Johan Papaconstantino

About

" A French newcomer in a melting-pot of rebetiko, electro and rap "

“I like his nonchalance”, Johan Papaconstantino sings in French on ‘Mon chat danse’, a track from his debut album, ‘Premier Degré’, released in early March 2023. We now return the compliment to this artist, who was born in Aix-en-Provence and grew up in Marseille: we like his nonchalance. As you may have guessed by his surname, the French musician and painter is the son of a Greek man who listened to a lot of music from his homeland. His Corsican mother was important, too, introducing her son to the sounds of R’n’B and French chanson.

Johan Papaconstantino started DJing in his teens, then he played guitar, drums and bouzouki (a Greek instrument which is a permanent feature in rebetiko music) in a band called Tendre Emeute. A heartbreak inspired him to write one of his first songs as a solo artist, ‘Pourquoi tu cries??’, which was on his first EP, ‘Contre-jour’, in 2019. The same year, he successfully covered one of the most emotional songs in the history of French music, Christophe’s ‘Les Mots bleus’. What was obvious in these early recordings was Johan’s taste for blending pop. His music is a mix of electronic and trap beats, with a hip-hop flow in his vocals, pop melodies, reggaeton, and exotic instruments (such as his beloved bouzouki). This tendency is confirmed on ‘Premier Degré’. The artwork is a close-up of his pregnant partner’s belly, and the lyrics feel like close-ups of his daily life as well, delivered in a wonderfully casual tone. One of these new songs is called ‘Ca m’époustoufle’ (It flabbergasts me), and once again, we completely agree.