The film was shot on 16mm film, and the mirrors, overlays, and stop-motion animation were all completed in front of the camera, with no trace of post-production. This was the answer Angèle gave when she released the MV for the first title song of her new album "Instinct", "Une seule vie". The album was officially announced on August 31st and is scheduled to be released on October 16th through Angèle VL Records and Sony Music. It includes tracks collaborated with Justice, Soulwax, Caroline Polachek, and SebastiAn.
"Une seule vie" was written by Angèle and long-time co-producer Tristan Salvati. The official description of the song is an "urgent call". The statement pointed out that the lyrics are written in the first person and present a stream-of-consciousness monologue in which Angèle questions her relationship with the world, truth and illusion, "letting the past, present and future coexist, and staying in hesitation until only the desire to live is left."
Director Thomas Mailaender: Analog negatives are the only language that memory can speak
The MV was written and directed by Thomas Mailaender and produced by Partizan. It was shot in the south of France and included real footage of the total solar eclipse on August 12. Mailaender said that they set the film as "a series of memories, illusions and psychological images that actually broke into Angèle's reality", so they chose negatives as the main medium - "a fragile, imperfect material used to talk about memory, nostalgia and the passage of time."
The title of the album "Instinct" echoes its core proposition: official information states that this is a "return to instinct, to the self before expectations, performances and external noise appeared." The album is based on electronic music and uses "chromium" as a recurring visual and conceptual language - the surface is reflective, cold, and artificial, but it is processed into a space about transformation and freedom. The statement added that the album explores the tension between control and release, image and reality, and the different versions of oneself that emerge when one no longer forces oneself into a fixed identity.
The album contains 13 songs. In addition to new singles, it also includes "Dis-le" (June) released earlier this year and "What You Want", a collaboration with Justice. The full set includes the opening song "Instinct" (intro), "Au revoir", "Trop" (with Soulwax), "On verra", "Je compte", "F4ck 4ever", "Tout décider", "Je sais", "Love Triangle" (with Caroline) Polachek, Sebastian collaboration), and the finale "NYC Blues".
In an exclusive interview with NME in 2022, Angèle talked about her song "Balance ton quoi" which directly targeted the patriarchal system. She said at the time that as a female working in music, external evaluations always revolve around appearance - "too sexy, too shy, not good enough, and too much", and rarely talk about the work itself. The statement in "Instinct" that "no longer forced into a fixed identity" is put together with her confession from many years ago, and it has an extra layer of continuity.
"Instinct" will be released on October 16th through Angèle VL Records / Sony Music, and is currently available for pre-order.
