Fleur | Interview | New Album, ‘Fille Sauvage’
Dutch 60s-Yéyé queen Fleur is back, and this time she’s unleashing her wild side with her third album ‘Fille Sauvage.’
Known for her sweet, nostalgic blend of French 60s pop and beat sounds, Fleur has already won over hearts with her charming voice reminiscent of icons like Françoise Hardy and Sylvie Vartan. But ‘Fille Sauvage’ is a whole new chapter—one where Fleur takes her signature Yé-yé vibe straight into the garage. “I wanted to cut loose and show everyone I can get wild,” says Fleur. The album, written by Dutch garage legend Mark ten Hoor of The Kryng, promises raw energy with scratchy guitars, thundering drums, and even a touch of piano from Fleur herself. It’s a gritty, thrilling ride that blends the fire of The Troggs and The Kinks with the elegance of Françoise Hardy. Set to release in November 2024 via Soundflat Records, ‘Fille Sauvage’ is Fleur at her most untamed—and you won’t want to miss it.
“We move outside that ‘60s box—less France Gall, more Debbie Harry.”
How did you first get interested in music, and what in particular do you enjoy in Yé-yé?
Fleur: My interest in music probably started when I was still a teeny tiny potato-like being, floating around in the Mothership. But like many others, I don’t have any memories of that time. My parents are both musicians. My Padre is a double bass player and used to play in various Americana and Tex-Mex bands, and my Mama sings and plays the flute, like a combination of Jethro Tull and Ann Wilson from Heart. So, when the day came for my parting from my mother’s dark and safe womb, I blasted into this strange world full of light and the sound of a double bass; I was born with the music.
Fleur, your music has been compared to icons like France Gall and other famous artists from the sixties era. If you could spend one evening with any of those artists, who would you choose, and what would you most want to discuss?
Fleur: A wise man (Mr. Spies) once told me, “Never meet your heroes.” And I think he might be right. There was a period in my early teens when my biggest dream was to meet Paul McCartney. It was number one on my “Things-To-Do-Before-I-Die” list. And I would still say yes to a chat with Paul if I had the chance, even just for the sake of that list.
But now I’ve spent multiple long thoughts on the “what if.” What would I have to say? What would we talk about? About his music, and that I like it so much? But he would probably already guess by the way I look that I like his music. Should I go up to him and say, “Hi Paul, Wings is my favorite band” or “You did a marvelous job on The Beatles’ songwriting. Love the basslines too. Very neat”? No, too cliché. He probably doesn’t care about my opinion on that stuff. But what then? Talk about the weather?
I’m past the stage where I would’ve been starstruck or acted like one of those Apple Scruffs, but I’m too cringey to talk about casual stuff, too.
I guess, in the end, I’d probably offer him a peppermint or something, compliment his trousers, and, if I were comfortable enough, ask him if he has any book recommendations and talk about places that inspired him and why. I’d ask if he likes to revisit them often or prefers exploring new places he’s never been before.
And if I dared to ask something more personal, I’d love to ask about the music he and Linda listened to together. What was “their” signature song or album that reminds him of her?
But if I could re-write that list, I would change that dream to the following: have my music in Paul McCartney’s go-to playlist or in his record collection. But I guess we will never find out, and I’m content to leave it in the unknown.
Having several 7″ and albums under your belt, are you excited about the upcoming album? What can you reveal from it? Do you feel it will be different from your previous releases?
Fleur: For me, personally, this album was exactly what I needed. People who’ve seen me play live will acknowledge that I’m high energy on stage. Kind of like the Tasmanian Devil from Looney Tunes, if you know what I mean. And the upcoming album has that energy. It’s less girly, less sweet, and more power and punk. It’s like growing up. The first album, which is the blueprint of “Fleur,” has this playful, young vibe. On ‘Bouquet Champêtre,’ we explored deeper themes, with more difficult arrangements. It’s like when you reach adulthood and realize life isn’t just about naively winging it or enjoying carefree summer holidays.
The third album sheds our sweet candy wrapping but keeps the sound. We move outside that ‘60s box—less France Gall, more Debbie Harry. I’m not a little girl anymore; I’m a woman now. So yes, it will indeed be different from the previous albums, but it’s still “Fleur.”
