Theodora, queen of anxious electropop
This is a translation of an article released for Musique Journal in the end of '23.
CW : Mention of suicide.
During the end of '22, did you come to Saint-Denis's market to buy some smokes ? If not, we need to cover that back. The thread goes : in december '22, a young girl called Theodora released « Le Paradis se trouve dans le 93 (LPSTD93) », a first single announcing an EP released three months later, Lili aux Paradis Artificiels, and also an eternal banger. A tasty drum'n bass tune (prods are made by her brother JEEZ SUAVE) and a nice bait to get to know more about her work, but not that representative of what makes her sound landscape. Because if the « Ola Olala », UK Garage type beat are plenty, that subtelty of tone show something darker, a deep anxiety.
A friend sent me that song in a discord channel, and it was stuck in my ead for weeks. Six months later, « BESOIN D’AIDE » was released and got me thinking : for the single of the second EP (titled Lili aux Paradis Artificiels : Tome 2), the tone is more gloomy, goth, dark than the first EP. So it seemed. So by simple curiosity I dived into Theodora universe, and it wasn't just an aesthetic.
Things in me started to get in conflict, first sonically, JEEZ SUAVE prods are simple and clean, filled with known emo samples, putting the body in space and movement, giving that spark when life is fucking hard, when it's cold at home. On the first EP, going through « C TROP LA LOOSE», « Lolirock » and « Le Paradis se trouve dans le 93 (LPSTD93) » give some cardio in a UK Garage fashion, with some breezy drums and really floored kick - where the second EP is more Happy Hardcore / Eurodance / Hard Dance, sentimental, like with « Love me lagadou » ("Like I do" but frenchly spoken written). I was convinced by that dancing power so I wanted to dig more into the lyrics. During two or three weeks I just listened to Theodora.
Then it got me : it was communicating really too much with my own spleen. It could seem to be just sad birthday parties, or broken hearts songs, if the mention of the rope - and by extension suicide - wasn't mention that often in every song. The fear and angst are the first emotions that come from the introduction of « Ici le temps est trop morose », and it goes in most of the songs like this. In « DANS LE PARADIS ARTIFICIEL » and « APRÈS L’Orage… », Theodora dig down and mentions the death in a flow of reassuring "lalalala". It's always here, balancing between euphoria of will of love and the heavyness of death, track by track. That sharing, it's a power she got in her writing, a letter to who want to hear our mental strugles and our desirs to disappear, that we can sing together, have fun together and get rid of the pain(« achouuu, achouuuu, aïaïaïe / mon dieu comme ça fait mal » - god that hurt so much - on « … Y’a deux fois plus d’oRAGE »).
Musically, tome 2 appears less jumpy and euphoric than the first one. We still stay in a maximalist hyperpop like vibe, but the softness is more discret, mostly assumed by Theodora in her vocal work - her word plays and noises, the way she plays with her tone, in front of the music or drown by it. She makes me cry and dance at the same time, echoing to daily desirs which get peace in the emotional network, i mean by that love we share, between friends and lovers, to support ourselves in moments where capitalism and loneliness forces push ourselves to want to disappear. We are not alone in this and we can ask for help and offer that help to the one who need it- I think about the wonderful zine of Carly Boyce made in 2019. I hope that everyone will get the help and support that will allow us to get a bit better one day at a time.
Meanwhile, I will heat myself, dancing with all my will to live on garage compilations, and on Theodora's songs, obviously : because even with that melancoly from her lyrics, her euphoria gives me again and again the desir to go back in the Paradis Artificiels. What I just need right now is a bit of love, so babes : love us lagadou, love us like I do, love us lagadou !
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