Papooz’s two friends came together around their shared passion for Brazilian music, low-fi folk and Anglo-Saxon pop. But each of their albums attempts to renew their formula. Meeting on the occasion of the publication of Resonatetheir latest opus.
4 mins
02/12/2024
Nuit Blanche 2008 in Paris. Ulysse and Armand cross paths in the queue for a Patti Smith concert. Respectively aged 17 and 20, they then met regularly in an Afghan restaurant among around fifteen students with the idea of creating a literary magazine, which ultimately did not see the light of day.
Armand was in hypokhâgne, while Ulysses had stopped going to school, but was writing poetry. The two boys talk about something completely different while smoking in the yard. “ We love Brazilian music, like Jorge Ben, jazz and Frank Sinatra. We have a certain obsession with the mixing of Brazilian music with Anglo-Saxon pop » remembers Armand, who still enjoys their cover of Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars of Jobim and Sinatra, during their first concert in a club called Pompon, decked out in Indian feathers.
They define their style as “tropical garage”, in reference to the Garage Band software they use. The two friends always record in a single take, at one or the other’s home, without going through a studio. Songs cobbled together like Daniel Johnston or Moldy Peaches, which are among their influences.
Uncle from America
Ulysses says: “ I was obsessed with jazz. I had uncles and godfathers who gave us lots of obscure titles. I also discovered Bowie, Lou Reed, Velvet, Gainsbourg and the Beatles. » For his part, Armand says: “ At home we listened Brel Or Piafbut I didn’t like it. My uncle, who lived in California, introduced me to the Doors and the Beach Boys. »
The two boys have a common taste for Anglo-Saxon and Brazilian music from the 70s. Armand had studied the guitar, Ulysse learned it alone. On the SoundCloud platform, they challenge themselves to upload a song every Sunday. From these twenty songs, they will select four to publish their first EP soberly titled Papooz in 2014.
Their manager-impresario is a Briton, Simon Ashcroft, who finds them a large number of dates here and there. Armand reports: “ He was awesome and crazy. He knew many music stars, like Mark Ronson. He brought it back, along with many others, to our first concert at the Pompon. The next day he told us: “You need to find some hooks in your songs but you look good” [Vous devez trouver des hameçons, quelque chose d’accrocheur dans vos chansons, mais vous avez l’air bien]. »
“ This hook really traumatized me! This has resonated with us for a long time. » said Ulysses. Unfortunately, the manager was injured in the same accident that cost DJ his life in September 2011, and he could no longer support the duo.
Bossa nova and pop
This is the title Ann Wants To Dance which will popularize Papooz in 2016. This song subtly mixes bossa nova rhythms and Anglo-Saxon pop, in the style of The Whitest Boys Alive by Norwegian musician Erlend Øye, two ultimate references for the French duo with androgynous voices. The video clip shot by Soko has 10 million views on the Internet.
Armand and Ulysse created their first album in the latter’s Cap Ferret house, near the sea, in the middle of winter, with other musicians. They keep the principles of their beginnings: recording vocals and instruments in a single take to maintain the energy of the concerts.
After Green Juice (2016), the second, him (Night Sketches), will be recorded in the famous Frette studio, in the Paris suburbs. A restrictive change of method according to Ulysses: “ It was painful, but it paid off because it sounds better. » After this rather groovy opus, the period of the pandemic inspired them to sing more folkier, calmer songs, created in the middle of the woods, in an old farm, None of This Matters Now.
Latest album, Resonate
For this fourth album, Resonatethe two friends worked with Jesse Harris, an American author and performer who has collaborated with Melody Gardot and Norah Jones. In Paris and New York, the three men wrote together one song per day, or around twenty. Papooz delivers joyful and danceable tracks, crossed by the theme of indecision and courage (to stay or to leave?), with the musical spectrum of Wings, Paul McCartney’s group.
Where does their name come from? “ We found him in a hammam in Morocco. Papoose was already the name of an American rapper, and we later discovered that it was that of a French funk group from the 1990s. 70 pretty cool. Papoose is the Native American child, he is the only true American and we love the United States. We put a Z at the end, believing that people would understand… » explains Armand, a fan of westerns. “ Looking back, we are no longer super fans… », blurts Ulysses.
Papooz Resonate (Wagram Music) 2024
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