The Penelopes - History

History

Formed in 2005 over a mutual love of the same books and British bands such as The Cocteau Twins and New Order (“Basically we were kids from the north of Paris and when we were reading about their lives we found similarities; they were from a grey city, so were we” explains Axel), the pair started out making demo recordings in their bedrooms, working on songs with an energy that only comes from a desire to leave where you are.

After playing in both the rock and the electronic scenes and on a few singles and remixes (especially for DJ Hell's International DeeJay Gigolo Records), The Penelopes composed their first album The Arrogance of Simplicity in 2007, which was released under Vitalic's label - Citizen Records.

Songs on the first album include "Demian", which is sung by the former singer of Ekova, Dierdre Dubois (the song referring to the Hermann Hesse eponymous book); this track being chosen as the soundtrack to an advert for Perrier; and "In a Storm", which features the former singer Samy Birnbach (aka DJ Morpheus) of the band Minimal Compact.

In 2008, the album was re-released as a limited edition under the title: Choose: Arrogance, Simplicity or Both in Japan. It included a remixed version of "Demian" by Black Strobe, a video of "Demian" directed by Danakil, and "Gut Feeling", a live version of a cover of Devo recorded in Paris. Another highlight of the album is "Je t'aime tant" (Elli et Jacno cover), where world renowned French writer Chloe Delaume sings duo with the Penelope, a song commissioned by French fashion designer agnès b. and formed a part of the "Les Jeunes Gens Modernes" exhibition.

The Penelopes won the Best Discovery 2007 Qwartz Electronic Music Award for the album The Arrogance of Simplicity but felt that they didn't really belong in the electronic music scene. “At the beginning we weren't very confident and we were not very comfortable in the electronic scene. We had the feeling that it was not our thing really. We felt we were more like a rock band using electronic tools,” says Axel.

The Penelopes have played in many major festivals such as Dour Festival in Belgium, Sónar & Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Monegros, Santander, Garorock, Nandrin, and Tohu-Bohu. They have also played live in many countries including Japan, Spain, Belgium, UK, Sweden, Germany, Russia, USA, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan, and South America. They have opened for Ladytron in Paris and Geneva, for The Human League in Belgium (Les Nuits Botaniques), Vitalic in Lille and played for agnès b. fashion shows in Paris and Tokyo. Fashion designer agnès b was one of the first and strongest supporters of the band and continues to champion The Penelopes by booking them to perform at various fashion events.

They relocated from their native Paris and headed across the Channel to London in 2011 because they felt the music scene there was more open for their brand of electro-pop music. The single “Now Now Now” was released in late 2011, a track with all elastic bass lines, lush keyboard squelches and that funky guitar, underpinned by guest vocalist Laura Kidd and Axel's low, tremulous voice.

A follow-up album, Priceless Concrete Echoes, with major contributions from DJ Morpheus, was released in 2009, again on Citizen Records. A US version was also released (their debut stateside release), featuring an alternative track listing.

The Penelopes released their third album Never Live Another Yesterday on 22 July 2012. The first single taken from it, "Sally In The Galaxy", was released on 22 April 2012. The video for "Sally In The Galaxy" was shot in Los Angeles and features a range of characters from popular culture including Wonder Woman, Britney Spears and Harry Potter. It was directed by Saman Keshavarz at Pulse Films. The second single, "Summer Life" is set for release on the same day as the album. The video was filmed in the Spanish desert.

The Penelopes release their final single for 2012 in the shape of "Now Now Now" on December 10th and announce their UK tour support with The Human League, which starts on November 23rd.