FRENCH 79 LIVE + ANGARA + BIJOUTIER

FRENCH 79

In just three albums (Olympic, released in 2016, Joshua in 2019 and TEENAGERS in 2023), French 79 has succeeded in writing a new page in the French Touch, one that is the envy of the world.

The Marseilles-based producer’s flagship titles – “Between the Buttons”, “Diamond Veins” (a platinum-selling export single), “Hometown” and now “TEENAGRERS” – have helped shape the contours of a new musical universe, drawing its roots from Erik Satie and Jean-Michel Jarre, then Air and Daft Punk, and ushering them into a new era.

Returning from an international tour of over 100 dates, which elevated him to the status of an unmissable stage sensation, Simon Henner locked himself away in his studio in Marseilles. This is where it all began a few years ago, with his bands Nasser and Husbands, and his work for Kid Francescoli. For example, the track “Moon”, which he produced and co-composed, is now a diamond single.
With a wealth of experience under his belt – the soundtrack to Reda Kateb’s film “Sur un fil”, a collaboration on the album by rising French techno star NTO, a remix of Cliff Martinez’s soundtrack for the film “Drive”, a reworking of Erik Satie’s “Gnossienne No. 5” by Erik Satie for Deutsche Grammophon, the creation of the soundtrack for the Belle Saison mapping, a monumental sound and light show presented by the City of Nancy on Place Stanislas, the remix of his hit Diamond Veins by rave star Tiësto… – French 79 reaches a new milestone with the release of its latest album in May 2023, the aptly-named TEENAGERS.

Although, like its predecessors, the album is dominated by keyboards, it reveals a more personal and ambitious side of Simon Henner. With TEENAGERS, French 79 alternates “signature” tracks like the masterful opener (“One for Wendy”), tracks with unsuspected romantic and nostalgic charms (“Romantica”), epic and flamboyant tracks (“Memories”), tracks with liberating harmonies (“Heroes”), sensational swirls (“FOIX”), pop gems (“You Always Say” in collaboration with Prudence from The Dø), carefree tracks (“Teenagers”), unsettling energy (“Freedom”), or sumptuous introspective tracks (“Walking on Mars”). Showcasing the full range of French 79’s songwriting and production talents, TEENAGERS takes us on a sensory journey of rare power. But the tracks on which Simon Henner lays himself bare the most are surely those on which he grabs the microphone (“Burning Legend”, “Life is Like”, “Graceful”). He gives a glimpse of his outspoken personality, while at the same time dispelling the notion that producers don’t know how to reveal themselves: “It suits me fine to embody my music alone on stage. I reveal myself by trying to convey what I can feel. Composing songs is a very personal process, but sharing and interpreting them prevents me from being egotistical. “The first album was about birth, the second about childhood, and this third album is the logical follow-up, dedicated to adolescence.
TEENAGERS follows in the footsteps of the first two albums: “The first album was about birth, the second about childhood, and this third album is the logical continuation, dedicated to adolescence. I wanted to pay musical tribute to this period, which continues to define me today, because I really discovered these repetitive, psychedelic, synthetic sounds at that age. They allowed me to escape, to build myself up, but also to find myself.” For Simon Henner, adolescence, which comes with a gentle hint of naivety, is the period that certainly best embodies the notion of freedom that characterizes the universe of French 79. “To imagine the future of music, I tried to put myself in the psychic state I was in at the time of adolescence, that precise moment when you have the impression that you have your whole life ahead of you, or even that you’ll live forever”.

In this sense, this new album is the soundtrack to a time when anything is possible, when uncertainties, desires and hopes are intimately intertwined. “My music is inseparable from my life, I’m constantly looking for intense moments, unforgettable moments, epiphanies engraved in the memory”.

TEENAGERS is a real tour de force: it marks a new stage in the history of music, and inscribes French 79 in the pantheon of artists who are revolutionizing it, and not just electronically. If it provides us with such singular and powerful sensations, it’s surely because its soul is imbued with magical places, such as Jean-Michel Jarre’s personal studio in Paris (for synthesizer recordings) and the Miraval studio (for mixing and mastering the album).

“At Jean-Michel Jarre’s, I felt like a kid in front of all those legendary keyboards I’d always dreamed of. There was a real soul, an incredible atmosphere in this timeless studio: the arpeggios came alive, the chord progressions took on another dimension. The moment when I touch these instruments that have left their mark on music forever is a moment of real science fiction, and almost feels like a journey through time and space. It takes me straight back to my teenage years, when I first discovered his albums. Every time I did, I was reminded of so many sonic memories. At the same time, new melodies were appearing in my brain.

“The tracks were then mixed by Damien Quintard (Brian Eno, Parcels, Justice, Sade, L’Impératrice…) at Studio Miraval, a 17th-century Provencal estate. This renowned venue, which has played host to Pink Floyd, AC/DC, The Cure and many others, recently reopened its doors at the initiative of its new owner Brad Pitt. Here, French 79 fulfills one of his dreams: “When I mix the album on the console and the reverb of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’, it gives me a divine sensation that I’ll remember for the rest of my life – it’s an almost mystical experience. The same goes for all the classic music I discovered as a teenager. Feeling connected to them in this kind of “cosmic reality” acted a bit like a fountain of youth for me as I finalized TEENAGERS”.