Martin Dupont

If we take into consideration the three most influential post-punk and new wave scenes in Europe, a very interesting fact emerges: both in the UK and in Germany (where it was known as Neue Deutsche Welle), it's obviously the first half of the Eighties that produced the most important masterpieces (not to mention the essential tail end of the 70s!), a period in which that explosion resulted in dozens upon dozens of albums that rightfully entered music history.
In France, however, things went differently: while it's true that the first part of that decade gave us absolute gems like Kas Product's "Try Out" (1982) or Trisomie 21's "Passions Divisées" (1984), the great wave truly materialized from 1987 onward, when the coldwave movement (so named for its more minimal approach centered on synthesizers) found its definitive consecration in France. Indeed, if in 1988 Norma Loy experimented with the excellent "Sacrifice", the following year saw the arrival of two essential works on record shelves, namely "Sounds In The Attic" by Little Nemo and "Borderline" by Asylum Party, both enveloping and melancholic, and still a source of inspiration today for countless bands in the dark scene. And then there's them: Marseille's own Martin Dupont, with 1987's "Hot Paradox".

Led from the start by frontman and multi-instrumentalist Alain Séghir, Martin Dupont formed in 1980 and already wrote important pages with their first two albums, "Just Because…" in 1984, but above all "Sleep Is A Luxury" in 1985, which contained the synth-pop anthem "It's So", one of the immortal tracks of that unrepeatable era. Alongside him were Brigitte Balian and Catherine Loy (until 1984), and later Beverley Jane Crew (active until the band's split in 1988, but who has since returned alongside new members thanks to a recent reunion).
In Martin Dupont, the lyrics are in English rather than French, an artistic choice born not only out of Alain's shyness, but also from the fact that his father didn't speak a word of English: this way, he could sing with greater freedom and without fear of being judged. Despite this direction, the French project never came across as a faded copy of some sacred monster from across the Channel, given an all-round originality capable of emerging through a sound that was cold and enchanting at the same time: an inexorably nocturnal, sensual mood, practically the soundtrack to a film noir shot by an avant-garde director.

"Hot Paradox" stands out immediately for its splendid cover art, courtesy of artist Yves Cheynet, whose work has often accompanied the French band's imagery. And like a painter mixing colors on his palette, the album reveals an endless series of shades and contrasts: warmth, cold, light, darkness, mystery and melancholy, a multicolored delicacy capable of transcending the boundaries of any predefined genre, moving between wave vibrations and refined synthesizer work.
For some years now, this musical manifesto has finally been recognized as such not only by goth audiences, but has also found admirers beyond the international dark scene.
A single title would be enough to trigger an instant love-at-first-listen: "Inside Out", a beam of light from a distant world, an arcane dance driven by insistent (electronic) drumming and breathtaking melodies — probably one of the most authentic and passionate moments of the entire Eighties new wave movement. But the record's overall quality is stunning throughout, thanks to the never-obvious use of vocals (there's an intriguing male-female handoff) and a perfect balance between a poetic, crepuscular horizon and a minimalism that seems icy on the surface but is actually full of warm, dazzling brushstrokes. Feelings we can touch first-hand in the restless post-punk of "Full Moons And Mouths" or in the tragic march of "My Analyst Assez", where that clarinet shows up (alongside the saxophone) used as a destabilizing instrument, an unmistakable trademark of the Marseille group.

Listening to the record, one senses a strong feeling of isolation and decay, while the refrain of the title track reminds us of the eternal contradiction between burning inner desires and the detached, confused nature of reality (the hot paradox duly served). Sometimes it's society itself that destroys our sanity ("smash my face on the institution walls", go the lyrics of "Pressure", another undisputed masterpiece on the album). An anxiety that clings tooth and nail to our fate, even in the form of metaphor ("Berlin Wall" becomes that wall to leap over in order to break free from the emotional chains holding us in check).
Besides the already mentioned "Inside Out", the record's second side (whose first pressing has fetched significant prices on the collectors' market) opens with a danceable track, "He Saw The Light", a variation bordering almost on pop with a subtly funky bassline, all naturally reworked through a highly personal lens. To close the circle, Martin Dupont treat us to a trio of real substance: from the symphonic approach of the disorienting "I Never Tried" we move to the frenzied saxophone of "Where To Find It" (one of the boldest compositions in the band's entire catalogue), before concluding with the dark elegance of "Like A Lion", where post-punk remnants once again prop up an instrumental minimalism that's as shadowy and restless as ever.

Despite the 2022 comeback (culminating in the recent release of "You Smile When It Hurts" and several live dates), the story of Martin Dupont can be condensed into a single unrepeatable decade, through a tremendous crescendo that burned out just when it was at its best, with the band's 1988 split coming just a few months after the release of "Hot Paradox". But as befits every twist of fate, in the years that followed it would truly have been hard to reach the peak represented by this work again (and by the two excellent records preceding it). That hot paradox has remained suspended, choked, while that typically French mal de vivre has continued to spread through the souls of anyone who, even just once in their life, has found themselves sitting alone at a table, a bottle in front of them and a lit cigarette between their fingers. I'd rather wear my life inside out…

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23/08/2026