“Photographed during its fall, the body is no longer subjected to gravity: it is suspended, freed from its own weight… In other words, it is paused (pausé in French). A rational way to experience this phenomenon is to undertake a space excursion. This is the challenge that Pausé tries to take up with their captivating electro chill tracks. They released their first single ‘Discovery’ along with a 360° immersive music video and they performed on the MainStage of the Delta Festival, one of the biggest French festival of the year.” Check out the exclusive interview with duo electro “Pausé” below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how you got started?
Pausé: We (Hadrien, Théo) are childhood friends and we met at our primary school, where we had our first musical experience: percussion class.
We didn’t really plan on it or anything at first, but we gradually started spending more and more time together and discovered we had the same passion for music. Being fully dedicated to our music was always a bit of a fantasy for us as we went through high school, university and finding jobs. Until we finally decided to take a chance on our dream, quit our jobs and start a serious project during the first Covid-19 quarantine.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
Pausé: Hadrien had classical training in piano and Théo in guitar, with musical theory at the conservatory for ten years. Plus, we started very early on experimenting and composing our own musical productions, using the DAW software Logic Pro.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘Pausé’?
Pausé: We’re not going to be very original on this one (awkward laugh): of course we were the kids listening to the (also) duo Daft Punk and imagining ourselves taking the world by storm with our music! As we grew up and refined our style, we became big fans of what electro pop bands like Blow and Kid Francescoli were creating, and we listen to a lot of Fakear and Thylacine in a more electro style.
‘Pausé’ was the result of the expression of a lot of conflicting inner feelings: on the one hand, we ‘paused’ our normal lives and the carriers we were expected to pursue, to gamble everything on our dream; on the other hand, we were inspired by the French word « posé » which means being relaxed. This name evokes for us a poetic image of bodies stopped in movement, calm and contemplating; pausé (paused) like in a picture.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
Pausé: For us, our music has always been an abstraction from the daily life, a feeling of spacing out and breaking free of gravity, reality and time. We hope to create music that helps our listeners to loose themselves in the sound, get away from their worries and allows them to be sensorially submerged in this universe that is ours but that we wish to share with them.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as EDM?
Pausé: concert ou morceau marquant
When we first started, we were a bit all over the place and had many music projects before settling on Pausé. At one point, we used to record pop songs with a lead vocal and with traditional verses, chorus and bridge. Electro tracks on the contrary have a different logic, as they are built around progressive and repetitive loops. We wanted to create a sort of hybrid style by keeping a chorus with catchy melodies on top of electro loops. In the end, we think we’ve found our place in the genre: there are no lead vocals but a spoken female voice which comes repeatedly to call for the attention of the listener, distant but ever present in our tracks, and the melody is given by chopped vocals.
Pausé: Musichas a very strong hold over human emotion and that fascinates us and guides our creative process. It may sound counterintuitive but we actually aspire to abstract, ourselves and our listeners, from these social, political and cultural issues that we all nowadays face on a daily basis. We want to bring you with us back to basics: your most natural feelings of happiness, sadness and confusion and allow you to feel them outside of all societal expectations. Moreover, this is the paused moment we spoke of earlier, a pause from the overwhelming life we lead, for us and, hopefully, for you too.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfilment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
Pausé: When we created the project, music was a way to escape our tiny Parisian apartments during the quarantine. We never expected that we would actually play these tracks a few months later on some French festivals ! That being said, our expectations for this project is that it continues to grow and that it becomes an even bigger part of our lives !
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
Pausé: it’s funny because our songs are always a product of the two of us coming together. It has always been so since we were kids. One brings a little idea, the other picks up on it and we go from there. At the same time, don’t let us fool you, it is not perfect harmony here! We are each other’s biggest creative fuel but also the biggest critics ! It is through that iterative process of idea pitching and critique that our music is created.
9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
Pausé: With no doubts : Covid… It has really impacted everyone’s life, but it was also hard for musicians. We were planning to dedicate ourselves full time to music in the beginning of 2019, quitting our jobs, going all in and… suddenly, COVID hits ! One more obstacle adding to an industry where it was already almost impossible to make it ! It was very hard going through the process of self-doubt and imposter syndrome whilst knowing that it was a terrible time to invest in culture and art. Everyday we wake up, we keep at it, believing and relying on the support of our friends and family, when our own faith flickers.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
Pausé: It’s indeed good to focus on the glass half full ! 6 months after releasing our first track on Spotify, we were invited to play at the Delta Festival in Marseilles. It was crazy : sea, sun and 20 000 people on the beach dancing to our beats! What’s even more incredible is that this year, we will play again there on the 2nd of July on the MainStage, and we would love to see you there! ;)
Keep in touch:
Spotify : https://open.spotify.com/artist/3tMYkup1aLEGJ5rg00Op9t?si=ftgx3mXxTHWUcxyBW__weQ | Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/we.are.pause/ | Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/who.are.pause | Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9mnV2Y1W1M&ab_channel=Paus%C3%A9