"Four Parisian brothers with brotherly love."

This phrase best describes the band Phoenix. Comprising Thomas Mars (vocals), Laurent Brancowitz (guitars), Christian Mazzalai guitars), and Deck D'arcy (keys), the French quartet has been together since they were teenagers in Versailles. From making music in Thomas' parents' basement to performing as the backing band of Air, Phoenix have gone on to headline festivals, soundtrack films, sell out venues across the globe, and win numerous accolades including a GRAMMY. 

Moving through their career as one unit, the four best friends have never been apart until the pandemic struck in 2020. For the first time ever, they had to work on music remotely - with their vocalist in New York, and the rest of the band at Palais du Louvre. Their eighth studio album titled Alpha Zulu, was created and recorded at the famed museum in Paris, with Phoenix being given the privilege as the only band to put up their own recording studio at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

The upcoming record will feature ten songs as usual, a Phoenix standard, including 'Identical,' a 2020 track they made for Sofia Coppola's On The Rocks, and a dedication for dear friend and collaborator Philippe Zdar. Aside from being a pandemic album, Alpha Zulu will also be their first record without any input from Zdar, who was instrumental in Phoenix's discography and also produced their debut record, United and GRAMMY-winning album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. While the French touch pioneer may be gone, his presence and spirit had still been felt by the band with Christian saying, "We had many moments where we could feel his ideas. Jeté, that’s a word he would say, when you’re throwing something very fast.”

Another first for this record is a guest vocalist. Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig shared vocal duties with Thomas on ‘Tonight’. It was also the first time Thomas composed a song on his own, with him working on ‘Winter Solstice’ based on “a long loop with no chorus” his bandmates sent him from Paris.

While the circumstances have forced the band to work on their new record in this way, Phoenix showcased the strength of their friendship and bond with these 10 new songs. They've always prided themselves that their music was created for their own pleasure and enjoyment. It's just a bonus that we all get to go on this ride, too. 

Hello, can you hear me?

I can hear you. Hi. Hi,

Hi, Branco. How are you?

Oh, how are you? Can you hear me?

Yes. Are you ready to begin? Okay. First of all, how are you today? 

I'm good. 

Where are you right now?

I'm in Paris. In between two sections of the tour that has begun in the US mostly.

You've mentioned before that you would be on tour for two weeks and then you take a short break. And then you'd go back on tour for another two weeks. It's been a while since you were on the road.

Yeah. I have a very bad memory, but we had residencies in 2019. We were in New York, we were in Los Angeles, in Paris, in Tokyo. You know, multiple nights in smaller venues. These were the last shows we did before the pandemic.

You've been out on a few shows since then. Can you share with us how touring's been like now, in a pandemic? How has it been the same? And how has it been different?

[The tour] is already beginning so we can talk to you about what happens in the USA, which is it's very, very interesting. I mean, it’s a bit confusing, but America has suffered a lot. And New York is the same it has always been, but when [you’re in the] heart of the country it's a bit strange, you can see that the centre of the cities are kind of empty, it’s out a very strange atmosphere. 

 

 

 

 

 

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Well, I want to say that in the US. We can see from a sociological point of view that it's been a very powerful event. Whereas in Europe, things get have gotten back to normal faster. Then for touring musicians, it's very complicated, because there is a shortage of everything. So everything on a logistical point of view is very complex. It's very turbulent times. But we enjoyed being on the road every night when we play, it’s a big reward but it's, it's a tempest.

And you'll be back on the road again.

Yeah, it's the beginning of an album cycle. So it's a bit more long. If you want to know everything, it's three weeks - one week - three weeks.

Okay, so that's your format for this tour?

For this little section of the tour. We will slow down a bit, I hope. I don't know.

We'll see, I guess. So you're back with new music, recorded at the Louvre, which you gave us a preview of when you did your little studio tour on Instagram Live? 

You saw that?

Yes, I did. I tuned in, I was awake! So you guys grew up in Versailles, which you've always described was like a museum. Did that make the Louvre a familiar territory for you to be creative? In?

In a way, yes, because we recognised the architecture and the spaces. Then, when we were in Versailles, we really felt [like] outsiders. We were really not welcome. Socially, we were kind of isolated, because we are teenagers, you know, trying to be musicians and it was really not what is expected from a young person in Versailles. But this time, people were very welcoming. Also, it was during the [beginning of the] pandemic and so the atmosphere was very strange, but very beautiful. We were happy to be here and to see people who work there who are very committed. Very passionate people working on artworks, restoring with a lot of passion. For us, it was heartwarming to see that humanity could continue you know, and it was a beautiful thing to witness.

 

 

 

 

 

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Phoenix have famously worked on music together in one room, and this was the first time you had to work on music remotely, except for the 10 days that Thomas was in Paris. How was that like?

He was there for more than 10 days, but it was quite rare, you know. He was only there for a few days, but [it was] more than 10. It was bizarre. It was very strange, because for a period of time, we were apart for nine months. He was kind of stuck in the US with the borders being closed. So we had to deal with that. What was great was that when we work together, the release of tension was a very favourable thing. So we were very happy, there was a lot of joy and just to be together. The stream of inspiration was continuous. So it was in a happy time of creativity.

