AaRON

In 2004, lyricist Simon Buret and composer Olivier Coursier established AaRON, whose full name is "Artificial Animals Riding On Neverland." Within their first twelve months of working together they completed roughly twenty songs, yet Buret's rising commitments to cinema and Coursier's road duties as guitarist and keyboardist for industrial metal group Mass Hysteria held up any public release. Recognition came suddenly in 2006 once the tracks "U-Turn (Lili)" and "Mister K" appeared on the soundtrack of the hit film Je Vais Bien, Ne T'en Fais Pas, a connection Buret had made by handing a demo to director Philippe Lioret during an audition for a supporting role. The movie's popularity helped turn "U-Turn" into a modest online sensation, which in turn prompted the 2007 arrival of the duo's self-titled debut album. Autobiographical writing, an airy rock palette located between Tom McRae and Keane, and a memorable version of "Strange Fruit" combined to place the record at number eight on the French charts. The introspective follow-up Birds in the Storm surfaced in 2010, reached number six in France, and introduced the singles "Rise" and "Seeds of Gold." After completing the Unplugged & Waves tour, the pair issued the live set Waves from the Road in 2011. Four years of quiet ended with the fourth album We Cut the Night, whose shimmering synth-pop single was titled "Blouson Noir."