So far Elle Valenci only has one song published on her spotify, but still over a million streams. She did her breakthrough when she collaborated with Lecomte de Brégeot and her song "Perfect blue" appeared in a commercial. What we can expect next is however a surprise. Elle namley likes to reflect her emotions with the music she produces and therefore the genre changes from day to day.
Quick Facts:
Age: 22 years
Living place: Lyon, France
Most popular song: Perfect Blue
What did you do just before you started answering these questions?
I took the time to have a cup of coffee while looking at the sky. It’s a bit overcast. I was also listening to the latest album of the band "Men I Trust" that a friend told me about recently.
If you could put on any song at the moment, be at any place in the world , wear exactly whatever you wanted and drink anything you like… what would you choose?
I would listen to “Daughter of the Sun” by the band VBND while sitting in a garden near home. It’s something I’m enjoying doing at the moment in Lyon, where I live. The beginning of summer is lovely. I’d wear a light dress and I’d have with me a thermos full of coffee!
What is yours first music memory?
I remember this full music collection that my parents had. I loved to pick a CD and dance and sing to it over and over again. It got even better when I had my own stereo. I also remember how I used to follow my mother around when she was getting new CDs. At the time there were those pods in shops made available to customers for you to listen to new releases. I loved to emulate her and to go and explore those long rows full of CDs. It’s actually a nice memory as the way people discover new sounds nowadays is so different. Although it is much easier to browse through streaming platforms, we did kind of lose that tactile connection to music.
What inspires you the most?
I think I’ve created this kind of genealogical tree in which I find all those different artists, being musicians, composers, video-makers, visual artists or writers… I leave this field open to carry on nourishing my creativity. But the starting point of my creations comes from everyday life and feelings; they feed my compositions both in the writing of the music and in the intention I want to express through my voice.
"The music is a reflection of my emotions and that is what gives a track its specific colour." — Elle Valenci
In which way does your music portraits you?
I still can’t really "place" my music and I think that somehow appeals to me. I’m not looking for a particular genre when I compose. The music is a reflection of my emotions and that is what gives a track its specific colour. The sound print of my current references will integrate into my work according to that chromatic scale. The mix of these musical expressions will come to life through introspective lyrics, which will allow anyone to project their own story into it.
Do you have any specific song which you feel talks to you more than others?
There is this song that I wrote a while ago now, but that is still important to me because it touches on the different paths in front of you and how to choose and find your place in those sometimes difficult transition periods. It’s called “Where” and I hope it’ll come out soon.
Tell us about your song ”Perfect Blue”… What is the story behind it?
I’m glad to be asked that question since “Perfect Blue” has many stories. I first recorded the guitar part on my phone, the day before my 20th birthday. I wasn’t particularly happy at that time, and yet I felt the need to record this short melody. Six months later I was on my way to a one month stay in Ivory Coast, before heading straight to London. I was feeling enriched by all that travelling and I wrote down some lyrics, but it’s only when I was back in France a few months later that I matched this melody that I had kept in my phone with the text. This is when “Perfect Blue” really started to exist.
It took a request to the brand « Baak » by the agency of the artist Lecomte de Brégeot, with whom I finalised the track to adapt it to Baak’s commercial for “Perfect Blue” to meet its audience. There was a big demand from listeners afterwards, which led to the song being released on streaming platforms. But you have to know that this version is only a part of the track as it only has the choruses. One day I would like to unveil the whole piece.
Do you have any future plans or songs you can tell us about? We would like to know everything!
I’ve been working a lot this past year, but what’s coming out, once again, is an old piece of mine that I was very interested in reworking. With this creation I will reveal more of my world. You will discover a bit more about Elle Valenci.
Five simple questions:
"I wouldn’t want to impose a particular theme as my goal is to gather differences and singularities."
You have to choose a certain decade to live in, which would you choose?
If I had to choose a decade I’d like to experience the end of the 60’s, beginning of the 70’s. Many musical crossings were happening. It was a period of great experimentation in music and it allowed for this utopian world to flourish.
You have to do a cover of a already created song… which one would you want to do?
I’m not someone who does covers at all, but if I should do one, I think I would choose a piece that takes me outside of my comfort zone. I would try to reinterpret it so as to jostle my way of working.
If you are hosting a concerts, what will the theme be?
I wouldn’t want to impose a particular theme as my goal is to gather differences and singularities.
What is the greatest tips you ever have received?
Be yourself, believe in you and follow your own way!
Constantly listening to one single song for the rest of your life, or never listening to music again?
It’s extremly difficult to answer since I cannot live without music. I guess I’d spend the rest of my life trying to choose which one single to listen to on a loop!
From a the music video "Paris 1985" as she did togheter with Lecomte de Brégeot.