La Machine – Contrôle Total (Digital/CD/Vinyl Album – BOREDOMproduct)
The French duo La Machine has released three EPs over the past few years and now unveiled their debut album. Led by Pierre Pi (Komplex, Position Parallèle, Communication Zéro) and Éric U0 — also known under the pseudonym Member U-0176 (Celluloide, Thee Hyphen, Signal/Bruit) — this album contains ten tracks. It should be noted that six of these songs were already featured on their previous EPs.
La Machine’s sound feels like a calling card for their label: a robotic Electro-Pop style, filled with refined bleeps and a distinctly vintage feel. Most of the songs are sung in French. The overall effect evokes a modern version of Taxi Girl — and that’s more than just a casual reference.
While only four tracks are new, they include some real gems. These new songs tend to sound darker, sometimes even menacing in atmosphere and solid bass lines, and they reveal a certain complexity beneath the surface. A word should also be said about the lyrics, which manage to be both humorous and realistic at once. La Machine may not be a group with a message, but they certainly have a point of view. The well-known cover of “Vamos A La Playa” fits seamlessly into the lineup — transforming a mega-hit that once had everyone dancing and singing along in the ’80s into something permeated with dark undertones.
La Machine is an exciting contemporary group with a vintage sound aesthetic. As far as I’m concerned, it’s an absolute success! (Rating:8).
Watch the clip for “Sextape” Read the news on ‘Contrôle Total’.
About La Machine
La Machine is the pseudonym of Pierre Pi and Eric U0, who perform hidden behind masks and present themselves through robotic personas. Pierre Pi is also known for Komplex, Position Parallèle and Communication Zéro, while Eric U0 records as Member U-0176 with Celluloide, Thee Hyphen and Signal/Bruit. La Machine releases on the French label BOREDOMproduct, alongside labelmates such as Foretaste, Celluloide and Dekad. The duo issued three EPs, including a June 2023 release built around a cover of Righeira’s “Vamos A La Playa”, before their debut album, “Contrôle Total”, arrived in 2025 with covers of Michel Sardou and Righeira alongside new material.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
