Tahiti 80
A family vacation in 1980 to the Polynesian Islands resulted in a novelty t-shirt that turned into the name of France's inventive Tahiti 80. As students at the University of Rouen singer Xavier Boyer and bassist Pedro Resende met up and began a journey of harmonies and sunny psychedelia. Over the next 13 years of recording and touring their blend of infectious art pop has ripened.
The delicious Fosbury was released in 2006 offering another taste of T80's adventurous tableau, but with new hip hop influences courtesy of the sound engineers for Outkast and N.E.R.D. With a visually arresting new video and exposure on KCRW, Tahiti 80 is likely to draw new eyes and ears to their Elysium Field of electric soul.
Fosbury
Wallpaper for the Soul
Puzzle
How did you approach your Rock The Rabbit T-Shirt Design? Being a band whose name comes from a T-shirt, it seemed like a pretty natural thing to do. Plus, we had developed the same concept with a panda (the mascot of our latest album) replacing the heart, so we thought that a classy rabbit wasn't out of the picture.
Do you have a favorite article of clothing? Being a band whose name... Nah, I'd say Mexican boots, they look a bit like Beatle boots with a Latin touch. Perfect.
Where did you pick up ideas about style and design? Is it related at all to your music? Yes, mostly. I also picked a lot of my dad's clothes, plus we're lucky enough to travel the world and get, let's say, cool pants in the U.S. and fancy tee's in Japan.
Do you have a favorite musician whose style you really like? Has that musician influenced your style? I watched a lot of DVD's by Marvin Gaye lately and I thought he was the best dressed singer in show business. I tried a white suit and it was actually okay.
What does Playboy mean to you? When do you recall discovering Playboy? Blonde, California, dressing gown, Debbie Harry. When I was 13, a friend of mine had managed to get a copy of the magazine, he would lend it to us so we could study back home.
Were there bands you heard at a certain point in your lives that made a huge difference in how you thought about music? I always refer to The Clash. My brother introduced me to them while I was still listening to Norwegian pop bands. A-ha were okay but The Clash, it was incredible, they were always ahead regarding aesthetics, musical concepts. I love the idea of writing a punk anthem, a dub track, an old school hip hop and several hit singles
Who put on the best live show you ever saw, and why was it so good? I saw Cornelius in Paris a few years ago and it was great. The musicians were awesome, a bit like a Japanese version of The Band, except they were playing electronic/rock music and they had amazing projections behind them it was very, very trippy.
Do you guys have a pre-game ritual or a superstition before or during shows? We just hug each other and say that sentence which in English translates very badly in "we sell dreams." Yeah, it's kind of stupid.
What was the best show you ever played? Why? What makes a good show from your perspective? Six months ago, we played a free show in Paris at La Fleche d'Or and it was brilliant, all our friends were there, everybody went ape-shit, I almost saw people waving flags in the audience. Merch sales can influence your judgment on a concert.
At what point do you know a song is good? Do you ever have an idea you just know is going to kill on the dance floor or live or whatever? Usually good songs are written and recorded very quickly because you know exactly what you want to do, where you want to go as if the song had been waiting in some corner of your head ready to be released as a record. Dance floor is always a good test though.
What's the most exciting thing you've done in the past year as a result of your music career? We recorded a piece of instrumental music for an event in our hometown. The music was played with psychedelic images onto the cathedral of Rouen. It was quite emotional.
What's your favorite place on earth? San Sebastian in Spain. The beach is in the city center, it's clean, it has an amazing view, the wine is cheap and the tapas are the best. It's definitely more exciting than being in a studio, for sure.
Best song you've been listening to lately? "Jesus Was a Cross Maker" by Judee Sill, it has an amazing tambourine sound.
Favorite new band? I have yet to hear an album, but Pop Levi's latest EP is pretty refreshing.
Favorite driving album? Marcos Valle, Previsao de Tiempo
Favorite bedroom album? Marvin Gaye I Want You
Do you think the album format is dead? The CD format is dead, not the album.
How have the technology boom and the internet affected the way you approach promoting your music? MySpace is time consuming but it is so far the best way for us as band to stay in touch with our fans (and vice versa), aside from concerts of course. We post new songs, news etc. And we have received instant feedback from people who are into us. Our latest U.S. tour was our first YouTube tour. It's exciting and kind of scary to know anything you do, sing etc. can be found on the internet. Besides, that we plan to make our first EP available on our website, people won't pay for it, unless they want to, aka the donation concept.
