Phoenix | Origin
An alternative/indie synth-pop band ahead of its time that seems to fit their way into each new era of music.
(A Brief) Overview & Backstory:
Phoenix, the Grammy-Award winning, French alternative synth-pop-rock group, has a knack for living up to their moniker by constantly evolving their sound to be “reborn” into new eras. Their eclectic take on music creation finds a way to captivate audiences, along with their catchy vocals and a unique blend of synth, drums, and jangly guitars.
Now, many people may not realize that Phoenix was actually formed back in the 1990s in Versailles with just Thomas Mars (Vocalist), Deck d’Arcy (Bassist), and Chris Mazzalai (Guitarist). Laurent Brancowitz (Chris’s older brother & Keyboardist/Guitarist/Backing Vocals), was the last member to join the band in 1995 (This will be important later, so note this!). Personally, I didn’t know about Phoenix until their songs “Lisztomania” and “1901” stormed the airwaves of the world in the early 2010s, which I think many people fall into the same boat as me.
Also, I want to note that I was around 10 years old when those songs came out, so my music knowledge was only limited to whatever my dad listened to.
In ‘96 or ‘97 it is widely believed the band would choose the name “Phoenix” based from the Daft Punk song of the same name from their widely acclaimed “Homework” album (Remember this as well, because I will blow your f-ing mind here in a sec). Phoenix would then create their short-lived record label, Ghettoblaster. However, over the years they would sign with bigger labels, most of which are under the Universal Music Group corporation.
They would go on to make the following albums (as of 2023):
United | (2000)
Alphabetical | (2004)
It’s Never Been Like That | (2006)
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix | (2009)
Bankrupt! | (2013)
Ti Amo | (2017)
Alpha Zulu | (2022)
Additionally, here are some of the awards they were awarded or nominated for:
Grammy Awards | Best Alternative Music Album | Winner (2010)
American Music Awards | Favorite Alternative Artist | Nominated (2010)
International Dance Music Awards
Best Alternative Rock/Dance Track - “1901” | Nominated (2010)
Best Break-Through Artist (Group) | Nominated (2010)
Best Artist (Group) | Nominated (2011)
MTV Europe Music Awards
Best French Act | Nominated (2000) & (2010)
NME Awards | Best International Band | Nominated (2014)
Victoires de la Musique | Bankrupt! | Best Rock Album of the Year | Winner (2014)
Source: List of awards and nominations received by Phoenix
The French Connection:
This part of the article is the sole reason for me wanting to create this blog and wanting to learn more about Phoenix. To me, this fact alone stunned and excited me to my core when I first learned about it. It was too much a perfect coincidence for my mind! It was like, “Wow, I can’t believe that!”.
Alright, alright, enough with the teasing, let’s get to the meat of this whole thing!
So, imagine this; you’re Laurent Brancowitz, and it’s the early 1990s in France. Your brother, Chris, is playing music with a few of his friends in your garage; a couple of covers and a few originals, nothing serious really.
In your own time, you decide to team up with these two really creative individuals, Thomas and Guy-Manuel. You three link up near where you live in Versailles, and start to make some demos. You all even come up with a band name taken from The Beach Boys song of the same name, "Darlin’”.
After you release a few of these samples to the public, you feel a sort of pride and confidence that you might be cut out for this music thing! Then, out of nowhere, some music magazine douche decides to call your music “a daft punky thrash”, and you decide to part ways with your short-lived band.
Damn, that sucks… But! You have a backup plan. Your brother’s garage band needs another member and you have plenty of talent to spare. Voila!
Wait! What happened to those other guys from Darlin’? Hopefully, they are doing alright... Well, you need not worry! It is 1994 and they just came out with their own album, “Homework”, made from their ragtag studio equipment in Paris. Those cheeky bastards even came up with a clever name, “Daft Punk”.
And you know what, I really dig their song “Phoenix” from that new album, so I think that’s what we are gonna name our band!(Presumably that is what happened, but this is an exaggeration)
The rest is history!
Summary: Laurent Brancowitz was in a short-lived band called “Darlin’” with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo in 1992. They would split up a year later and Brancowitz would join his brother’s band. Guy-Manuel and Thomas would soon create the seven-time Grammy-Award winning duo “Daft Punk”.
Modern Day Phoenix:
Surprisingly, Phoenix has outlasted its kindred spirit, Daft Punk, as they are still actively making music together in 2023. In fact, they even produced an album in 2022 called, Alpha Zulu; of which they recorded in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, of course.
Additionally, they are pairing up with new-era artists such as Clairo on singles for a even fresher sound. It shows that they are open to working with more artists to develop their sound even further. At the time of writing this, they took an opposite approach on their most recent single “Odyssey” by featuring experimental pop artist, Beck, whom they will be touring with in the Summer/Fall of 2023.
In conclusion, the sands of time fall particularly slow for this prolific, alternative band. Even after 20+ years of making music, they still have an immense amount of creativity and an amazing synergy that many veteran bands should be envious of. If there was even an official Alternative Music Hall of Fame, I would cast my vote for Phoenix to be a member in a heartbeat.
On the Next Article - Phoenix | Discography Talk:
On my next article, I am going to be delving into each of Phoenix’s 7 albums! I will note that these won’t be heavy critiques of their work as I am not well-equipped to make constructive comments of their music.
Instead, you can think of the Discography Talk as my personal thoughts on each piece, and what I like most about each album. I will only nitpick or critique an artist’s album if I have a considerably hot take. This will be true of every artist I will cover in this blog, so if you are looking for critiques, then I highly recommend sites like YouTube, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stones! Truthfully, they tend to be better at looking at music more objectively than I can, believe it or not.
Lastly, I will also add neat little factoids about the bands in these Discography talks, so be sure to keep reading to learn more about these awesome bands!
Thanks for taking a ride on the Electric Indie Riff Machine!
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Well said bro! Listening to 1901 while reading this definitely added a cherry on top lol. I’m gonna have to add them to the rotation