Hot as Phoenix
Chris Riemenschneider - MCTIssue date: 7/2/09 Section: Music
"We always have the same mission: To make an album where we surprise ourselves, and that is really original to our ears," he said. "It's always a pain in the ass to do that."
Friends since grade school, the members of Phoenix all grew up in the famed Paris suburb of Versailles, home to the palaces that became the symbol of the royal family's opulent lifestyle before the French Revolution. US fans of the group probably know it best from Sofia Coppola's movie "Marie Antoinette," in which the members of Phoenix had a bit role as chamber musicians (Coppola and Phoenix singer Thomas Mars now have a daughter together, Romy).
D'Arcy credits Versailles for inspiring his band's music and that of fellow French dance-pop homies Air and Daft Punk - but not in the way outsiders might think.
"It's a nice city, but it's very conservative and very boring and empty for young people," he said. "That was one of the reasons we became musicians. We had nothing else to do, so music was a way to escape from it. And it made it easy to find your mates, the guys who are cool like you."
Now those cool dudes are enjoying a breakout year and their first string of sold-out dates across America, D'Arcy said, "For us, it's an honor. Not a lot of French rock bands get to tour the US, so we are like, 'Wow!' People are very fresh and keen on listening to music there. And we have the best days off there."
Who knows, maybe the next Phoenix record will be loaded with American historical references.
Friends since grade school, the members of Phoenix all grew up in the famed Paris suburb of Versailles, home to the palaces that became the symbol of the royal family's opulent lifestyle before the French Revolution. US fans of the group probably know it best from Sofia Coppola's movie "Marie Antoinette," in which the members of Phoenix had a bit role as chamber musicians (Coppola and Phoenix singer Thomas Mars now have a daughter together, Romy).
D'Arcy credits Versailles for inspiring his band's music and that of fellow French dance-pop homies Air and Daft Punk - but not in the way outsiders might think.
"It's a nice city, but it's very conservative and very boring and empty for young people," he said. "That was one of the reasons we became musicians. We had nothing else to do, so music was a way to escape from it. And it made it easy to find your mates, the guys who are cool like you."
Now those cool dudes are enjoying a breakout year and their first string of sold-out dates across America, D'Arcy said, "For us, it's an honor. Not a lot of French rock bands get to tour the US, so we are like, 'Wow!' People are very fresh and keen on listening to music there. And we have the best days off there."
Who knows, maybe the next Phoenix record will be loaded with American historical references.
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