The brainchild of JMV — also known as Jean Marc Virard — fuses traditional hip-hop with post-punk, new wave, French disco and carries a Detroit techno sensibility...

Since the late 1980s in the south of France, JMV immersed himself in music, despite the lack of fuel behind hip-hop in Europe. He cultivated a wealth of knowledge and influence from his father, who was a 1970s jazz record collector, and his siblings, who spun rare new wave and disco records at block parties. He began sampling those obscure sounds with help from a few people he knew shared his passion, working from machines like the S950, SP 1200 or other MPC’s.

Eventually he signed to Polygram and the legendary parisian radio station “Génération” record label called Back-Up in 1997, then to Delabel / Virgin in 2000, he recorded and produced few albums, but the pressure of working within the confines of major studios was taxing.
And so he created and launched Le Branché, a creative team cross-pollinates many people, places and things. Consisting in publishers, creative directors, graphic designers, fashion designers, event producers, marketing, advertising and brand managers, writers, photographers and musicians. As a small group of creative-minded businessmen/women, we are able to do this simply and discerningly, on a scale grand or petite. Le Branché atelier and record label both fly the same flag, that would get down to the brass tacks of electronic and post punk music and visual culture à la Factory or Trax Records.

“We pay tribute to the true soul of image and sound, not the trend or surface style of it, but for the real love for it,” he declares. Through this label, he and a close-knit collective of creatives, designers artists and musicians explore all aspects of digital arts — its sounds, culture, fashion and design.

With his multiple creative hats, JMV is not only the founder and creative/art director of Le Branché but also of the high-end eyewear brand RIGARDS. He collaborated as well with avant-garde high-fashion house Thamanyah, and designed for the prestigious Rick Owens, directed launch film campaign for the fashion-athletic house Brandblack.

 JMV performed, deejayed for Soho House, Sur Lounge (Vanderpump Rules – Bravo TV) and as well for several worldwide known fashion houses such Dior Homme, Comme des Garçons, Julius, Stussy to name a few. 

With DE SIGNER and its reverence to architecture and graphics, JMV and his crew Rob English, Audrey Montgaillard and Ant Franco, he took digital arts to a new level, conscious of audio and visual design as important complements to each other. He released multiple DE records and with Jamie Jones on his iconic label Hot Creations. 

 Based in Los Angeles California, Virard has since composed, written and produced for commercial, movie soundtracks and for many brands such Yves Saint Laurent, Armani Eyewear, Volkswagen, Stussy, MTV…Then even lent his voice, music directed and produced “The Haus Laboratories” soundtrack, the Lady Gaga “Fame” eau de parfum entire launch campaign film series.

Now JMV is working as well with the collective musical effort called Co-Op. The group was comprised of multi platinum songwriters, musicians and producers such as DVN, Kamil Rustam, Randy Kerber, Amy Keys, and Gabrial McNair to name a few.

The future’s looking bright for JMV and his cohorts, but they’ll never forget the music that cultivated what they are now. JMV muses: “We are trying to bring back the love.”

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