Sebastien Tellier
'Sexuality'
(Lucky017)
Released:25.02.08
Sebastien Tellier, essential music pioneer, and the unique
voice of modern French electronic-edged pop, returns with a seminal
new studio album 'Sexuality'. A stunning musical statement,
it is easily his most commercial album to date, and combines all
the elements of his deeply emotive French individualism with a new
melodic pop sensibility that is instantly accessible.
Produced by Guy Manuel De Homem-Christo - astonishingly
the first full artist project that he has produced outside of Daft
Punk - this is a fantastic album that explodes pre-conceptions
and heralds a new musical direction for Sebastien.
From the stylish electronic groove of opening track 'Roche'
through the irresistible synth riffs of 'Kilometer'
and 'Sexual Sportswear', the upbeat, almost Phantom
Of Paradise-esque harmonies of 'Divine', and slow-burning
atmospheric keys of 'Elle' and 'Une Heure'
the album fizzes with a creative energy that is hard to resist and
even harder to pin down.
'Sexuality' is Tellier's musical statement of
intent for lovemaking: emotional, hypnotic and oozing with sensuality.
With blissfully understated vocals, conveying a barely suppressed
passion, Tellier comes on like a modern day Serge Gainsbourg. Musically,
the album touches on everything from synthetic electro and classical,
to 80's inspired pop and disco, and looks set to cross Sebastien
over to the mainstream.
'Sexuality' is his third studio album, following 2005's
'Politics', & 2001's 'L'Incroyable
Vérité'. It is a clear development for a
truly exceptional talent, whose highly personal and intimate style
has allowed him to become the very exponent of French cool; he's
the one true artist who clearly connects the vanguard of modern
French music, from Air through to Mr.Oizo (Sebastien
was co-writer and performer on the electro-classical club anthem
'Stunt'), Daft Punk (his No.1 fans) and SebastiAn
of Ed Banger.
Best known for the massive 2005 tear-jerking classic 'La
Ritournelle', Sebastien has proved himself to be a truly original
cinematic pop poet, and his music has become inextricably linked
with film, which stretches back to the 2004 cult classic 'Narco',
and the superbly produced animation 'Broadway'. He has
become something of a director's darling, with his music a
key feature on the soundtracks from Sofia Coppola's 'Lost
In Translation', Mr Oizo's 'Steak', and
fellow Parisians Daft Punk's recent opus 'Electroma'.
Sebastien is also at home in front of the camera and has appeared
in several films - most recently in Mr Oizo, aka Quentin Dupieux's
future cult classic 'Steak'.
Furthermore Sebastien has also attracted fans from the art and
fashion worlds - including Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs and fellow
French artist Xavier Veilhan - both through his music and his own
unique style.
'Sexuality' is an album that represents the dizzying landscape
of all these elements of his life, and will continue the beautifully
fulfilling journey of Sebastien Tellier. Now is the time to get
on board.
Sexuality,
track by track.
2007.
Summer time in Biarritz. A bar on the beach. Sébastien Tellier,
immaculately dressed in a white suit, is leaning on
the bar, sipping a Martini. In the distance the sun is setting,
some bronzed girls are heading nonchalantly towards The Blue Cargo.
Sébastien clicks his fingers: the sounds of Sexuality,
his third album, fill the room. Eleven tracks which cover the whole
night in less than an hour, from dusk 'til dawn. He whispers
a few words in our ears about each of them.
Roche
: "I always used to spend my holidays there. I always
wanted to return, play my music and say to myself "Tonight,
I'm king of the night". In this song, the sun is beating
down and I'm having really intense fantasies about girls in
bikinis. If I wanted to seduce them, I'd play this song which
is a European or French twist on the sexual enchantment that you'd
associate with American R'n'B."
Kilometer : "With this song, you should try and think
of Justin Timberlake, but from Berlin instead - a mix of American
sensuality and cold Teutonic precision. It's my vision of
German love: the motorway which runs for miles."
Look : "This is a song about the Latin style of seduction
- completely based on appearances. I like knowing that a woman
has taken the time to make herself look attractive. «Look»
is about the little bit of skin between the mini skirt and stockings.
I'm talking about sex here in a wise and serious manner, like
an analyst elegantly trying to pick up girls in a cocktail bar in
New York."
Divine : "This is my tribute to the Beach Boys and
the Juicy Fruits (from the 1974 musical Phantom of the Paradise).
It's about a time of innocence - when having fun was
more important than picking up girls. I visualise a bunch of kids
playing on the beach and I'd really love to play with them."
Let's stop for a second. With Sexuality, is Sébastien
Tellier really turning on the charm? Situated somewhere between
the soundtrack for a porno film and a digitized soul, at the same
time erotic and synthesised, does this mean his latest incarnation
brings to mind an electronic Latin lover? Sexuality can be
conceived as the carriage of Casanova mounted on Hummer wheels.
Here we find the old Europe of Christophe, Ennio Morricone and Giorgio
Moroder flirting outrageously with the new school of contemporary
R'n'B, bringing Justin Timberlake, Beyonce or Timbaland
to mind for 51 minutes of an intense, technological sensuality.
Time to regain consciousness:
Pomme : "This is the song which is most representative
of the whole album. I see it as the most erotic as well as the sweetest.
The apple is the forbidden fruit. The sun waits until the lovers
have finished making love before rising. He doesn't
want to disturb them. "
Une heure : "I'm singing here about my
admiration for bisexuals who have the chance of sampling all the
types of pleasure. Bisexuality shows the greatest freedom of spirit
- the genuinely cool people are bisexuals. It was the first
erotic song that I wrote; I wanted to make it last an hour. It triggered
something off in my mind, which resulted in the album."
Sexual Sportswear: "The first single. An instrumental.
This track is the best representation of my relationship
with Guy-Man: My moving harmonies mixed with the efficiency and
lightness of Daft Punk. For me, the ultimate fantasy is a girl in
a tracksuit working out in her living room. She has two coaches
who make her work her glutes and her abs…things can only
get messy from there."
Elle : "Composed with Guy-Man, it's the
«Fox and the Hound» song of the album. It's impossible
to reach orgasm without some closeness and tenderness at least.
The key to sex is love. It's a very pure song which resembles
heaven."
Fingers of Steel : "This song is about the
Kubrickian fantasy of the machine which is self-aware.
The computer touches me here sensually with its fingers of steel.
From our union comes this song."
Manty : "I love classical music; it's
a huge inspiration for me. My starting point here is the universe
of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette: a mix of discretion and
glitz which for me is extremely sexy. I imagine myself in the middle
of making love on a sailboat as large as Italy. This is what happened
to me this summer. Living your fantasies is for me a good example
of a successful life."
L'amour et la violence : "It's the title which sums
up what I've lived through in the most profound way.
It shows that the rest of the album is a huge fantasy where I'm
searching for intensity in the superficial. With «Love and
Violence», I'm finally revealing myself - I have neither the
skin of a stallion nor a virgin, I'm naked and I ask that people
judge me as I really am."
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