A night of retro music

French electronica

Transporting one back to the bygone eras of French funk, electro and disco, Paris-based L’Imperatrice (The Empress) performed at Opus recently in association with Alliance Francaise. A young five-member act formed in 2012, they got the dance fever back from the 70s, complete with much-needed disco balls to set the mood.

In their reinvention of the past, they went from mid-70s black disco to late 90s French house, playing originals like ‘A View to a Kill’, Aquadanse, L’Imperatrice, ‘Blonde/Brune’, Sonate Pacifique and Le Baron Rouge to name a few. A groovy rendition of ‘Voyager’ by ‘Daft Punk’ also worked well with the crowd, which surprisingly included several oldies who were there to relive their youthful days. 

It took the audience a while to loosen up and put on their dancing shoes but when it did, the tapping wouldn’t stop. Charles de Boisseguin, the founder of the band, kept interacting with the crowd, briefly describing the stories of each song. Towards the end, he even stepped off the stage to join those who were dancing up front. With the constant personal touch to top off a great night of funky tunes, it made for a memorable concert.

“It was superb music – very upbeat and groovy. The melodies and beats were sublime. I really like the French!” said Ajay Gulati, who was seen dancing through the night. “After a certain point, I lost focus of who they were and just got completely immersed in the music,” he added.

“I think they were phenomenal. The sound was a little loud where we were sitting but other than that, it was a very good night of retro music,” said Siddharth Gurjar, an attendee.

   Charles was genuinely surprised at the response the band received. “We had no idea what to expect from Bangalore but it was amazing for us, especially when everybody started dancing. In the beginning, we weren’t all that confident because people were just sitting but it got a lot better towards the end of the night,” he said.