Imagine a catchy pop gem, carried by an androgynous and haunting
voice, dancing and graceful like a soap bubble, designed as an anthem
to joy. PAPOOZ’s summery sounds make their way into our ears never
to leave. Their earlier entracing hit "Ann Wants To Dance" was an
extraordinary success with 10 million views on YouTube with its
kitschy and summery video and over 20 million streams on Spotify and
served as a kick-start for the duo, who had the simplest of goals: to
make music, particularly pop, the soundtrack of their lives, out of
love for guitars, but above all, to make people happy. For RESONATE,
their fourth album, which began even before the release of its
predecessor, Ulysse Cottin (the brunet) and Armand Penicaut (the
blond) altered their composition process for the first time, seeking
the collaboration of Jesse Harris, an American songwriter known for
his work with Melody Gardot, Gabi Hartman, and Norah Jones. "One day,"
recalls Armand, "he said to us, “'Let's try writing a song
together.” We got into it. By the end of the day, we had recorded a
piece we adored. We repeated this process for about ten days, meeting
every afternoon in Ulysse's studio, writing, playing, and recording.
We had the basic structure-a beat, a bassline, a rhythm guitar-but we
didn't spend too much time harmonizing or arranging the pieces. We
preferred to keep the spontaneity and energy intact, that immediate
creative flow, full of freshness and sexiness. "After composing and
sketching out ten songs in Paris, the group flew to New York to meet
Jesse Harris once again, continuing this fluid and laid-back
composition process in his loft in the heart of Tribeca. The first
song born from these new sessions for PAPOOZ was "Resonate," a
captivating ballad tinged with folk strings and celestial choirs,
which would give its name to the album. Armand explains, "Ulysse and I
were going through a somewhat complex period.The extensive live tour
had exhausted us, my relationship was going through a crisis, and the
concept of resonance was a perfect metaphor to sum up the state in
which both PAPOOZ and us found ourselves. Resonance is a concept
theorized by Hartmut Rosa, a German sociologist and philosopher, as a
remedy for the acceleration of the world and the madness of
contemporary lives. But beyond the theory, it was necessary to
rediscover the magic that existed between Ulysse and me, between our
lives and the band, our audience and us, to regain the energy and joy
we had in composing. "Reconnecting with the fervor of their
beginnings, like a welcome resurgence, Armand and Ulysse then polished
and finalized the score of songs from these writing sessions with
producer Patrick Wimberly during a stay in the heart of Brooklyn. Of
course, interspersed with nocturnal expeditions in the city that never
sleeps. Formerly of Chairlift alongside Caroline Polachek, the duo
that revolutionized pop music, Wimberly is a sought-afterproducer-he's
worked with Blood Orange, MGMT, Solange, Cola Boyy, and most recently
on Lil Yatchi's incredible rap opera. He's a pop genius with whom the
duo had been eager to work after a memorable encounter at the Villa
Aperta festival at the Villa Médicis. Armand recalls, "We were
overjoyed when he accepted. He cranked up the sound, pushed us to
rework certain arrangements, added finesse and cohesion to the album.
He helped us bring to life this somewhat conceptual and metaphorical
idea of resonance without weighing down the pieces but rather
polishing them, making them smoother, while retaining the spontaneity
of the initial sessions, which was very important to us. Most
importantly, he restored our confidence. RESONATE is more immediate,
raw while remaining melodic, melancholic and intimate, blending
sentimental ballads and dance calls. The album recaptures the epic
breath and the amorous nonchalance that characterized PAPOOZ's early
steps. It's like the meeting of the amorous sweetness and California
vibes of Metronomy with the psychedelic groove of MGMT. An ideal
musical atmosphere visually brought to life by Moodoïd, who handles
the visual aspect of the resonance concept. From "Resonate," with its
heartfelt melancholy and haunting guitar, which opens the album, to
the very funky and catchy "It Hurts Me," from the pop-infused and
groovy "Don't YouThink It'd Be Nice" to the slow and fatal "No One
Else," the eleven tracks of the album showcase PAPOOZ's art of
venturing into rock, pop, and song, driven by their knack for melody
that touches the heart, with lyrics finely crafted and delivered by
the sublimely androgynous voices of Armand and Ulysse, and a joyous,
stirring, and nonchalant groove that's irresistibly infectious. All
the while alternating between laughter and tears, melancholy and
hedonism, ballads and dance invitations, introspection and letting go,
with the same ease and spontaneity. In essence, it resonates with life
in each of us. Ulysse and Armand met fifteen years ago in the
never-ending line of a Parisian Patti Smith concert. Their friendship
was immediate, with afternoons spent reshaping the world, composing
snippets of songs on their guitars, and endless discussions about
their love for songwriting. Their enjoyable guitars drew influence
from the Beatles, Beach Boys, Steely Dan, Velvet Underground, and Ry
Cooder, all while approaching one of their major influences, Erlend
Oye of Kings Of Convenience, and his project oscillating between pop
and rock, euphoria and melancholy, The Whitest Boy Alive. Their love
for music spans across the vast landscape of Los Angeles highways, the
artsy posture of New York, the psychedelia of the Summer of Love, the
sophistication of post-punk, the intimacy of folk, and the flirtation
with funk. A grand, hedonistic, and electric mix infused with a burst
of pop and refreshing nonchalance! Active for a decade, equally at
ease in the studio and on stage, they carried three albums under their
belt, from the beginner, homemade, and naive "Green Juice" (2016) to
the very groovy and psychedelic "Night Sketches" (2019) created with
Adrien Durand of Bon Voyage Organisation, passing through "None Of
This Matters Now" (2022), folk-oriented and deceptively calm. PAPOOZ
has seamlessly fit into the revival of the French pop-rock scene,
along with La Femme, Feu Chatterton, Catastrophe, Moodoïd,
L'Impératrice, and Bon Voyage Organisation. All of these bands,
fueled by the success of Phoenix, assert their influences with a
relaxed attitude while exploring new frontiers with electronic
elements.
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10/07/2025 Last update