For The Music

FOR THE SECOND ACT, FM LAETI SHIFTS GEARS AND ACCELERATES. HER NEW ALBUM LEANS ON RADIANT POP TONES LACED WITH KEYBOARDS. RESOLUTELY ENERGETIC, THIS ALBUM IS ONE YOU CAN LISTEN TO AS MUCH AS DANCE TO.

At the end of 2012 and the beginning of Spring 2013, in order to write the next chapter of this beautiful story, the team recluses in Provence for two creative retreats.
In this new adventure, everyone eased into their roles. Laeti had written texts, François-Marie was on guitar or keyboard and Pierre-Marie accompanied them bearing the instrument of good fortune. “The pleasure of once again being reunited all three of us and being isolated from everything helped renew our inspiration, they say in unison.” From that point, hours of improvisation and dozens of bits of melodies were saved on a portable road recorder. »

“The plan was to write continuously, intuitively, purely for the pleasure of playing and creating together. A song, in our eyes, is the reflection of a moment we celebrated together, an unconscious projection towards another present. It’s an elixir that helps sweeten reality and by means of a harmonic common dream reconnects us to others.” Having returned to Paris, the trio listened and reworked what they liked.

Laeti raised her voice, and without losing what they were known for nor losing sight of its roots, the group changed gears. “The first album was resolutely soul, folk and acoustic. The second is more pop, colorful, orchestral with more current sounds and is intended to make its listeners want to move. We didn’t turn our backs on what we had previously done since we still give a nod in the direction of old school, but we had fun playing and experimenting outside of our confort zone. with different kinds of tones, sounds and a variety of instruments.”

“We were looking for more synthetic keyboard sounds and drum samples than the acoustic ones found in our previous album. Often, Laeti danced as she wrote down lyrics. FM threw new beats standing at the piano or while playing his guitar as PM infused new directions in our inspiration.
All of our songs compose the different stanzas of a love story, it’s joys, it’s expectations, it’s storms, it’s shortfalls and the desire despite the struggle, to start over. A positive desire.

INFLUENCES

The trio behind FM LAETI is inspired by many in music. They were introduced to it before they could walk. They took the best from it, an eclectic mix of black and white whose influences are noticeable when listening to their albums. The music of Mick & Keith of course but also Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Cindy Lauper, Kid Créole, Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Michel Berger, The Funk Brothers, Bill Withers, Sly Stone & Stevie Wonder and also the Fugees, the gifted Phoenix, Miriam Makeba from South Africa and her ethno-jazz, Fabien Maman and his Tao of sound, or even the suggested atmospheres by Cassavetes, Atlantis, Ian Fleming or Mata Hari. FM LAETI has drank in these influences without ever serving them up the same.

12 SONGS

WANNA DANCE

We spent the afternoon sitting on the couch and thinking up melodies. We kept playing around with Motown, Supreme-style drum rhythms. Suddenly, Laeti stood up and shouted “I wanna dance…!”. FM started an upbeat drum sample, Laeti started dancing and Wanna Dance was born. The idea behind this girly pop tune is to say: there are moments where you need to know how to let go and immerse yourself in the thoughtlessness of pure movement.
After this spontaneous composition, the other titles followed to form a kaleidoscopic pop album, enriched with the colors, the moods and the influences of each.

(DOESN’T HAVE TO) BE THAT WAY

is an inspiring tale on a bit of serious tone. It’s post 80’s french-touch keyboards accentuate Laetitia’s bluesy and touching tones. The moral who speaks to each of us? We can remain ourselves without manipulating or losing our integrity (Doesn’t have to be that way / I don’t have to lose my way…)

summarizes the idea and the journey behind the album, which is why it is named after this song. It delivers its message in a laid-back, disconnected, minimalist and a little west coast type of way. It claims the simple pleasure of playing music together and of sharing it, the same way we would a lazy moment on the beach at sunset. Like a mantra or a shamanic wheel, it repeats: For the music, for the music, for the music / Tell him what he’s feeling is your heart/ Tell her that you will never be too far.

PING PONG

in this way named, this song, with light and childish notes, reflects well our way of writing. Laeti starts a sentence and FM finishes it. Or vice versa. The joyful verses contrast with a more mellow chorus, resembling paradoxical moods that can be found in love stories, always fragile, where one struggles to relieve the other’s pain. One sings the first part, the other answers in another mood. Dialogue occurs. And the ball is tossed back.

ROCK MATATA

It’s the Rolling Stones in the jungle, a violent and muggy air. The story of a child soldier fleeing from something unknown.

SANCTUARY & TELL ME A STORY

are recurring themes that appear as often as they appear unconsciously in our lyrics. They speak of the need to fly and sing with the same freedom as birds, Was a rainbird / Was a rainbird / Spreading my wings ‘cross the sky / Taking a flight… a thousand lives, says the first. And the second: Hear the voices in the wind / Waking Birds unfolding wings / They’ re rushing out, just rushing out… in past lives perhaps we’re we birds of many colors

THE NIGHT HAS BEGUN TO CALL

This is a love story with an espionage backdrop inspired from Mata Hari and the ambiances of Ian Fleming, that we had fun recreating. We played around with spy novel codes and string arrangements à la John Barry, the composer of the James Bond music.

