|
Epiphone Waxx Nighthawk Studio
Benjamin Hekimian, who goes by the name Waxx, is a French rock singer-guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and radio host of Armenian heritage who is best known globally as a guitarist, and a music influencer via his channel Le Comité des Reprises (The Covers Committee), with PV Nova. Waxx with Naosol, and PV Nova gained global attention and had major music artists such as Sting, Will.I.Am, Vianney, Artic Monkeys, Oxmo Puccino, and many more on the DailyMotion Canal + music performance series. Of the series Waxx says, “I'm not a youtuber. It wasn't an end in itself, it was a great way of getting our music out to as many people as possible.”
Starting out as a bassist in a hardcore band at the age of 12, Waxx played in dozens of bands before releasing an album ‘1968’ in 2009 with Naosol as part of Naosol and the Waxx Blend, followed by the album ‘Game Over’ in 2012 on the Kapriel Record label -Waxx's first label with EMI. Amongst other projects during this period, he and Stoner formed the group Scale in 2009, a skillful blend of hip-hop and rock. In 2010, with Damien Bertelle and Matthieu Joly, they also formed the indie band Wolfpack Beartrack on the Kitsuné label.
Waxx has no predefined boundaries or genres and says, "it's passion that guides me above all else.". This is borne out by the artists with whom he collaborated on albums during the 2010s: Ben L'oncle Soul, Pomme, LEJ and rapper Georgio. In 2017, Universal Music Group, with whom he worked mainly as a producer for these artists, offered him to record a solo album, Fantôme. Waxx is also a renowned soundtrack producer including three original soundtracks including Alex Lutz's show “Kinder,” and for Mathieu Madenian's first one-man show, as well as and for the film Boutchou, released in 2020 in collaboration with C. Cole.
In 2019, Waxx continued his YouTube series creation with Fanzine. "Initially, it was Matthieu Joly from Neïmo, who was my sidekick when I was making albums, who wanted to form a duo. Then he wanted a third person. That's how C. Cole came about. When Mathieu left, we continued together.” And so, Fanzine was born, with the duo accompanied by guests (Juliette Armanet, -M-, Médine, Lous and the Yakuza, Biga Ranx, Julien Doré) and covering tracks by other artists. In 2023, Fanzine released release of ‘Lithium’ on Sony Music, a ten-track album that sounds like a culmination of the fusion between rock and rap. Alongside his many projects, since 2021 the Waxx has hosted Foudre on RTL2 every Sunday evening from 7 to 8pm.
Since his early days Waxx has built up a strong bond with his fans, he says "I've always been close to the people who follow me. I can't answer everyone these days, but I've got a really strong relationship with them.” On his Twitter feed, Waxx recounts anecdotes about the great musicians he cherishes - from the Bowie/Mercury collaboration to the musical impact of Nirvana. It was only logical that he should host his show on RTL 2. In July 2023, Waxx performed at the Francofolies festival, where he invited Ben Mazué, Barbara Pravi, Adé, Ibeyi, November Ultra, Maëlle, Mat Bastard, A2H and Safia Nolin to play with him the 'trigger' songs that changed their lives.
Waxx is also a huge basketball fan, particularly of the Detroit Pistons, and had the honour of playing the French national anthem, “la Marseillaise” at the Accor Hotel Arena for the Milwaukee Bucks vs Charlotte Hornets game, the first official NBA game to be played in France. Also at the Accor Hotel Arena, Waxx played to introduce Novak Djokovic at the final of the Rolex Masters Tournament in November 2022.
Check out the new Waxx Nighthawk Studio from Epiphone:
| 
