more dark, and more mature. I grew up so fast when I started to make some gigs. I was really inspired by all the things that happened around me.

“I don’t want to create only singles. I think singles are more ephemeral. When you create an album it’s more respectable and more in the flow of what artists do. You have to show another side of you.”

The diverse mix of evocative and relaxed melodies woven into his music makes it an album probably best appreciated alone, but in concert, amped up and fronting some acidic visuals, he’s shown it can be equally transformed to create a different kind of moving experience.

His biggest idol is the DJ Flume, and the final track on the record, “The End”, certainly suggests his influence. In December he was able to step into the Australian’s shoes, playing to a packed crowd at Zenith de Paris, where a younger Benjelloun once watched his Grammy Award-winning hero from the audience. The teenager hails this as the best moment of his tour so far.

Benjelloun’s journey as Petit Biscuit will take him to parts of the world that are brand new to him: big venues in Asia, America and countries around Europe. In doing so he may find inspiration for new music, as he says he likes the idea of using world influences in future work. For now though, he’s embracing the moment as he lives out a childhood fantasy.

Petit Biscuit performs at O2 Forum in Kentish Town, London (Federica Burelli)

“Since I was really young I had two passions: music and travel. And today I can do the two. So this is like my dream,” he says. “When I’m travelling now, I always like to bring my camera and take some photos.

“I have the chance to lead by my passion. I have the chance to do what I like, and get money for that, and also to make people happy. It’s really therapeutic.”

'Presence', the album by Petit Biscuit, is out now