Au Revoir Simone

Au Revoir Simone
Au Revoir Simone performing in 2008
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, New York
Genres	Dream pop, piano pop, Lo-fi
Years active	2003–present
Website	http://aurevoirsimone.com/
Members
Erika Forster Annie Hart Heather D'Angelo
Past members
Sung Bin Park
Notable instruments
Vocals Keyboards Drum machine Synthesizer Sequencer

Au Revoir Simone is an electronic dream pop band from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, formed in late 2003. The group is composed of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard), and Heather D'Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard). The band's name comes from a line Pee-wee Herman says to a minor character (named Simone) in Tim Burton's 1985 film, Pee-wee's Big Adventure.

History

Au Revoir Simone started life in the Fall of 2003 when Erika Forster and Annie Hart first became acquainted on a long train ride home to NYC from a weekend getaway with friends. Along the way they exchanged stories and ambitions, and discovered that they shared a common desire to form an all-keyboard band. When they returned to NY, they started meeting regularly to play music. Heather D'Angelo started joining in at these informal bedroom band practices, which also included former member Sung Bin Park (keyboard & vocals). Soon after, they started playing shows around NYC and Brooklyn. In January 2005, Sun Bin left the band and the girls started anew as a trio. In 2006 they did a Take-Away Show video session shot by Vincent Moon, and toured the US, Canada and Europe with We Are Scientists. The following year, they went on a US tour with Peter, Bjorn and John. In 2007, they played a concert at The Foundation Cartier, Paris for David Lynch's retrospective exhibition. The stage they performed on was a recreation of the one from his film, Erasurehead. Au Revoir Simone played at both the Treasure Island Music Festival, the Monolith Festival in September 2007 and the Lovebox festival in London, UK in 2009. At the end of 2009 the group hosted their own headlining tour in Japan. In 2007, the band contributed a t-shirt design to raise money for Transportation Alternatives. In 2010, they created one of the first interactive music videos for the song "Knight of Wands." In true coloring book style, the video lets the fan become a part of the creative process. The band's debut album was named after a tiny book Annie received entitled 'Verses of Comfort, Assurance and Salvation'. The group felt that the name completely fit their music and the way it made them feel, so they chose it as the album's name.

Musical style

Au Revoir Simone's music has been described by The London Times as "A collision between the Waitresses, Stereolab and Kings of Convenience, their music has power from what it holds back rather than spells out, and is just waiting to be fallen in love with (or to)." British Vogue has said, “Eschewing the typical guitar-heavy band set-up for old-school synthesizers and vintage drum machines, [Au Revoir Simone] create dreamy synth-pop. Their soft ethereal vocals laid over spare homemade drumbeats are reminiscent of Air and Stereolab." Pitchforkmedia.com has said their music is "feather-light electro-pop that's not to be taken lightly." David Lynch called the group's music "innocent, hip and new."^{[citation needed]} Spin also gave a review of the group: "Powered by vintage keyboards, a lockstep beat-box, and gorgeous, wide-eyed warbling, the Simones create make-out music for your inner android."^{[citation needed]} NME had a lot to say about the indie group: "Au Revoir Simone [appears] onstage like the sisters from The Virgin Suicides—[its] looks ranging from prim librarian, to hippy housewife to raven-haired art student. [The group] excavates the lost corner, joining Ladytron and Camera Obscura: lush electronic hypno-folk that breezes from the speakers like chocolate melting over one of Latitude's many £5-a-crepe food stalls".^{[citation needed]} In another NME article, the magazine went on to say that "Au Revoir Simone must have beamed in from a land where lace clouds breeze over crystal lakes and icicles grow from the warm earth. This New York three-piece's glorious synth-lead alt-folk will leave you crying on the stairs in the middle of the night."^{[citation needed]} The group defined itself as playing "warm and electronic music with forthright female vocalists."^{[citation needed]}

Musical influences

According to the Web site of the band's European label, the group's musical influences could be "likened to a dutifully mined musical thrift store."^{[citation needed]} Alongside the racks and railings of sometimes mismatched but wholly treasured records occupied by Modest Mouse, Stereolab, the Mountain Goats, Louis Prima, and Pavement, the likes of the Beach Boys, Björk, Broadcast, Belle & Sebastian, David Bowie, the Bee Gees, and Billie Holiday also take their place. Erika Forster harbors a love of German label Morr Music, specifically artists such as Guther, Lali Puna, and Ms. John Soda. Joe Jerome Newman from UK band FILMS lists Au Revoir Simone as being one hell of a heavy-weight influence on their JUMP-FOLK style.^{[citation needed]} FILMS based the sound of Au Revoir Simone's haunting track 'Stay Golden' on their 2009 hit 'Matilda'.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

One of Au Revoir Simone's songs was featured on the 100th episode of Grey's Anatomy, and, in 2009, Au Revoir Simone's song "The Lucky One" was the closing song in Season 3 Episode 12 of Ugly Betty, as well as the background music for a Cheerios cereal television commercial. In addition, the group performed "Stay Golden," "Sad Song," and "Dark Halls" live at Robert Normand's fashion show in Paris for Fall/Winter 2007. In 2007, the band's song "Sad Song" was featured on the German blockbuster movie Keinohrhasen (English: Rabbits Without Ears). "The Lucky One" and "Don't See The Sorrow" can also be heard in the 2008 Japanese movie "Kimi no Tomodachi" (English: "Your Friends"). "Another Likely Story" was the closing song in Season 1 Episode 10 of Covert Affairs. Their song "Sad Song" is featured on the soundtrack of the 2011 movie From Prada to Nada.

Discography

• Verses of Comfort, Assurance & Salvation (Europe: Moshi Moshi Records, North America: Our Secret Record Company, Japan: Rallye Record Label, 2005)
• The Bird of Music (Europe: Moshi Moshi Records, 2007; North America: Our Secret Record Company, 2007; Japan: Rallye Record Label, 2007)
• Still Night, Still Light (North America: Our Secret Record Company, 2009)

External links

• Official Web Site
• Heather D'Angelo's blog
• Outdoor recording session with 'They Shoot Music - Don't They' (04/09)
• June 2009 Interview with L.A. Record
• Interview with the whole band, July 2009
• Au Revoir Simone entry at The Indie Music Database
• Chronicle about the last visit to mexico city/Reseña de su ultima visita a la ciudad de mexico