Junioré are a French sisterhood inspired by classic Chanson and art-house French cinema all updated for a new generation in what they call “yéyé noir”. Their new album ‘Magnifique’ grooves through surf, psychedelia, new wave and garage rock – delivered with an air of unmistakable French cool.
A must for fans of their good friends La Femme, Francoise Hardy and either of the Gainsbourg’s output. Check their very infectious new single and title track Magnifique…a celebration of beautiful losers and how it’s their time to shine.
https://youtu.be/aQoiz1-0svk
“I realised my friends were mostly females and fell in love with the idea of a girl band of sorts, like the 60’s groups I grew up listening to,” says Juniore’s Anna-Jean. “That’s what I wanted most. A kind of sisterhood, made up of plenty of interesting and talented women…and of course to write music, connect, and share it with the world.”
The result that the group produced is a dreamy kaleidoscope of sounds that Anna-Jean playfully labels “yéyé noir”. As displayed on their UK debut album Magnifique, the Paris outfit also explore surf grooves, sunshine pop, sizzling psychedelia and garage rock. Whilst the music is buoyant, sleek and undeniably sexy in its skip and beat, it contains a lyrical depth that nestles deeper than the good times vibes of the sonics. “A lot of our songs are about love – mostly breakups, walks of shame, bad surprises or, in other words, unhappy love affairs,” says Jean. “I liked the idea of playing upbeat music to dark lyrics. There’s something about the contrast, the irony of things, the paradox of feelings.”
Junioré are a French sisterhood inspired by classic Chanson and art-house French cinema all updated for a new generation in what they call “yéyé noir”. Watch their video for ‘Magnifique’ – delivered with an air of unmistakable French cool.
For the album, Anna-Jean worked on most of the songs in her attic on an acoustic guitar, writing songs informed and inspired by everyone from Dario Argento to Francoise Hardy to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. She then took them to her band, consisting of Swanny Elzingre (drums), Laure Weisdorf (keyboards) and someone called the Thing on bass. Here the songs were brought to life through personality implants from the rest of the band, not simply filling out Anna-Jean songs but adding a new dynamic to them altogether, as she explains. “I try to inject something of the girls’ personalities in every song. Either in the stories we tell or in the music itself. Be it Swanny’s mermaid-like vocals, her delicate and rough beats, her passion for African music or Laure’s taste for eastern folk songs and her classical knowledge of music. It adds depth to the songs I bring out of my solitary room.”
UK Live Dates:
25.07 – Sebright Arms, London
26.07 – The Crofters Rights, Bristol
27.07 – Bitch Craft, Brighton