Right. So I saw that in several interviews, you kind of compared Alpha Zulu to your debut album United. And then you started with releasing Alpha Zulu as the first single, which was a very bold and strong statement,  which was to me sort of similar to how when you first released 'Entertainment.' It was a bit aggressive. Then you followed up with 'Tonight,' which was very Phoenix, very 2000s. It was very comfortable, in a way. So how do you decide which songs you release first? And then how do you arrange the songs in a tracklist?

Usually, we try to do the bold move first. You summed it up very nicely, it's exactly that. We weren't sure where in which order to do it. But in the end, the decision was not to set the tone for something new. Which is always you know, what you expect from musicians you love? Yes, you want them to surprise you a bit, even if in the end you also want to feel at home when you listen to them. I think the album has a lot of things that will please longtime fans. But the first song had to be a bit of a statement, like the Declaration of Independence.

Yes, I had fun listening to the song and watching the video. So you've always done records, with 10 tracks each album. Sort of like your template and structure. How does that help in refining your sound and story?

Maybe the only rule we have is to do these albums with 10 songs, maybe one day, we will change it. But it's great to have like a structure, some kind of structure. To us an album is 10 songs. I don't know why, but maybe when we were kids, it was the typical length of [a] vinyl record. To me, [it's] the right number, the magic number. We have very few rules, we try to be very free. But it's good to have a few, just a few.

I love [it] when you have all your books and your collection on the shelf. In France, they have this collection, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade. And it's all the classics, the beautiful leather-bound, books that have the exact same size and it's very pleasing to see something that's formatted in a very strict manner. I like that. It's just [about] finding the balance between chaos and structure.

Phoenix take great care and attention to every little detail of music, and what also goes beyond that. So that applies to your live shows, your merch. For your last tour, you had the giant mirror that you had to bring with you. But now, your lighting director and stage director, Pierre Claude, the Alpha Zulu stage is sort of like his interpretation of a theatre stage. I've also seen clips featuring a masked and caped figure, something like from Phantom of the Opera. It's so interesting to me. What can fans expect from this tour?

Well, for the set design, we were inspired by Italian opera and theatre. So it's a very old-school way to divide the stage. But we did it with the tools of our era, which makes it possible to create a lot of things. We love when when we use old strategies. Even the mirror we did for the last tour, it was something that existed before. We took the idea from an old photo we saw of a theatre in Paris in the '20s or '30s. We love things that could have been done 100 years ago. It always feels good when it's not only relying on the technology of our times. Because, you know, a lot of times people want to use the latest gadget. And even if we are attracted to modernity, we love the eternal beauty of old techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

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So it's like merging the old with the new?

Yeah. Also, you know, in pop music, in rock shows, they always tend to circle around ideas, visual ideas, and we love to go steal things from the opera, old theatre, and Japanese theatre. We always are inspired by more by more diverse cultural things, you know, we try to avoid the thing that everybody tends to circle around.

You don't follow the trends.

I mean, people are in especially in pop music are pretty lazy. We just talk about the same things. When we try to figure out a live show, we try to think outside of the box. Also, as a listener, that's what I like. If you make me listen to someone who's talking about, I don't know, or the different species of elephants in the world, I would be intrigued and happy not to hear the same things, you know?

 

 

 

 

 

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Personally, as a fan, I always look forward to Phoenix merch, and I know that you guys have always thought of non-conventional things. Of course, you have pins and patches, and whatnot. But you also have your own Phoenix sake, and I actually have a red crayon that my friend gave me from a New York show. What kind of Alpha Zulu merch will fill up your vending machine, Super Mercato?

Very, very interesting question. Merch is a problem for us these days because of supply chains. So we had things done that are stuck in the ocean. We are struggling, I must admit. What do we have that is fun? We are kind of working on it…

As a surprise?

Yeah, well, we’d love to know what you would like to have because you've seen a lot… You have a wishlist?

I'm not sure right now, but let me think. I'll send it to you?

Yeah. Please do it.

Your fans in Asia, specifically the Philippines, have been wondering about your return to the region. So will we see you again in 2023?

I hope so, I mean, everything is very complicated so even travelling has become a logistical [problem]. Yes. But we love we really love to come to you. It's the best part. We work very hard in the studio just to be able to travel the world and good places we wouldn't have dreamed of when we were kids. So it's very important for us, the Philippines. We have great memories of all of Asia. We are working on it, but we will do our best, I promise.

Looking forward to that. Thank you so much, Branco, for your time. I hope you have a great day ahead. Looking forward to the album.

Ah, I hope you like it!

I think so. I really like what I've heard so far. 

There are some good things hidden. You seem to be a very careful listener. So I hope you will find little details, little gems on the album.

I'm looking forward to discovering the little things in the album. Thank you so much, Branco!

Thank you and send this list, please. 

Yes, I will. I will send it on Instagram. 

The Instagram is good. Yes.

All right. Thank you so much, Branco.

Thank you so much. Bye.

Phoenix's new album Alpha Zulu is out on 4 November via Loyaute/Glassnote Records. 

Alpha Zulu track listing:
1. Alpha Zulu
2. Tonight feat. Ezra Koenig
3. The Only One
4. After Midnight
5. Winter Solstice
6. Season 2
7. Artefact
8. All Eyes On Me
9. My Elixir
10. Identical

Phoenix are coming to Asia in 2023 with stops in Singapore and  Manila's Wanderland music festival.

This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity.