French house finds a bright new star in Kiddy Smile who beckons you to the dance-floor on their playfully, honest debut album
Should French DJ, dancer and performer Kiddy Smile not have managed to catch your attention with his bouncing 2016 release “Let a B!tch Know!”, now is the time to redeem yourself. Kiddy Smile, a.k.a. Pierre Hache, lets his star power shine on his debut album, “One Trick Pony”, a cohesive, personality-packed record, that sees him rise out of the banlieue to offer his own unabashed, queer take on French house music.
On opener “House of God”, Smile draws on his identity as a black, openly gay and gender-non-conforming man to immediately get politically pious, as he calls out racism, homophobia, privilege and toxic patriarchy. The Haus of Smile, rightly so, does not ease one in gently. Smile, using deep, distorted vocals over a rousing baseline, calls for unity and togetherness via the dance-floor and, as the thick, thunderous drop arrives, Smile aims for divinely political, dance-ready intervention. “Be Honest” is a straight-forward, soul-influenced house track that could easily attract mainstream attention and potentially a Heather Small remix. We can dream, of course. In the track’s accompanying visuals, Smile draws on personal experience and sees him get expelled from a church choir only to find solace among the dazzling lights and wafer-thin sunglasses of the ballroom. A story that Smile hoped would ring true for many other PoC, queer folks growing up in the church.
Elsewhere on the album, Smile averts his gaze away from the dancefloor momentarily to look inwards and showcase a softer side. “Movin’ On Now” is a no-nonsense, self-affirming break-up anthem, where Smile’s seductive chorus vocals play into the lyrics of searching for inner strength. “Dark Knight”, a simmering track with squelching synths and pleading vocals, is a persuasive beckoning call to a hesitantly chivalrous lover. Friendship and loyalty are celebrated on “That 1 Friend”, where Smile sings to a dear friend “so I want you to see/what you mean to me/ and now the world will know/ when everything is bleak”. I guess I could say the same for my best friend, or, equally for several of my favourite dipping sauces.
Smile doesn’t maintain this more serious streak for long. The hypnotic “Slap My B**t”, a rave-fuelled track that deals with an overly exuberant, club-haunting female and the clattering “Dickmatized”, a nod to the thirstiest among us, are as charismatic as they are catchy. Smile’s playful yet critical treatment of queer culture, and our own behaviour as exhibitors of it in and out of the club, offer a welcome change from purses, death-drops and pony-tail whips. As ever though, Smile doesn’t keep us from dancing.
On the album’s title track, “One Trick Pony”, Smile emerges defiant and personal as he offers a glimpse of who Pierre behind the Pony is. He declares “I’m on my way up and I will show ya/you should have never looked down on me the way you did”, perhaps a well-justified swipe at those that attempted to steer the 6ft 3 dancer away from house music. And that most of the French population is, of course, considerably shorter than him.
Yet, Smile, as he does on the rest of “Pony”, proves himself to be a fun, honest artist, who is rhythmically relentless in his style. Emerging as one of the most prominent LGBT voices in France, who was even invited to perform for President Macron back in June this year, Smile proves he has the talent to go along with it. He may not describe himself as a one trick pony, but as far as equine comparisons go, “Pony” shows Smile is certainly poised and in position to charge out ahead of the pack.
One Trick Pony is available to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and to download on iTunes. See Kiddy Smile live and check out his tour dates here.