Two days before his concert at Frigo 16 in Nice, and a few days before the release of his new album “OIN OIN,” Miel de Montagne reflects on his music, his melancholy, his imaginary friend Mielo, and his taste for gentle absurdity.
As his concert at Frigo 16 in Nice approaches on April 3rd, and just a few days before the release of his new album “OIN OIN”, Miel de Montagne shares his thoughts on his connection to music, his tamed melancholy, his loyal imaginary companion Mielo, and his love for benevolent absurdity. A portrait of a pop poet who prefers the swims in Nice to the streets of Marseille, and the intensity of the stage to the race for success.
“Miel de Montagne is me at my best, dressed to the nines.”
This is how Milan Kanche, alias Miel de Montagne, introduces his musical project. Behind this sweet and quirky name — chosen “spontaneously, like everything else” — lies an artist with a hybrid universe, at the intersection of pop, electro, and a bittersweet dreaminess.
After a first EP in 2018, a self-titled album in 2019, and Tout Autour de Nous in 2022, Miel returns on April 4th with a new opus: “OIN OIN”. An album conceived with a burst of renewed freshness. “I made it in a somewhat fleeting way. I focused on it in October, finished in January. It went quickly. I wanted something light, like the first times. To overthink less, to recapture a naive energy.”
A Tamed Melancholy
The album was produced in the same place as his previous projects, in the countryside, this time with a helping hand from Quebec. Nothing radically new, but a desire for fluidity, and above all to offer something.
“It’s an album that I made for others. I’d like to make one like this every year.”
Beneath his absurd humor, Miel de Montagne often speaks of loneliness, doubts, and the difficulty of being oneself. “I think I’ve had a lot of melancholy inside me for a long time. I viewed it negatively for a long time. But now, I accept it. Through music, it becomes a creative force.”
Hallucinatory Videos and Soft Drugs
This search for a visual elsewhere can be found in his videos, often shot outdoors, between naturalism and gentle trips.
“I like to create offsets. It’s kind of like we’ve taken a little drug. Not psych rock, but a slight shift. I finish a song, and immediately, I think of the video. It’s frustrating, but it helps me write.”
Nice, Frigo 16, and the Stage’s Orgasm
On Thursday, April 3rd, Miel de Montagne will be on stage at Frigo 16, in Nice. A city that is gradually becoming a haven. “My drummer is from Nice. We toured Quebec together and became great friends. Last summer, I traveled back and forth here a lot. I love this city, I find it beautiful. And as for Frigo 16, I’ve been told it’s one of the last underground places in France. I’m excited.”
On stage, the artist finds a form of fulfillment. “I started with the conservatory, with the desire to play. The studio, I’m starting to like. But the stage… it’s such a powerful shared moment, a true instant of life. It’s almost orgasmic. There’s no better drug.”
With “OIN OIN,” Miel de Montagne embraces his sincerity more than ever, his sweetness, and his taste for joyful melancholy. An album to listen to as one would share an aperitif with friends, barefoot in the grass, a little lost, a little happy, but free.
