La Femme

The Parisian collective La Femme fuses its French roots with international influences to create music that surprises and engages listeners. Their initial EPs and the prize-winning 2013 debut Psycho Tropical Berlin mixed Krautrock, '60s surf, psych rock, coldwave, and classic French pop in distinctive fashion, while the darker, more ambitious Mystère of 2016 pushed those boundaries outward. Their singular approach nevertheless yielded multiple Top Ten hits at home, and the band stayed true to its eclectic bent on both 2021's Paradigmes and the subsequent Teatro Lucido, which paid homage to Spanish and South American locales and idioms. That global exploration persisted with 2023's Paris-Hawaï and the riff-driven Rock Machine, issued the following year and featuring the group's first English-language material.

Marlon Magnée and Sacha Got formed the group in Biarritz after meeting at school, where Magnée handled vocals and keyboards and Got played guitar. Seeking more stimulation than resort-town life offered, the pair relocated to Paris. Performing first as SS Mademoiselle, they soon adopted the name La Femme and began merging influences ranging from Kraftwerk and the Velvet Underground to obscure French recordings of the '60s and '70s. Following their self-titled 2010 EP, a self-organized U.S. tour drew attention from major French imprints. The band then joined Barclay, which issued the Le Podium #1 EP in 2011. A second EP, likewise titled La Femme, surfaced in February 2013 and climbed to number 153 on the French singles chart. Psycho Tropical Berlin arrived that April on Barclay and Born Bad Records, introducing additional members Clémence Quélennec on vocals, bassist Sam Lefèvre, and drummer Noé Delmas. The album's unpredictable yet stylish sound earned widespread praise, produced the cult favorite "Sur la Planche," and reached the Top 40 of the French albums chart. In February 2014 it received a Victoire de la Musique for Album Révélation of the Year from the French Ministry of Culture.

Keyboardist and percussionist Lucas Nunez Ritter joined for the second album. Mystère, released in September 2016, adopted a darker tone that highlighted the group's electronic elements and was tracked partly in Los Angeles and partly in a castle west of Paris. It peaked at number eight on the French albums chart, also appearing in Switzerland and Belgium, and earned a nomination for Best Rock Album at the 2017 Victoires de la Musique. Live dates supporting the record included opening slots for Red Hot Chili Peppers plus appearances at European festivals and in the United States. The Runway EP followed in 2018, documenting a collaboration with designer Hedi Slimane. The single "Paradigme" emerged in 2020 as the first preview of the third album. Issued on the band's own Disque Pointu imprint in April 2021, Paradigmes drew from new wave, stoner rock, and big band textures. Digital bonus tracks appeared that October and later received vinyl release for Record Store Day in April 2022; around the same period the full-length film Paradigmes: Le Film, built around the album's songs, premiered. Limited-edition NFTs derived from frames of the animated "Foutre le Bordel" video marked the record's one-year anniversary. Another track, the Spanish-language "Le Jardin," pointed toward the next direction. Teatro Lucido, released in November 2022, incorporated pasodoble, reggaeton, Brazilian, and Andalusian elements with entirely Spanish vocals and reached number 32 on the French Albums chart. May 2023 brought Paris-Hawaï, a Hawaii-themed concept album that revisited the band's psych-surf origins. Rock Machine arrived in October 2024, pairing glam-rock pulses and arena-rock riffs with the first songs sung in English.