L'Impératrice

The French alternative dance ensemble L'Impératrice crafts whimsical and stylized disco sounds, all originating from the vision of keyboardist and composer Charles de Boisseguin. Beginning with multiple EPs from 2012 onward and incorporating a lead vocalist during that period, the group delivered their inaugural full-length effort, the varied Matahari, during 2018. Tako Tsubo, which came out in 2021, embraced a gentler and more ethereal vibe even as it stayed fully suited for dancing. The bilingual track "Heartquake," a comparable joint effort involving Cuco, emerged in 2023. Their third studio album, the self-produced Pulsar, surfaced in 2024.

De Boisseguin assembled L'Impératrice within Paris during 2012, and they independently put out a self-named initial EP that year, which secured an agreement with the indie imprint microqlima records. That label, also based in Paris, put forth the subsequent Sonate Pacifique EP during 2014. Meanwhile, what started as a lone project expanded with the addition of Hagni Gwon on keyboards, Achille Trocellier handling guitar, David Gaugué on bass, and Tom Daveau behind the drums. Vocalist Flore Benguigui joined ahead of the 2015 EP titled Odyssée. Drawing from listeners spinning the album incorrectly, 2016 saw the release of L'Empereur (Odyssée Slow Version). An alternative take featuring acoustic guitar along with violin and cello came as Odyssée (Version Acoustique) at the start of 2017, preceding the fourth EP Séquences together with its Séquences (Remixes) counterpart later that same year.

The band launched their first album, the vibrant and unpredictable Matahari via microqlima during March 2018. After another self-titled EP arrived two years afterward, microqlima put out Tako Tsubo as the sophomore LP in the beginning of 2021. De Boisseguin handled production duties alongside Renaud Letang, known for work with Feist and Jane Birkin, resulting in a more oneiric style reminiscent of Munya and Men I Trust. Later that year they applied their distinctive twist to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Love Me)". Collaborations arrived as "Everything Eventually Ends" featuring rapper Rejjie Snow in 2022, followed by the bilingual "Heartquake" with bedroom pop artist Cuco in 2023. Pulsar came from the group in 2024 and included appearances by Maggie Rogers, Erick the Architect, and Fabiana Martone.