Yelle Exclusive Interview

Yelle Pop Up

Born and raised in Brittany, France, Yelle, is known for her spirited, explicit lyrics, laid over a booty-shaking pop electro beat. This musical prowess was expertly showcased in ‘05 with the track “Je Veux te Voir” or in English “I Wanna See You.” The minute this humorous track (taking a friendly jab at French rapper Cuizinier) was placed on her Myspace page, it garnered 2000 plays in just two days. Yelle (a feminised acronym of YEL, “You enjoy life”)

Now very much at ease on stage with her fluo tights, the brunette with attitude drops her first album, which echoes a certain nostalgia for the golden years of French electro-pop (Étienne Daho, Elli et Jacno, Alain Comfort, Taxi Girl) but all boosted with her own flavored groove and subtle vibe into some booty-pop, revealing the story of a shameless girl with a strong character.

Yelle may be young and pretty but she is also a very explosive character entering a slightly rigid French pop scene. This stage freak with a unique flow is fully driving the new non-aggresive girl power scene, focusing on delivering a kick-ass lyrics. She also doesn’t take herself seriously and is refreshingly laidback, especially when she produly covers the song “A Cause des Garçons” which translates to “What We Do For Boys” a French ’80s anthem.

Yelle grew up with music, her dad being a famous musician in the Côtes d’Armor region, where she still lives today. She played the piano, then went on to acting, and played in a few bands that never made it past the rehearsals, but whatever: she knew she was a born performer.

Five years ago, she met GrandMarnier at a party. This young musician and producer, was going back and forth between his own band and his dorm room where he was making beats on his computer. Although his teens were all about rock music, he was drawn to electronic music after listening to the Beastie Boys and started mucking around with his machines. Yelle started singing on GrandMarnier’s demos just for a laugh at first, but the combination was deadly and ended up producing an electro pop album all in French if you please. Yelle’s golden voice was in the house!

Yelle Ce Jeu

Daniel: Tell me who are your most major influences, and what motivates you to make this really awesome music that you do!

Yelle: “I grow up in a musical universe, my father is musician and i wanted to be a singer since i’m his little girl. I had 2 bands when i was student and when i met GrandMarnier we decided to be Yelle“

Daniel: Having traveled around the states what are the differences between the crowds and what has been the craziest experience so far?

Yelle: “It’s our second time in US and it’s really cool to travel in a van around the country, to meet people and give shows in so different town. We were in South America last week and the crowds were totally crazy and they gave us lots of love! so i hope it will be the same in US… It’s a good beginning, Dallas was very cool and Austin was amazing!! for the moment we have good surprises. Just one thing that make me sad: difficult to eat light!!”

To view more pictures from Yelle at Webster Hall New York City visit our Flickr by clicking here.

Daniel: Which songs do you perform more frequently?

Yelle: “We play about 12 songs per night and it’s like a rock dj set, mixing our songs.”

Daniel: Music is a universal language and you’ve been traveling the world with your album, What do you think about your fans that are able to connect to your music even though they don’t understand the language?

Yelle: “I was thinking it’ll be a problem at the beginning but today i can see it’s not. I think maybe french is exotic for english people and even if they don’t understand the lyrics they can understand the spirit.”

Last autumn, for her first show, Yelle , bold audacious, was invited to Paris Paris, one of Paris’ trendiest venues, packed on the occasion and waiting to hear the young provincial’s crazy lyrics and off the hook loops. The set, very rocks in-your-face, was a success as the crowd all joined in to sing the lyrics “Je veux te voir.. “becoming in just a few months a cult hit on dance floors from Paris to London and to New York.

Daniel: Did this industry change you?

Yelle: “Today the music industry is changing and it’s important to think about it and to be reactive and find the good ideas. I don’t think it change me deeply but you must keep it in mind. It’s all about virtual diffusion, and real shows.”

Daniel: What has been, in your eyes, your greatest accomplishment so far?

Yelle: “I’m a very happy girl today, lots of cool things happens to us and it’s crazy.”

Daniel: It’s very hard to break through in the united states singing in a foreign language. And you had success here so far, what do you attribute this success to?

Yelle: “I think people like the french and french language and culture and french lyrics mix with catchy and dancy music it’s cool!”

Daniel: Are there plans for you to record any of your songs in English?

“First, my english is kind of cheap (!), and well, i love singing in french, and i guess people like it too. I love the idea to release the next album in 10 languages! like crooners, it could be fun!”

Daniel: Who directed the video clip ‘Ce Jeu’ and who came up with the treatment?

Yelle: “Ce Jeu” music video was directed by Yoann Lemoine. He is a great young director, he is following us on the “C’est l’Amerque” tour, doing a documentary. He is into our music since the beginning, it’s really to work with people who really like you and your music. Moreover, he is really funny when he is a bit drunk.”

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