WOODKID live in Paris [video]

Woodkid is Yoann Lemoine, an acclaimed French director and photographer. He started learning illustration and animation at Emile Cohl School, Lyon, France and screen-printing techniques at Swindon College, London. After college in 2004, Lemoine started illustrating in several magazines and children’s books, in France and the USA. At the same time, he joined a French production team and started to direct his first 3D-animated TV ads and music videos, before putting his eye to the camera for his first live shoots. Lately, he directed Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die video.

Until recently, Yoann Lemoine was living between Paris and New York, mainly working as a film director in media such as video, 8 to 35mm film, 2D and 3D animation, Stop Motion, photography, illustration, painting, screen printing, sculpture, collage, knitting, holograms, and more…

That’s until 2011 when he evolved in WOODKID – a musical and visual project born of nostalgia and soul-searching.It started a few years ago at Ludlow Guitars on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He was shooting Richie Havens, and Yoann started talking about how he wanted to learn the ukulele. After the shoot, Havens gave him a ukulele signed “Yoann, a friend forever,” and Woodkid was born.

He brought some French pop luminaries into the project, namely Julian Delfaud (Phoenix, Herman Dune), Revolver (the band), and label mates the Shoes, for whom he’s already directed videos. Each new member brings his own diverse background to the final project.

This is a video of his first live gig in his hometown, Paris. And what better place for him to do it but the Eiffel tower? The event was organized by noisy, Vice’s musical cousin.