Il Est Vilaine

Ten years now that Il Est Vilaine have been setting dancefloors alight with an electro sound tinged with salacious rock, evoking the New York of Bush Tetras or the Tokyo of YMO far more than the buckwheat galettes of Pont Aven.

It was in Paris, not Saint-Malo, that the two accomplices met, and from there, in the wake of the Kill The DJ roster before them, they reinvent the synthesis of new wave and techno, disco and surf rock, to the delight of those who still dance like Ian Curtis.

Since Scandale, the first maxi released on Dialect recordings, and Surf Rider on Lumière Noire, the duo has built a serious reputation.

They could have carried on in that vein, cruising straight down the motorway of clubbing, but their free spirit and mischievous eclecticism had other ideas.

With their first album, Les Mystères de Lorient, released in 2021, a luxurious synthesis of the musical culture of the two accomplices, from Devo to DAF or Christophe in his rock period, they proved they move with ease between genres.

After a post-pandemic period and a few appearances, Il Est Vilaine got back in the saddle in 2024 to celebrate their 10 candles with Kool Menthol, a rather irresistible disco EP, and a memorable concert at Sample Bagnolet.

Then, because today's digital world is full of twists and turns, 'Surf Rider', the classic released ten years ago, came back like a boomerang across the global web.

Used by choreographer Martha Nichols and driven by the intensity of her dancers, it revived its hypnotic potential and also caught the eye of director Paolo Sorrentino, who makes it one of the leitmotifs of La Grazia, his new film unveiled at the 2025 Mostra.

Plenty of good energy for the album to come, announced for 2026!