Stromae (read as Stromai) is the pseudonym of the Belgian artist Paul Van Aver. Almost all songs are written in French and raise acute social issues, as well as personal experiences.
Stromay is also notable for directing his own songs.
Stromai: childhood
Paul's genre is very difficult to define: it is dance music, house, and hip-hop.
Paul was born in a large family in the suburbs of Brussels. His father, a native of South Africa, practically did not participate in the life of his son, so his mother raised the children alone. However, this did not prevent her from giving her son a good education. Stromai studied at a prestigious boarding school, where he was drawn to music from an early age. Among all musical instruments, drums were the most preferred. Playing drums, he achieved success.
During music lessons, he was the only kid in the group who really loved it.
The first song of the young artist (at that time Paul was 18 years old) was the composition "Faut que t'arrête le Rap". An aspiring rapper and part-time friend of Paul participated in her recording. However, the guys after that stopped working and communicating.
At the same time, Stromai studied at the sound engineering department at the National Institute of Cinematography and Radio Electronics. I work part-time at all sorts of jobs, including bistros and small cafes, Paul spends all the money on music lessons. Since it is difficult to combine work and study, only the dead of the night remained for music lessons.
Stromae: the beginning of a career
The debut mini-album “Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…” was released in 2006. He was immediately noted by music critics, and Paul began to receive the first invitations to perform.
In parallel, he creates a channel on YouTube, where he shares his experience of recording tracks with his viewers. After all, the young performer really had something to tell: he recorded almost all of his songs on an ordinary computer without the use of additional equipment. In addition, the recording took place not in the studio, but at home.
At that time, university studies came to an end, and the guy found a job at the famous NRJ radio station. Here he could independently launch his tracks into rotation. Thanks to such work, in 2009, the song "Alors on danse" became a worldwide hit.
It sounded from everywhere and from every corner. This was Paul's first real success. In addition, the performer did not have a producer, and was engaged in the promotion of music himself. In 2010, at the Music Industry Awards, "Alors on danse" was named the best song of the year.
Three years later, Stromai released the full-length album "Racine Carre", which included the track "Papaoutai". A video was shot for the song, which won the Best Video award at the Festival international du film francophone de Namur.
The work tells about an indifferent father who is physically present in the life of his son, but in fact does nothing. Perhaps this song and video are autobiographical, because the musician also did not communicate with his father.
Another single "Tous les Memes" touches on the topic of personal relationships and the unwillingness of society to enter into the position of the people around them.
Facts from the personal life of Paul Van Aver:
- Stromai does not consider his popularity to be something important, rather, on the contrary, it prevents him from creating.
- He is married to Coralie Barbier (part-time his personal stylist), but the musician practically does not discuss this topic in interviews.
- Paul has his own clothing line. In design, it combines casual elements with vibrant African prints.
- In some interviews, he said that the work of a builder or a baker is much more important than the work of a musician. Therefore, he is not very happy to have such popularity.
Singer Stromay today
In mid-October 2021, the artist broke the silence that lasted 8 years. He introduced the single Santé. On January 11, 2022, Stromae presented another piece. We are talking about the track L'enfer. The premiere took place live on television. Recall that the artist plans to release a new LP in March 2022.
