Since releasing “Jeunes instants” EP in 2016, Montréal trio, Paupière, are actively working on new material, including a new track, Les Fleurs – set to come out this spring. They also just completed a mini tour in France in Belgium, and were included in the Entreprise Année 5 compilation, along with Fishbach, Julia Jean-Baptiste, and Lafayette.
“With a desire to be at the forefront of the new French scene that shakes our beautiful country, Entreprise has established itself with crazy avant-garde artistic ambition…as the French label to always follow…Which they prove with the Année 5 compilation.” – Torrefacteur
While playing live, their stage presence brings a grunge aesthetic to Paupière’s 80’s synth-pop sound, which is self-described as “neo-romantic.” It’s very cinematic and could’ve easily been part of the soundtrack of an iconic teen slasher like Heathers or horror film like Videodrome. When Paupière’s members, Julia Daigle, Eliane Préfontaine and Pierre-Luc Begin, come together to perform, their downtempo music becomes infused with a hypnotic, energetic sensibility. They even managed to capture the attention of KEXP during Pop Montreal, and were the only French-speaking band interviewed by the Seattle-based radio station.
“Standing apart from the alternately dancefloor-oriented and experimental synth wave scene, Paupière are dedicated to pop, keeping vocals and melody at the fore, evoking British and French acts of the early to mid ’80s when their tempos rise and mirroring chill contemporary electro at their most laid-back.” – Cult Montreal
“Born from the meeting between a visual artist (Julia Daigle), an actress (Éliane Préfontaine) and a veteran musician (Pierre-Luc Bégin, member of We Are Wolves), Paupière skilfully mixes pop dance music with sensual and captivating compositions that reminiscent of the new wave current of the 1980s.” – VOIR CA
Listen to Rex and Défunte lune de miel off Année 5 below, followed by photos from a recent live performance.