Kids of today The Jeunes Gens Mödernes, a multifaceted music scene that emerged in France in the late ’70s and early ’80s, combined ele- Eclectic, superchic French band ments from rock, punk and electro. It’s now back in fashion, more La Femme is reinventing the past, alive and exhilarating than ever, with psych-rock band La Femme, featuring composers and instrumentalists Marlon Magnée and electrifying fans with its subversive, Sacha Got, Noé Delmas on drums, bass player and crazy crafts- quirky music and psychedelic energy. man Sam Lefèvre, percussionist Lucas Nunez Ritter, and the charismatic Clémence Quélennec, on vocals and keyboard. This improbable yet vital musical group got together somewhere between Biarritz, Paris and Brittany at the turn of the ’10s. 1910 or 2010? Who knows? La Femme has a knack for mashing up cultural references and eras. Brought up on synthwave, surf rock and the sounds of the theremin (an electronic instrument invented a century ago), Magnée and Got go beyond conventional catego- ries and camps. The band’s masterminds are influenced by every- one, from Elli & Jacno and yé-yé vocalist Stella to Fats Waller and Kraftwerk. Their grasp of culture is impressive but doesn’t weigh them down. They’ve exported traditional paquito from Bayonne to Japan, as flamboyant representatives of an ultra-connected generationfor whom borders and genres have little meaning. “Therewas a time when you were risking your life just by wearing the wrong thing, label or haircut, and not onlyonthe beaches of Brighton,” recalls Jean-Baptiste Guillot, who owns he well-t respected indie label Born Bad Records which disibutes their, tr vinyl releases. Now the band members can sing in French wearing kimonos while performing in Australia. Driven b the same curi-y osity that inspired a three-monthUS tour when they weonlyre 18, pretty much broke and onlyhdaa one-off four-track EP, these intrepid artists have toured every continent, electrfyigthein hearts and bodies of fans from Paris to Mxico City. When wee askGot why, he humbly responds that n the US, as in Latini America and elsewhere, audiencesare cuious nd in he know,tr a and it’s up to you to take the initiative to payfor the. “Soe-ml m times it’s a question of the planetslining u andlaingood luck,p p but when you sing in French, youascn pend a lon time sittingg around waiting for someone to ask you to perform.” LaFemme’s members are moversand shaker, achievigs nwaht nogroup their size singing in French has eerdone bfov erehtem: reconciling opposites, packing coctner halls around the world, opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers durig theirn European tour, soundtracking a Saint Laurentcatwak hw and mo.lso re “La Femme is a mystery,” Magnéesay. May severalmysterises be wrapped up in one. The first is managing to aina mas audienceg s while being rooted in the radical underround.On the one hand,g there’s playing in the Zénith arena in Paris, a Victoire d lae Musique award, a gold release, adjingles (“ur laPlanche”); onS theother, their network of dark-wave,pu, ’nk60s rck and psyo- chedelic music fans. Allusions to surfing culture versus a symbol- ist,dadaist, constructivist aesthetic inspiredby the visual arts. LaFemme has forged a third way, between captalisambiion andi t t self-proclaimed marginalism. Their enthusiasm and generosity have paved the way for new talents, notably Clara ucini. ThisLa is how the band got involved in programming part of theParsi Psych Fest in 2015, before starting their own fesval in Biarritti z with the ALC collective. And they’re still searchignfoa vir sionrya patron to back the launch of a “facto”ryin the Paris region eviving,r thespirit of Andy Warhol and TheevVletUndergrou.nd They’re passionate yet surprisingly wellbehed;av concnetedto theentire planet yet incredibly grounded;atstically acsibleri ces yetradically underground; remarkblay independent yt consciue os of what they’re rebelling against. Their secret may lie ina mttoo : dothings the “old-fashioned way,”as they put it. Gogve up hist a cellphone ages ago (“it just wastes tmesi inteadofsaving it”). Nxte spring they’re planning a long “troubadur-tle” trekosyfrom arPis Styliste Aymeric Bergada du Cadet toBiarritz—no phones, on foot,jus a hrsead tei instru-nhrt o Maquilleuse Dyna Dagger nts. A timeless epic conjuring upanterwakr he piepipeoh le,td r me of Hamelin, and his followers, asfcari riedaayw bythebeat. 65