Summer Grooves

“L’Impératrice (The Empress) is beautiful and cruel. Maybe not even real, a Venus with graceful movements, whose haughty looks recall the burning heat of summer. She rules the groove and the hearts, and you will bow to her desire.”

af Mag

Formed in 2012, Parisian sextet L’Impératrice (led by erstwhile culture journalist Charles de Boisseguin) have been hynotizing French audiences with their brand of reinvented 90s French electronica, which ripples with funk, disco, jazz, synthpop, deep hop, cosmic, Air and Daft Punk influences. Their irresistible melodies, electric bass grooves and deft usage of ’70s and ’80s analog gear render lyrics unnecessary - sheer instrumental bliss does not get much better than this (although they have also branched out into creating tracks that involve vocals).

"Vanille Fraise" (Vanilla Strawberry), a track they released last year, is powerful enough to make you forget even the most depressing winter days. It samples and loops the intro of Anita Ward's 1979 hit single "Spoiled by Your Love" to evoke the enviable tranquility, warmth, sultriness and magic of a perfect summer afternoon.

The accompanying Wes Anderson-esque music video, courtesy of Alizée Ayrault and Jérémie Boeglin of Melocoton Films, aptly visualizes the song's appeal on the tennis court - where the combination of youth, sunshine, and vanilla ice cream usher in some delightfully wacky sensuality.