This article first appeared in La Gazette, Coucou's bilingual magazine.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen the emergence of new female francophone singers like Juliette Armanet, Yseult, Angèle and Pomme–socially conscious and feminist artists who represent a generation that makes its voice heard well beyond their music. Let's dive into Pomme's enchanting world, which she's about to bring to the US this spring for her first North American tour!
A refreshing musical melting pot
The stage name Pomme is directly taken from her last name. Claire Pommet, hailing from Lyon, began studying music in conservatory at a very young age. At the age of sixteen, she enrolled in the French Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (SACEM) and began performing on small, regional stages.
Today, far from the bubblegum pop sounds of her adolescence (that she admits she still loves), her compositions are at the crossroads of the biggest names of French chanson like Barbara and Reggiani, and the giants of American folk like Joni Mitchell. A musical melting pot that may initially seem surprising, but gives her compositions a subtle blend of dreamlike melodies with melancholic and consoling texts. You can watch the making of the making of her 2019 album "Les Failles" here and the music video for her hit "Je sais pas danser" (lit. I don't know how to dance) below:
Consolation is the title of her third LP released in 2022. A more mature album, it weaves her adult feelings with her childhood experiences. In a magical universe, where mushrooms grow in abundance as in a Tim Burton film, Pomme shows herself in a more honest and vulnerable light, despite the pressure she felt following the success of her previous albums.
“When I started writing, I was haunted by these ghosts of judgments and expectations, (...) what people want is for me to be myself and that I give them my most honest and vulnerable self. I held on to that.”
(excerpt from an interview with Le Devoir in August 2022)
A socially conscious artist
Pomme embodies this new generation that dares to speak freely about who they are by unabashedly tackling current events. On the eve of the Victoires de la Musique 2021 (where she received the female artist of the year award), she condemned abuse systems within the music industry by declaring that she had decided to “no longer let fear reign.”
" From where I am, I decided to say things. To no longer let fear reign, the fear of what, I don't even know."
(Excerpt from the open letter Pomme sent to Mediapart in 2021)
Married to the French Canadian singer Safia Nolin, she is not only committed to feminist and queer causes, but also voices her support for the green party, and openly addresses the (very little spoken of in France) issue of mental health (Anxiety - from her second album).
Current and future projects
This freedom is clear on her new project, Saisons, a two-part album, which is much more conceptual than the previous ones, a project reminiscent of the ephemeral musical sessions that she recorded during Covid. The textured and dreamlike atmosphere of Autumn-Winter is already available to stream. The spring part was just released on Youtube two weeks ago. You watch it below:
Her North American tour is making stops in New York and Los Angeles this June, so what are you waiting for to discover la grande Pomme? You can find tickets for her upcoming concerts HERE. If you're unable to make it, you can watch her full 2023 concert at prestigious parisian venue l'Olympia HERE!
