by Jason Birchmeier Arman Melies is a French singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who embarked on a solo career in 2003 after a couple releases as the frontman of the band eNola. Born Jan Fiévé, he made his recording debut as the frontman of eNola in 2000 with the four-track Figure.1 EP on the Saskwash label. The band proceeded to release the full-length album Figurines (2002) on the Jaff label before breaking up shortly thereafter. Newly associated with the Bizarre K7 label, Melies made his solo recording debut with a couple EPs on the label, Le Long Train Lent et les Beaux Imbéciles (2003) and San Andreas (2004), plus another EP, Le Magasin Pittoresque (2004), on the Hinah label. After he released his full-length album debut, Néons Blancs & Asphaltine (2004), on Bizarre K7, he switched to the Remark label for his second album, Les Tortures Volontaires (2006). Melies was then offered a major-label recording contract with Warner Music France, which began with a reissue of Les Tortures Volontaires in 2007 along with the release of a couple promotional singles from the album ("Low Cost," "Ivres"). This set the stage for Melies' most successful album to date, Casino (2008), which was his first to reach the French albums chart, peaking at number 149. The title track was released as a single.