Now living in an increasingly apocalyptic-seeming US, the situation called for directness. It was then that Thomas wrote the album's only song that wasn't composed in the studio. His bandmates sent him a long loop with no chorus and asked him to record a stream of consciousness. The result is the album's standout track, "Winter Solstice." It might be Phoenix's saddest song, a percussion-free rumination that gradually pulses from dark into light. "Turn the lights on / Find me a narrative / Something positive / This requiem played a few times before," Thomas sings helplessly.Working at the Musée brought Phoenix full circle, in a way. As kids growing up in Versailles, they had rebelled against the oppressive French classicism they grew up around - the idea that culture belonged in a museum. And yet, here were four of France's most important cultural ambassadors, making their next work in such a space. It worked perfectly: away from the exhibits at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, their studio became a holding space for a jumble of works: Dalí next to Medieval pieces and Lalanne sculptures. "The backstage of the museum is like a mashup," says Deck. "It's very pop in a way - like how we make music."
Laurent Brancowitz, Christian Mazzalai, Thomas Mars, and Deck d'Arcy are Phoenix, a Grammy Award-winning indie rock band from Versailles, France. They have released six full-length albums and tour internationally.
Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Full Album Zip
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