FOREVER PAVOT
LA PANTOUFLE (BORN BAD)
We used to know Émile Sornin as the son, the pupil, who saw fathers of his among the pioneers of baroque, progressive and psychedelic pop; who found big brothers by heart and aesthetics in Aquaserge; the (nearly) solitary creator of the "fine retro-maniac piece of work" (The Drone), Rhapsode, in 2014.
After experiences in metal, garage, hip hop, he had spent a lot of time exploring, mixing together, digging, getting to the roots with the seriousness of a young man on a quest for territories to occupy.
An insatiable jack-of-all-trades, he directed delirious videos for Dizzee Rascal or Disclosure when he wasn't combing the countryside to discover new instruments (the movie Le Bon Coin Forever).
Here is Émile Sornin the (new) father, the dubbed artist, the one-man-studio fully aware of his essential influences (French 70s movie soundtracks - Philippe Sarde, François De Roubaix, Francis Lai - rather than Italian giallo soundtracks, synth pioneers such as Wendy Carlos or Mort Garson, library music à la Camille Sauvage, Claude Vasori and Roger Roger); the captain of a dense, tight live band.
The man called by producer Sebastian to the bedside of - scoop - Charlotte Gainsbourg's next album.
The man who just gave birth to La Pantoufle. From shore to shore, Émile Sornin incorporated into his music the humor and self-mockery he didn't dare to embrace in the past.
He dropped English to explore sideways his mother tongue, the tongue that says "ça lance", "ça m'est égal", and "c'est pas si dégueu".
He unleashed his instrumental eloquence - more obsessive than ever arrangement-wise, more jazz and nervous execution-wise, not balking at any dramatic effect to seize our perceptions.
Most importantly, he drew on his own memories and blanks ("La pantoufle dans le puits", "La soupe à la grolle", "Les groseilles au fond du jardin") to give rise to suspense, fiction and interpretations.
Built as an imaginary movie in which genres collide from one scene to the next (crime film, romance, comedy, erotica, slasher - you name it), La Pantoufle draws on childhood joys and terrors, only to reenchant them.
This is how Forever Pavot takes on its role as a "Father", laying the foundations for a bright future.