10:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 4, at The Echo club in Los Angeles. Electronic music, accompanied by funk and disco tones, frantically seized the bodies of the assembly. That evening, the “sorry” gave way to “forgiveness” and the “hi” to “hi”. To hear the DJ set of Bon Entendeur, French expatriates from Los Angeles came in droves. To the point that it looks like a Parisian box. “We are like camembert received in packages, we help to alleviate homesickness”, laughs Arnaud Bonet, one of the three members of the musical collective made up of Pierre Della Monica and Nicolas Boisseleau.
The trio is well aware that it brings together French people from abroad, after having twice "sold out" in New York in 2019, then the same one in San Francisco, Monday, February 3. And they hope no less for their return to the big apple – where they play on February 8 and 9. “We make the French dance far from home, it's a special feeling”, recognizes Pierre Della Monica. "And they are even hotter than in France", adds Nicolas Boisseleau.
The three friends bitten by her, who look like business school students, don't lie. The series of titles from their first album “Aller-retour”, with in particular the cardboard “L'amour, amour, amour” taken up in unison by the public, but also the mixtape of Pierre Niney and remixes of new songs unleashed the audience of compatriots in Los Angeles.
Discover French songs through an electro prism
Bon Entendeur was far from imagining playing in American megalopolises, 8 years ago. Arnaud Bonet launched a project of monthly playlists posted on his YouTube channel. Quickly joined by his childhood friend Pierre Della Monica, the playlists became mixtapes, the first taking up bridles of interviews with Dominique Strauss-Kahn explaining the Sofitel affair, between electro, hip hop and disco tracks. found on the Net. “We did this as a joke”, remembers Arnaud Bonet, surprised by the success. “And quickly, we had a thousand other ideas from eloquent personalities.” Nicolas Boisseleau joined the project in 2014. Together, they went so far as to carry out original interviews, including those of Pierre Ninet, Frédéric Beigbeder and Patrick Poivre d'Arvor. In addition to the fifty mixtapes to their credit, those who define themselves as “geeks” have also developed a mobile application, work on a web-radio, and have made remixes of French songs.
"Isabelle", "La Rua Madureira", "Le Temps est bon" by Isabelle Pierre (more than 8 million views on Youtube): the Bon Entendeur remixes reached a large audience. "The idea is to revive pieces, to make them discover under a more electronic approach", sums up Arnaud Bonet. But how do they choose the songs? “We listen to a lot of music, especially from the 1960s and 1970s. The melody must remain in the head”, explains Pierre Della Monica. "Afterwards, you also need to obtain authorization to have the rights."
And the French song is doing well. As the collective recalls, the top 10 artists most listened to by Spotify users in France in 2019 are 100% French-speaking. “It's a shame to listen to an artist without ever seeing him in concert, and American stars come infrequently” in France, comments Arnaud Bonet.
A difficult project to internationalize
After a shy foray into America last year, they came back a little stronger with more dates this year – in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Montreal and New York, organized by the UTA turner. “The idea is to gauge each time and increase the gauge if necessary (like in New York where they go from a room with a capacity of 300 to 750 people); to eventually perform in larger halls, while starting to offer concerts in new cities like Seattle and Miami ”, presents Nicolas Boisseleau, who, like his friends, prefers to be cautious and start small. And yet, the collective has already gathered nearly 3000 people at L’Olympia in Paris, and will perform in March at the Zenith.
Bon Entendeur can imagine following in the footsteps of Polo & Pan, almost "sold out" at every concert across the Atlantic.
"It is not easy to internationalize our project because they are songs and mixtapes in French, but it remains a challenge", admits Pierre Della Monica. Including mixtapes in English? Not necessarily : “I fear the message is confused. As it is not our language, it will be difficult to understand the sensitivities. ” Then there would be the aura that the Coachella festival brings. "It would lend credibility to the international project", concedes Pierre Della Monica, who adds that the collective “Don't live for that”. Because, ultimately, a career in the United States is not their dream, but the concerts are there “A kiff”. “And especially to travel around the world thanks to music”, insists Nicolas Boisseleau.
After or before their DJ sets, Parisians took a few days to explore California cities, which they discovered with their adult eyes. “We loved San Francisco, we can imagine living there”, coward Arnaud Bonet, who enjoyed seeing soothed people, walking their dog by the sea and light traffic. “It looked like a Sunday morning, but on weekdays.”
