words//shaun oppedisano
“Yelle” is used to refer to an awesome three-piece electro pop group from Brittany, France. It also doubles as the name taken by the dashing fashionista at its center, Julie Budet. The band’s debut album Pop-Up was met with praise in the trio’s native France, Europe, and even across the pond in the States. Already off to a great start, Yelle [the woman and the band] are hard at work at a follow-up release. Julie took some time to fill us in on her latest activities.
Hey, thanks for doing this. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d have to go through a French translator!
No problem. I can answer in English, even if I’m not really fluent.
I do really want to learn French though. Do you think Rosetta Stone works?
The best way to learn—practice with a French girl!
It’s been a decent amount of time now since you’ve done any touring. Has the time off been productive? I think I read online that you’re working on a new album already. Is this right or is my minimal French really that bad?
We stopped touring in April 2009 after the SXSW Festival in Austin, where we had a blast! It was a really cool end for our first tour. After more than 2 years around the world, we had a kind of lazy summer at home in Brittany. We restarted work in September and we continue now. We are sometimes very productive, sometimes very… slow! But we want to take the time to make good songs. So the new album is on the way and your French is not so bad!
Has the creative process changed at all since the material you wrote for Pop-Up?
Yes a bit. For Pop-Up, we had jobs during the day so we were doing music in the night. We didn’t have pressure; it was the beginning of something… we didn’t expect that life after! Now we are a little bit older (but not boring, don’t worry!), and we have a little bit more experiences. We have plenty of time to think about what we lived during the tour, remember the people we met, the countries we discovered, the different cultures—it’s good for inspiration!
How early on did you get involved in songwriting? What sort of music were you making before you teamed up with GrandMarnier and really got into the electronic sound?
I liked to write since I was a little girl, but it’s very difficult to write a good song. I’ve worked since the beginning of the project with GrandMarnier, and he does the main part of the lyrics. He’s full of ideas and he’s a great “words player”!
Before being Yelle, I was singing in a pop rock band, but I stopped doing it when I met GrandMarnier. With him, I’ve discovered a different way of doing music, I’ve discovered spontaneity, built “immediate things,” mixing feelings and dance.
You talk a lot in interviews about the importance of dancing and expressing your music visually as well. Have you borrowed any moves from any of the artists you look up to?
I don’t think so… I have a very robotic style of dance, very personal, but I like to watch video clips and maybe it’s unconscious that I copy Beyoncé and DEVO! Who knows?
Paris is obviously such an important place within the art world. What sort of other mediums or artists have influenced you outside of music?
I studied art in high school and cinema and theater in university. My father is muscian and my brother is in an art school so maybe I grew up in an artistic environment. I like to visit museums, galleries and just be curious. I can’t say, “this artist influenced me more” but art in general, yes! I can be stuck for hours in front of Soulage’s paints, for exemple, but I can’t tell how, and how much that kind of thing influences me.
Have you ever considered doing a Take Away Show?
Absolutely!!! It’s a great way to meet people and to surpass yourself because it’s very weird and destabilizing to sing in the street, or elsewhere. And it’s very interesting to perform a song differently!
What kind of things do you think 2010 holds in store for Yelle?
A new album, a new tour, a new haircut, and more and more I hope!!
Will you marry me?
Of course. Hah!
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For more from Yelle, check out their official website and MySpace page.