Mathieu Hocine a.k.a Kid Francescoli is back. The Marseille-based producer and multi-instrumentalist named his latest project as a tribute to Olympique de Marseille footballer Enzo Francescoli. He has announced his seventh studio album ‘A Kind Wave’, arriving October 9th via All Night Long / Believe France. Alongside it comes ‘City of Gold’, the album’s second single. It is the kind of track that earns its place in a summer playlist.
The Single
‘City of Gold’ arrives as a shimmering collision of hypnotic melodic loops, relentless rhythm and immersive atmosphere. The track features Nigerian singer Demigod, a collaboration that began through Instagram and opened the door to one of the album’s most addictive moments. Demigod’s magnetic vocal presence adds a rich new dimension to Kid Francescoli’s sun-drenched world. It pulls the track toward something more global and more urgent than anything in his recent catalogue.
The Artist
Kid Francescoli first gained recognition with With Julia in 2013 and further established his identity with Play Me Again in 2017, featuring the iconic track ‘Moon.’ ‘Moon’ went viral on Instagram Reels and TikTok through shares by Jennifer Lopez and Lizzo. The track was featured on season one of Netflix’s Emily in Paris. It was a new age moment that introduced his music to an entirely new generation of listeners. Alongside ‘Moon,’ tracks including ‘Nopalitos’ and ‘Blow Up’ have earned Gold, Platinum and Diamond certifications, contributing to hundreds of millions of streams.
His studio sits at the heart of Marseille, flanked by a fresco of palm trees at sunset. A space built for life and collaboration as much as production. That spirit runs through everything he makes. His influences span Brit rock and pop, the French Touch movement, US rap, and film composers including François de Roubaix and Ennio Morricone. A range that gives his music its distinctive cinematic warmth.Â
The Album
A Kind Wave is an ode to connection and renewal, inspired by travel, encounters and the euphoric feeling of life returning with the first days of summer in the South of France. Rooted in electro-pop yet reaching toward broader horizons, it is Kid Francescoli’s most collaborative and emotionally expansive record to date.
The new album deepens his creative partnership with singer and multi-instrumentalist Andréa Durand, who appears across five tracks including forthcoming third single ‘Don’t Get On The Plane,’ arriving September 9th. Their chemistry pushes Kid Francescoli into a new phase: soft pop, R&B, soul and dance influences woven through his established electro aesthetic. The record also draws on broader global influences, from the African-infused pulse of ‘City of Gold’ to the Brazilian softness of ‘Do Meu Coração.’
A Kind Wave was produced alongside Robin Coudert, known as Rob, producer and live keyboardist for Phoenix. His contribution helps shape a sound that feels simultaneously more powerful, more precise and more emotionally expansive than anything Kid Francescoli has made before.
“What inspires me most in music is music itself and the effect it has on people,” he says. That thought process flows throughout the record.
