Martin Solveig Says 'Hello' to North America With Help From Dragonette

Posted on Mar 24th 2011 11:30AM by Jesse Ship
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Mixture Stereophonic | Universal

Martin Solveig's surprise smash hit 'Hello' is currently blasting everywhere from suburban car stereos to pawnshops all across North America. And for this, the French house DJ/producer should really thank Dragonette, the Toronto electro-pop outfit responsible for the track's twangy bass hooks and coquettish vocals.

"As a producer, you are always looking for a singer to pair up with," Solveig tells Spinner of what inspired him to recruit the Martina Sorbara-fronted outfit, who happen to be up for Dance Recording of the Year at Canada's Juno Awards this weekend.

Solveig attributes frequent meetings with Sorbara while on the Australian music festival circuit to setting things in motion with Dragonette. A Jean Paul Gaultier fashion would mark the first time the Parisian collaborated with the Canadian songbird, while his soon-to-be-released album, 'Smash,' marks the most recent go with Sorbara and her bandmates.

"Canadian bands have a rich heritage and influence of many different cultures. There are so many examples of famous Canadian acts, especially in my two fields of exploration, especially electronic and rock."

Currently on tour and set to perform at Miami's Ultra Music Fest on Friday, Solveig says he never tires of playing the track, especially given the reception its gotten recently by fans in Washington and New York.

"The reaction to 'Hello' was unbelievable, like it was one of my classics. This song is a real blessing for me."

The accompanying music video, which is part of a rather comical series promoting 'Smash,' features Solveig in a mock tennis match against his DJ colleague Bob Sinclair set unbelievably at Paris' famed Roland Garros stadium.

Watch the Video for 'Hello' by Martin Solveig Ft. Dragonette
"I was extremely lucky that the stadium liked my idea," says the DJ/producer. "It just worked out that they had an exhibition game coming up and we shot the thing in just half an hour. The crowd didn't actually know that this was planned, but they were completely into it."

Since the 'Hello' video has come out, two more videos have been released, while five or six more are possibly in the works. Solveig has been involved as a music supervisor on various film scores before, and clearly finds the video project extremely interesting.

"The fourth episode will take place in the Stade de France, the French national football stadium, in response to the tennis episode," he says. "And the fifth one will take place in Australia during my tour at the end of April."

So the question remains, will fans be tipped off to the video shoot down under, or will Solveig simply rely on unsuspecting bystanders as he did for 'Hello'?

Full Junos Coverage