It's difficult to imagine a more French version of a rock 'n' roll band than La Femme. For all that their second album, Mystère, among the year's best, is completely obtainable and trickling with great songs, it exhibits a feeling of awesome that indie bands rarely take care of any more. It tries on a wardrobe of various clothing-- psychedelia, surf rock, electronica, krautrock and more-- and also winds up looking great in all of them. It appears stylish.
It's additionally made La Femme proper pop celebrities in France. As their supervisor guides me right into a brasserie in Strasbourg-- Saint-Denis, their home turf in Paris, he's grasping a duplicate of Les Inrockuptibles, France's leading popular culture publication, to hand to the band's masterminds, Marlon Magnée and also Sacha Got. La Femme get on the cover, although there's a specific amount of eyebrow-raising regarding the truth that the only person imagined is their vocalist, Clémence Quélennec. "It's like a Vogue cover," Magnée observes.La Femme Slogan Print Lip T-Shirt
At this point, a boiling day in very early September, the cd has actually been out a couple of days, and is No 3 in the midweek charts. When the band's scenic tour gets to Paris in February, they claim, they'll be headlining the 6,300-capacity Zénith. Correct pop stars, you see. Their raising popularity, however, has indicated they've attracted some curious followers. Take George, that remains in his 50s and also has words La Femme tattooed throughout his throat.
" He suches as to smoke crazy weed and also take a bunch of drugs," claims Magnée. "Before the show starts, he pays attention to the cd and dancings almost everywhere." At which point Magnée-- in thus far as he can while constrained into a small cubicle in a congested brasserie, with his lunch in front of him and also a bottle of red on the table-- comedians a person dance in the manner of a mad ostrich. "Occasionally I have to speak with him. 'Look, George, I recognize you're extremely delighted to be here, but individuals assume you're weird. As well as if you're also strange, they're going to kick you out.'".
Keyboard-player Magnée and guitar player Got fulfilled at secondary school in Biarritz, near the Spanish boundary, where summertime is alive with holidaymakers-- and also winter is dead. There's little in the means of real-time music as well as nothing much else to do. "There are 4 bars at a junction where everyone mosts likely to consume alcohol," Magnée claims. "But we don't like it too much, because if you are clothed too rock 'n' roll or also hipster or also trendy they call you a fag. So it's a bit tough to mature in Biarritz if you are truly various.".La Femme Est Le Futur Feminist French Classic T-Shirt
As quickly as they could, both moved to Paris to think up a band. Their very first, the unpromisingly called SS Mademoiselle, fell down due to the fact that their singer just intended to practice eventually a week. And so they developed La Femme, a team that would certainly be, as Magnée puts it: "Velour Underground or Kraftwerk-style. Really mysterious." They were listening to French underground from the 60s, and French synthwave from the 70s. They likewise knew their team needed to look terrific. "We always said that if we had a band, it had to be fucking cool," Magnée states.
Audio as well as search in location, there were only two troubles continuing to be: nowhere to play, as well as no passion in them. They emailed 50 clubs in Paris asking for gigs, and obtained simply 2 answers. At the initial, the stage was so little the bass player needed to stand at the rear of the group with the audio designer, linked into the blending workdesk. They had only 8 tracks and, since a few of the crowd had actually shown up late, they returned to the beginning of the set when they had actually completed and also just began again.La Femme French Slogan Classic T-Shirt
Then came the move that made them: a fairly amazing stunt that scammed the whole French songs sector. The band had recorded a one-off EP for a tiny label, and determined that going to America would certainly make them famous. So they emailed 100 venues in the United States, once more asking for jobs. Once again, only two people replied, however among them provided to help out.
" We went to US with $3,000 each and also this lady found us 20 gigs," Magnée claims. "In France at the exact same minute, our EP was released. So the industry resembled, 'What the fuck? They have an EP out and they are touring in the US and also we don't understand them?' So the buzz started to begin. When we returned to France, it was red carpet. Fucking do it yourself.".
They were appropriately signed to Universal's French imprint, Barclay-- previous home to Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel. Their launching cd, Psycho Tropical Berlin, reached No 33 in France, and La Femme got on their way, taking any possibility that occurred-- soundtracking Yves Saint Laurent's footway show, doing at Austin Psych fest, in Texas, where Magnée appeared like anything however a YSL muse.
" I was virtually nude," he states, "with a significant witch's hat as well as a robe." Crikey. In Texas? Is he sure he didn't look like a Ku Klux Klan recruit? He contemplates for a moment. "No. I resembled Merlin. It was so enchanting. I was so satisfied. Like the sunlight-- shining everywhere." La Femme play Guard's Shrub Empire, London, on 17 November. Michael Hann's traveling was paid by Disque Pointu.
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