In his 2024 project “Alain”, dedicated to the memory of his father, Kemmler delivers a profoundly moving body of work. He explores pain, illness, and grief with rare sincerity. The album, dark yet meticulously crafted, stands as an emotional painting — raw and honest — from an artist unafraid to confront his own fragility through music.
Months later, he returned with a new album, “Finalement”. From the opening track, “Chaise vide”, he reflects on the tragic conclusion of “Alain” — a painful but inevitable end. In an interview with Nouvelle Vague, he spoke of his desire to channel light from darkness, turning hardship into hope:
“I didn’t want to serve the same thing to those who already followed me. The context around ‘Alain’ was so dramatic — between my breakup and my father’s illness. It was such an emotional storm, like being in a washing machine. I couldn’t make bright or sunny music. Now, the album is called ‘Finalement’ — life goes on, and that’s what I needed to tell rather than lingering in deep sadness. There had to be light in this project. I think that’s what my father would have wanted.”
“Finalement”: Kemmler rises from the ashes
“Finalement” isn’t a cheerful album — it’s a living one. Long before “Alain”, Kemmler had already mastered the art of balancing melancholy and hope. Since his breakout track “Moi aussi”, he’s blended gravity, humility, and sincerity, transforming raw emotion into poetry.
For this new project, Kemmler surrounded himself with KNY Factory and Nazim. The former, a well-known producer, has worked with La Zarra and composed “Tu me donnes chaud” for Taïro. The latter, Nazim, is a celebrated songwriter known for his collaborations with Amir and Claudio Capéo. Both bring a refined, melodic sensibility that strengthens Kemmler’s growing connection to the French chanson tradition — the school of precise words and heartfelt delivery. Youssoupha once predicted it in his song “Chanson française”: urban music would become the new French song. For Kemmler, that prophecy rings true.
The track “Comme personne” launched the album’s rollout. True to himself, the artist avoids ego-driven posturing, instead laying bare his vulnerabilities, offering once again a project written “with an open heart”:
“The clothes don’t make the man, I’m in The Kooples
Acting tough, with Céline in my headphones
I make decisions that pull me away from the world
I cancel so many plans I once initiated.”
Love also makes its return to Kemmler’s world — tinged, as always, with gentle melancholy. He evokes fragile relationships and stories doomed before they begin, as in “Si un jour tu pars”:
“I’m not with you, I’m somewhere else
You tell me to go away
You smile at me, yet I’d say we love each other
But we love each other out of sync.”
In an era of urban music dominated by bravado, ego, and viral trends, Kemmler stands as the voice of a new, modern kind of French chanson — sincere, fragile, and deeply human. With “Finalement”, he turns a personal chapter into a universal one, offering an intimate and emotional portrait of a generation learning, slowly but surely, how to grow up.
