The Penelopes
| The Penelopes c.dibz | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Paris, France |
| Genres | Electronic, dance-punk, indie rock, nu gaze |
| Labels | Pour Le Monde Records / Absolute / Universal |
| Associated acts | Black Strobe, Vitalic, Asia Argento, Soko, agnès b. |
| Website | www.thepenelopes.com |
| Members | Axel Basquiat Vincent T. |
The Penelopes (or The pEneLOpe[s]) are an indie pop/electronic band from Paris, consists of Axel Basquiat and Vincent T. They have recently relocated to London. Though the band is a duo (Axel being the composer, singer and bass player while Vincent on production, engineering and keyboards), they have additional musicians on bass and drums for live performances. The Penelopes are also remixers, producers, and DJ.
The Penelopes’ danceable indie-pop style developed from a rare creative partnership and longstanding friendship. The duo had known each other since they were children in Northern Paris, discovering music throughout teenage years, listening to bands like Cocteau Twins, New Order and The Cure. In an interview with the Daily Star the band said, "we grew up in a very cosmopolitan but poor suburb. The area was like Manchester. It was rainy and industrial, which might explains why we love dark British music so much". In juxtaposition to this, they told Wonderland Magazine, "the funk, disco, and rap music we heard growing up outside our windows was what influenced our dance approach." This explains why the band often thanks the French Hip Hop band such as their neighbours, Suprême NTM in their albums.
Axel said to Artrocker, "we want to beautify our life. We are searching for a light. We’re not like those spoiled kids who pretend to be dirty to be cool. Our songs are about simple pleasures, about taking a trip, about the great escapes, about all kind of fantasies, about friendship and poverty, about searching for the light."
Vincent went on to study law and Axel studied medicine, one of the reasons being they could stay as students for a longer while to avoid working in offices or factories. The two eventually followed their passion and pursued careers in music. Axel and Vincent formed The Penelopes and started making music in the rock and electro scenes around Paris. The first deal was on DJ Hell's International DeeJay Gigolo Records.
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