Biography
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Years Active
2012 – present (12 years)
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Founded In
Paris, Île-de-France, France
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Members
- Achille Trocellier
- Charles de Boisseguin
- David Gaugué
- Flore Benguigui
- Hagni Gwon
L'Impératrice (French pronunciation: ; "The Empress") is a project that began in 2012, a French band with a myriad of dreams that have now become reality. However, the vision of each of them has not changed that much as they have become an international band and they claim to keep their feet very firmly on the ground, as, in their words, it is always a work in progress. Despite this, there are still achievements to unlock, one of which is playing Madison Square Garden, one of their favourite venues.
The members are Parisians except for Benguigui, who is originally from Avignon and studied jazz. Keyboardist Charles de Boisseguin started the project solo until he met the other keyboardist, Hagni Gwon, who in turn called in bassist David Gaugué and drummer Tom Daveau. Soon after, guitarist Achille Trocellier and Benguigui joined, and the group was officially formed in 2012.
Their pop, funk and electronic sounds, Flore's sweet tone singing in French, coupled with a retro yet futuristic aesthetic, broke the language barrier and took them to stages they could never have imagined. After albums and EPs such as "Sonate Pacifique", "Odyssée", "Vanille Fraise" and "Matahari", their most recent album is 2021's "Tako Tsubo", with songs in English and French, whose title alludes to the Japanese term for octopus traps and broken heart syndrome.
People with "broken heart syndrome have a heart shaped like an octopus trap," Gwon explained.
L'Impératrice's retro pop and disco music places them as heirs to the French Touch trend pioneered by Daft Punk, to whom they have paid homage in their music videos, and represented by groups such as Air and Phoenix. But in their case they pride themselves on being a band that doesn't rely so much on synthesizers, but plays their instruments entirely live.
They once received an email from a fan who congratulated them on their EP L'Odyssée but couldn't understand why on vinyl Flore Benguigui's voice sounded so different from the YouTube videos, almost sounding like a boy. The answer to the mystery: he had been playing the record at the wrong speed. This happy accident led the band to release a slowed-down version of the work.
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