French/Irish dup Les SalAmandas have released their debut album, There's A Sea Between Us, and embark on an Irish tour next week. We asked them the big questions . . .
In November 2017, Colyne Laverriere moved to Ireland and met Ballydehob resident Julie O’Sullivan when they were bought working in local café, Budds.
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"At the end of a work shift, after we had cleared up," says Colyne, "Julie put on some music and we both started singing. Then Julie told me she was a songwriter, and I told her that I also wrote songs, which was an absolute lie.
"A few days later, Julie came over to my house with a bottle of wine - a great call! - and from that night onwards we started writing songs."
She adds, "Our songs reflect our own experiences but at the same time they’re very general in that people in their 20s are going through similar things such as relationships, failed ones, new ones, old ones, coming out of something and starting something new, struggling with mental health and trying to become a certain kind of person."
Les SalAmandas play The Commercial, Limerick (17 February), Black Gate, Galway (18 February), Green Room, Dingle (24 February), Coughlan's, Cork (3 March), and Whelan's, Dublin (23 March).
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
We are a French/Irish duo. We met in Ballydehob, West Cork and we are absolutely addicted to caffeine. Also, our debut album There's A Sea Between Us is out now.
How would you describe your music?
French/Irish indie folk with a touch of pop.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Phoebe Bridgers, Joni Mitchell, Ben Mazué, Patrick Bruel.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Colyne: Christophe Maé. I was 10, it was in Vienne (France) amphitheatre.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Julie: Avril Lavine - The Best Damn Thing (and it was!).
Colyne: Lorie - Tendrement (best French pop artist in the early 2000s).
What’s your favourite song right now?
Colyne: Writer by Paolo Nutini.
Julie: Radio - Paolo Nutini.
Favourite lyric of all time?
Colyne: It changes all the time, usually it’s from my favourite song of the moment, so I would say it’s from the song Writer by Paolo Nutini: "And then I'll be a memory of your dodgy decisions, Your ex, your old sex, your old-weathered tradition, And you'll no longer kiss me, or hate me, or miss me, Or have to defend me, or teach me, or rest me" I think it is a great way to describe the end of a heartbreak, where everything that’s left is memory.
Julie: Of course, I have a million favourite lyrics, but this is a favourite at the moment, out of context it might not make as much sense, but I really love it. It’s from Sufjan Stevens’ Should Have Known Better: "My brother had a daughter, The beauty that she brings, illumination." His album, Carrie, and Lowell, is about grief, and I really love this line because it just symbolises the certainty of death but the beauty of the cycle of life.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Colyne: 10 Ans de Nous, Ben Mazué. Probably the most beautiful love song ever written.
Julie: Bullet Proof - This Is The Kit.
Where can people find your music/more information?
Our debut album, There’s A Sea Between Us, is out now on CD and vinyl. We’re on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, YouTube, Bandcamp and our website.