WE GO SLOW

is a praise to slow pace, addressed to all those who feel the need to slow down the beat. Stopping, looking around, recover your capacity to be filled with wonder or to laze around in bed. The song starts with the lyrics: “Woke up in a big fat feather bed”. Close to the 90’s chill out mood, this came to us after watching an incredible video of a violin virtuoso, Joshua Bell, playing like a god in the Washington subway. The people walking by are so rushed, closed into their world and their preoccupations that they can’t perceive the beauty of the music, this breath of fresh air… They run and run but where are they going? Only a few of them, called in by the melodies and the beauty of the music, stop for a moment to appreciate this moment suspended in time.

THE COVE

FM started writing in english, Laeti followed in creole. It’s the story of a ship on it’s way to find a treasure in the caribbean. On it’s way, the vessel barely escapes and is quite damaged by raging storms. Left drifting, they take conscience of their frailty in the face of the forces of nature. Their only way out is through spiritual alchemy, a quest for the gold within. « With this song we played with a lot of percussions, like Gwo Ka, Carnaval inspirations and sounds, bodies coming together as one. »

YOU INSPIRE ME

is a slow love declaration . It is also an expression of love that can be shared through music. Pierre-Marie remembers: “The countryside was cold, I filled the fireplace with wood. We were kind of going around in circles. I wanted to go out for air and said: ‘When I come back, I want a single’ and that’s what happened.” What happened was a magnificent blues mixed with ample choruses. The summer before studio recording, Pierre-Marie wanted to rework the song with Fred Avril, who was enthusiastic from the start and suggested arrangement ideas so the song could take off with the help of the chorus. In studio to help direct everyone, Fred knew how to inspire intensity and a little bit of craziness to shake things up.

RUN, RUN, RUN

is a cover of Phoenix, the great band.

A VOICE, A COMPOSER, A TRIO

She’s Laeti, Laetitia Bourgeois, the voice. A voice that can do everything and plays how it wants. He’s FM, François-Marie, a beautiful melody maker but For the music is an album composed by three hands if we add Pierre-Marie, Brother of FM and producer of the album. Omnipresent from the start of the project and up to its final stages.

A BAND

« This album was also a chance to be able to work with Marlon B., the co-director of the album with FM. In September and October 2013, we recorded in his studio Magnetica by Ménilmontant in Paris. A real complicity formed between us. He succeeded in giving the demos what was missing: a real artistic direction for each of the songs. From there, we reworked them (structure, key, energy, tempo). Marlon is also a drummer, he knew how to offer a much more elaborate rhythmic approach than was found in our demos.
Like him, numerous talented musicians progressively joined around this second FM LAETI project to lavish us with their advice. at the top of the list, mid summer of 2013, Christophe “Disco” Minck opened his studio, Kraked Unit, to the team, a magic space he shares with Loïk Dury, his partner-in-crime who also lent an attentive and caring ear to our songs as did Jean-Max Méry (keyboards), Ludo Bruni (guitare) and all the others. »

CREDITS

Laetitia Bourgeois : lead vocals, back vocals
François-Marie Dru : guitars, keyboards, back vocals
Marlon B. : drums, percussions
Christophe « Disco » Minck : bass, double bass, harp
Jean-Max Méry : piano, keyboards, vocoder
Ludovic Bruni : guitars
Fabrice « Cub1 » Colombani : percussions
Steve Argüelles : drums
Fred Avril : arrangements, guitar
Vincent Mougel : back vocals
Thomas Naïm : guitars
Guillaume Briard : saxophones
Didier Bolay : trumpet, trombone
Guillaume Eyango, Fanny Llado, Valérie Belinga & Obam Zoé-Obianga : back vocals
Ronan Maillard : string orchestrations
Matthieu Noé : sound design
F.A.M.E.’S. Project : string orchestra

Lyrics and Music : François-Marie Dru & Laetitia Bourgeois. Published by Pigalle Production.
Except Run Run Run : Lyrics and Music by Phoenix. Published by Ghettoblaster Publishing.

Arrangements : François-Marie Dru except You Inspire Me and Rock Matata : Fred Avril & François-Marie Dru.
Produced by Marlon B. & François-Marie Dru except You Inspire Me : Fred Avril & Marlon B.
Recording and editing : Marlon B., assisted by Geoffroy « Djouf » Berlioz, at Studio Magnetica.
Mixed by Marlon B. at Studio Magnetica.
Mastered by Chab at Studio Translab, Paris 2014.

Photos : Mathieu Tonetti, Mélanie Elbaz
Supervision : APAR / Cécile Montigny & Aurélien Poirson-Atlan
Artwork : The Letter O / Olivia Jourde & Agathe Briot
Press Book : Aurélien Poirson-Atlan & Pascal Dupont

PR : Sarah Ababsa / lebureaudesarah@gmail.com
TV & Radio : Bruno Philippart / philippartcom@orange.fr
Web : Charles Clément / charles@agence-riseup.com
Marketing : Gregory Lebreton / greglebreton09@gmail.com
Booking : Matthieu Baligand / matthieu.baligand@caramba.fr

Produced by Pigalle Production / Pierre-Marie Dru assisted by Géraldine Nadal.

Under exclusive license to Un Plan Simple / Sony Music Entertainment.

Thank you to Leslie Dubest and Laurent Manganas.