Dionysos (French band)

Dionysos is a French pop band that originated in Valence, Drôme, in 1993; their formation took place at their lycée. The group presents songs in both French and English and has produced six studio albums. They are particularly recognized in France for their surrealism and eccentricity.

Their debut album, Happening Songs, was entirely self-produced and featured lyrics exclusively in English. With their subsequent album The sun is blue like eggs in Winter (also self-produced), Babet joined the band. In 1999, they signed a deal with a major label (the now defunct Trema) and released Haïku, which propelled them into the public eye, largely owing to the success of the single "Coccinelle."

The name of the band comes from the ancient Greek god Dionysus, which in French is Dionysos.

Influences
There are evident non-musical influences drawn from Tim Burton and Roald Dahl. Many of the songs carry a surreal quality, with a significant number featuring nonsense lyrics, such as the track "Surfin Frog." The albums Monsters in Love and La mécanique du cœur are situated in a fantastical world teeming with whimsical monsters and other extraordinary characters. This unique setting has been utilized by Mathias Malzieu as the backdrop for two original comic books. The cover art for these comic books, as well as for the two albums, was illustrated by Joann Sfar. Sfar's distinct and comical style of fantasy fiction, as showcased in the Donjon comic books, seamlessly aligns with the band's humor-infused fantasy albums.

The lead singer, Mathias Malzieu, is also working on other projects such as the career of Olivia Ruiz (his partner), and his other hobby : writing (published 4 books in 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2011). His second book is based on the same world as the album Monsters in Love, his third book on the same world as the album La mécanique du cœur. In the same way, there will be connections between his fourth book, Métamorphose en bord du ciel, but not to the same extent as La mécanique du cœur.

Members
Mathias is the main songwriter and frontman. He has also written three books – 38 mini westerns (Pimientos, 2003), Maintenant qu'il fait tout le temps nuit sur toi (Flammarion, 2005) et La mécanique du cœur (Flammarion, 2007) – with inspiration drawing between the albums and the novels. The Miky Biky co-produced La mécanique du cœur with Mathias. Babet has begun a solo career and released two albums: Drôle d'oiseau (5 March 2007) and Piano Monstre (27 September 2010). Stéphan worked as the band's backliner on tour, but joined officially during the recording of Monsters in Love.
 * Mathias Malzieu – vocals, ukulele, folk guitar, theremin, harmonica, glockenspiel
 * Éric Serra Tosio a.k.a. Rico – drums, percussion, whistle
 * Michaël Ponton a.k.a. Miky Biky – lead guitar, phonograph turntable, banjo, lapsteel, ukulele, programming
 * Guillaume Garidel a.k.a. Guillermo – bass guitar, contrabass, synthesizer
 * Élisabeth Maistre a.k.a. Babet – vocals, violin, keys, banjo, theremin (member since 1998)
 * Stéphan Bertholio a.k.a. Stéphano – banjo, keys, bass, glockenspiel, ukulele, baritone guitar, lapsteel, musical saw, melodica (backliner, then official member since 2002)

Studio albums

 * Happening Songs (self-produced, 1996)
 * The Sun Is Blue Like the Eggs in Winter (self-produced, 1998)
 * Haïku (Trema, 1999)
 * Western sous la neige (Trema, 2002)
 * Monsters in Love (Trema, 2005)
 * La Mécanique du Cœur (Barclay, 2007)
 * Bird 'n' Roll (Barclay, March 2012)
 * Vampire en pyjama (L'Extraordinarium, January 2016)
 * Surprisier (L'Extraordinarium, February 2020)

Live albums

 * Whatever the Weather – Concert Électrique (Trema, 2003)
 * Whatever the Weather – Concert Acoustique (Trema, 2003)
 * Monsters in Live (2007)

DVDs

 * Whatever the Weather (2003) – recorded 30 May 2003 at 'La Laiterie' in Strasbourg
 * Monsters in Live (2007) – recorded 28 October 2006 at Le Zénith in Paris with the Synfonietta de Belfort orchestra

Other

 * Yoghurt session (1997) – extremely rare vinyl
 * Soon, on your radio (1998) – a CD featuring Dionysos alongside Mary's Child and Despondents
 * Old School Recordings (Trema, 15 May 2001) – a collection of rare recordings
 * Eats Music (Barclay, 12 October 2009) – another collection of rare recordings, demos and alternative or live versions of previous released tracks