motel void

Fleur bleu·e (blue flower) originates from the French expression that signifies deep sentimentalism and disconnection from reality. Utilizing the French inclusive dot character, it’s intentionally spelled in both masculine and feminine forms. Fleur bleu·e weaves an ethereal music from dreams and nightmares, engaging our vulnerabilities beyond the confines of binary gender and celebrating emotions and beauty found in small imperfections.

MOTEL VOID: You’re probably the first band from France that I interview on my blog! Where exactly in France are you based? And how would you describe the local indie scene there? Do you have any favorite venues?

FLEUR BLEU·E: Thank you for the interview, it is a pleasure for us! We are based in the North-East of Paris, which tends to be the liveliest part of the city indie-music wise. The local indie scene is very eclectic, here in France they also say ‘indie’ for more mainstream ‘French touch’ and/or electro-pop projects. Those playing indie music with guitars playing are seen as weirdos by the industry here, as is it not so trendy or selling. So, the scene is quite small but solid! We do have a few favorite venues, like Le Point Ephémère, L’international, or la Maroquinerie, which are all venues booking many French and foreign indie bands, and a smaller one but not less cult: the Motel, which is more of a bar/hangout for lost musicians.

MOTEL VOID: You released your first single ‘Horizon’ in 2020. How did you start collaborate together?

FLEUR BLEU·E: We met in 2019 at a concert of friends, after which we started talking and sharing music. We rapidly realized that we both had the desire to start a music project around similar influences and decided to try it out. With our very first jam we both felt an immediate musical connection. We came up with the guitar riff of the song Waterfall Spring and were so enthusiastic about our whole session, which we had recorded on our phones, that we kept listening to it over the next few days. However, it wasn’t until 2020 and the Covid pandemic, that we took the time to demo a few songs properly and decided to launch a formal music project.

MOTEL VOID: Your new single is called ‘pillow wet’. Will it be part of your new EP/album? I’m asking because your last record ‘Unrequited Love’ was released only several months ago…

FLEUR BLEU·E: We wanted to release a new track to celebrate our upcoming US Tour. In fact, we are releasing two of them, the second being a cover of The Breeders’ ‘Off You’. We released our album ‘Unrequited Love’ last Fall, but we recorded it more than two years ago now and since then we have accumulated quite a few songs. So, we are working on a second album, and in fact we are quite looking forward to completing the project.

MOTEL VOID: As you’ve mentioned, this summer you’re touring the US, congratulations! How long will you stay there and how many shows will you play? Was it difficult for you to book this tour? Will it be your first time playing there?

FLEUR BLEU·E: Thank you! We’ll be there more than a month over July and August, and play 15 shows along the Pacific Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle) and in nearby inland cities (Salt Lake City, Sacramento). Booking the tour was a lot of work because we organized everything ourselves, like the line-up for most of the shows, but the enthusiastic response we received made it very exciting. This will be our first time performing in the US (Vlad lived in LA for seven years but only played occasionally). We can’t wait to perform and meet the amazing bands we’ll be sharing the stage with! All the details of the tour are available on our Bands In Town account and our website.

MOTEL VOID: What was the writing and recording process behind your last album ‘Unrequited Love’?

FLEUR BLEU·E: We started writing songs in a very spontaneous and equal way through jamming from scratch as we mentioned before. We also shared some material that we had on our side from before we met and built on it together. For example, Delphine had written ‘L’été ivre’ as a folk song, after a row in her family, to make fun of the situation and sooth it; Vlad added all the second layers of guitar in other keys, and the instrumental bridge in the middle of the song ; and we worked together to get this atmospheric old feeling.

After completing the writing and pre-production of the 10 tracks, we realized that all the songs, like us, were intertwined with a theme of ‘Unrequited Love’. This theme isn’t limited to romantic relationships but extends to feelings of neglect in any type of relationship—whether with friends, family, lovers, or even institutions. It captures the essence of this feeling of not belonging or not finding your home. We thought it must come from our families’ histories of migration as Third Culture Kids: Vlad was born in Bulgaria and arrived at 5 in France and felt a lot of xenophobia growing up here, and Delphine is mixed-race (wasian from Mauritius) and felt a lot of racism growing up in Northern France, being rejected, mocked and exoticized. In France, identity is something that is not discussed seriously. Differences are not welcomed and everything is made to assimilate aliens to an ideal unique French white identity that is not reflecting the reality of French multicultural history. We also share a feeling of being non-binary that is also reflected in our name ‘Fleur bleu·e’ written both in masculine and feminine forms with the inclusive dot.

We recorded this album live in only 3 to 4 days in a little studio called Garage, just next to our place in Paris, with Stephanie Acquette on the bass, and Ben McConnell on the drums. It was really cool to be in the studio all together, but also very quick and stressful. We had to make little decisions very fast and intuitively, to adapt our demos a live recording session. For instance, we did not have time to choose microphones or amps that were the “best” fit for the sound we were looking for. So the music on the album is the result of what was available at the studio (there were actually really good U47 mics!), blended with the post-production work we did and the mix by Ben Etter who made such great work. He helped us find this atmospheric/nostalgic feeling we were looking for in our sound to convey our idea of Unrequited Love. We are super happy with this debut album, which is the result of our artistic visions of the start, contributions from everyone, but also limits of time and means. Even though we could not control everything, we think we managed to be faithful to our visions and we’re proud of it.

Also, our cover made by Marguerite Bornhauser is conveying something quite simple that matches the album and its title quite well. It’s us at night, creating music, connected, and still protected from the chaos of the world. Vlad is fixing the objective, realistic, and Delphine is looking at the horizon/future, like a nostalgic dreamer. We exchange these roles all the time, in our creative process and our lives.

MOTEL VOID: Who are your biggest inspirations in the moment?

DELPHINE: I’m listening a lot to Françoise Hardy, the famous French singer, as I was very saddened by her passing. I am also listening to all the bands we’re gonna share the stage with this summer: Mirrorball, Janelane, Space Daze, Glass Egg, Sagittaire, and so many talented others. We’re gonna make a playlist with them all.

VLAD: I also love the music of the bands we are playing with. Besides, I have been listening to the new DIIV album, Frog In a Boiling Water when I go for a run since its release. We also got into an Alvvays phase recently, which we had never really listened to before.