Can you share some further words about its creation process?
Fleur: Each album has its own process, but with the third album, I had little to do with it, actually. The songs were written by Mark ten Hoor from The Kryng, and they are also the band that played them. Due to some personal issues, I couldn’t rewrite or translate the lyrics myself. I’m not fluent in French, you see. I only sing in French, and it takes me a couple of days to write or translate just one song. We didn’t have time for that, so we asked my dear friend Lou’ Szymanowski to translate it.
But in the end, it’s exactly how I would’ve wanted it. This album is the closest to me personally, even though I didn’t have much involvement in the creation process. It holds a lot of meaning for me and my own creative journey. It opened doors for me, leading me down a path I’m excited to take. So, I’m really thankful for that.
What about the production?
Fleur: Production is Arjan’s part. He is the sound-wizard and the one who gives “Fleur” its typical sound. I completely trust him with this task. I think even if we were to record, let’s say, a reggae album in Italian, he would make it sound like Fleur.
Arjan: For this album, the production influences were a bit different from the previous albums. This time we were more into The Troggs, Monks, The Kinks, etc., blended with Françoise Hardy and France Gall. Garage meets Yé-yé pop. On the previous albums, we leaned more toward The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Joe Meek, The Zombies’ ‘Odessey & Oracle,’ Motown, The Beatles, and of course, the French Yé-yé pop.
How did the collaboration with The Kryng come about?
Fleur: Arjan plays in The Kryng and knew Mark had written a lot of songs, some even almost twenty years old. So, he had to do something with them. Et voilà! It started with two songs (‘Fille Sauvage’ and ‘Je T’en Prie’), but we liked the more wild sound, so we continued and made a whole album.
Arjan: I thought it would be good to go in a slightly different direction to keep things fresh and interesting. I play drums in The Kryng, and I’m also a big fan of Mark’s songwriting, so I asked him if he was open to recording some songs for Fleur. He was, and it turned out great!
How has the experience of performing songs live for the first time—especially post-pandemic—shaped your connection with the audience and the music itself?
Fleur: We started playing live in the middle of the pandemic. Our first shows were live-streams and seated shows. It was a very strange situation. I was used to playing for dancing and smiling people, not seated people with facemasks and a lot of cameras around. So, the first years I had some trouble finding my way to deal with that. During that time, we also did some radio and TV shows. After the pandemic, it was suddenly a totally different situation. People wanted to talk with me, get a picture, etc. It was a rollercoaster, going from one extreme to the other. But I found my way around it. I don’t need a lot of listeners, followers, or a big fanbase. I’m more than happy to share our music with those who truly love it and feel the same hype I feel when I’m on stage, even if it’s only one person in the audience. That’s what makes a show great.
What’s most important to me now is that I have fun on stage. With or without an audience, big stage or small, I’ll give it my full 200%.
What are some future plans?
Fleur: Well, Spies and I made a pact to record 100 albums. So we have 97 more to go. If we release two new albums every year, I’ll be somewhere in my 70s when we release our 100th album. And Arjan…
Let’s end this interview with some of your favorite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
Fleur: My favorite albums, oof! That’s a hard one. I’m not going to do that because I have difficulty making decisions. My head will be stuck in error, I’m afraid. So, I’ll list some of the many artists I like to listen to, and you can pick a random album, and it will be on my list: The Beatles, Wings, Gram Parsons, Boudewijn de Groot, Harry Nilsson, Simon & Garfunkel, Gilbert O’Sullivan, Everly Brothers, Françoise Hardy, Clothilde, Django Reinhardt, The Who, Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Devo, and Enya.
My latest find is ‘McGear’ by Mike McGear, Paul McCartney’s younger brother. The album has a Wings sound, due to the fact that Wings played everything on it, and Paul and Linda even wrote some of the songs. So yeah, that kind of makes sense.
But for me, it kind of feels like I finally found an artist like Wings that I had never heard of before, which is rare.
Thank you. Last word is yours.
Thank you a lot. I would like to say a few words, and here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
Klemen Breznikar
Pre-order your copy of ‘Fille Sauvage’ by Fleur at Shiny Beast!
Headline photo: Frankie Lamberts
Fleur Facebook / Instagram / Bandcamp
Soundflat Records Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube
