The general public spotted him in the series Greek Salad by Cédric Klapisch, sometimes confuses him with his famous actor brother Niels, but Alyosha Schneider is also a singer and musician, who is releasing his third album, the first in French. It’s all a family story in his journey. As in the clip for the song Ensemble, which he produced, in a semi-improvised atmosphere, surrounded by loved ones. “The hand you see touching my hair, it’s funny, it’s my father’s who was there – I’m not sure he realized that it was happening (laughs) – and my little brother Vassili enters the frame, which was not planned either,” says the Franco-Quebecer who celebrated his 30th birthday on September 21.
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The music virus – singing started at 10, guitar at 13, first titles written in English – came from another of his brothers, Vadim, who died in a car accident in 2003. And then there is the chosen family. Like the one born around Greek Salad, the latest extension of The Spanish Inn.
The album coming out on Friday, simply called Alyosha Schneider, like a calling card, was written during the six months of filming in Athens for Cédric Klapisch’s series. “We clearly wanted this album to be a snapshot of what I was going through at the time, with all the people who were part of it at that time, I made my actor friends sing in the chorus on the songs Avant elle and Paradis », Reveals the artist. “Cédric is capable, it’s his strength, of creating families on set,” continues Alyocha Schneider. The director is also part of his clan now, since he is the one who directed the music video for the title Avant elle.
“I was planning to direct it alone, but Cédric told me: ‘If you want, I can come on set to provide a look, or direct it, or not come at all.’ I didn’t hesitate for two seconds, I told him: “You realize” and there are quite a few people from the production of Greek Salad on the set. “My girlfriend sings practically on all the tracks, even if she is not credited because we wanted it to be informal,” he confides again. His partner is the Quebec singer Charlotte Cardin who released a new album, 99 nights, in August. The song Ensemble is inspired by the distance sometimes imposed by their respective careers. The clip, with its character out of step at a party, clearly reflects this idea of not “being in the present moment” by thinking about someone who is absent. The melancholy of the lyrics is balanced by solar folk pop, like a transposition of the light of Athens. During the interview, Alyocha Schneider will also twice mention The South by Nino Ferrer and the warmth that emanates from the arrangements of Rodrigo Amarante, Brazilian folk-pop goldsmith. Finally, to return to the family, Alyosha Schneider filmed Tout va bien, a series on Disney where his sister is played by Virginie Efira. In life, the actress is the companion of her brother Niels, César for Best New Actor for Diamant noir in 2017, star of a family where everyone (Alyosha, Vassili, Volodia) evolves between music and cinema.