L’IMPÉRATRICE “TAKO TSUBO” – New album out on March 26th 2021!

Since the release of ‘Matahari’ three years ago, L’Impératrice has been living in a permanent state of vertigo. That debut album was followed by a whirlwind tour through the band’s native France, and then onto Italy, Mexico, California… but not before two sold out nights at the legendary Olympia in Paris !

‘Tako Tsubo’ is a breakup album, and Matahari’s romantic streak – predicated on the idea of an idealized heroine – has made way for a landscape more anchored in reality.

Virtuoso bass, vintage synth, glittering melodies and syncopated rhythms still describe best the vibe of this record, its sensual soul music and delectable disco.

As for the elegance of the production, L’Impératrice has again teamed up with Renaud Letang (Jarvis Cocker, Liane La Havas, Feist), with the mighty Neal Pogue (Outkast, Stevie Wonder, Tyler the Creator) adding his mastery to the mixing. Travel has broadened the sound too. The framework of the French chanson which lay at the core of Matahari has been partially eschewed for the exploration of other territories with more rhythmical caprice and syncopated surprises.

Tako Tsubo is the official name for the broken-heart syndrome (蛸壺, from japanese “octopus trap”), which manifests itself by a deformation of the heart due to an intense emotion – a negative or positive one…”
Ambivalent love, euphoria, sorrow and madness: so many symptoms which, taken together, suggest a bad dose of Tako Tsubo. It’s a syndrome that leaves the heart damaged, submerged, swollen. And more alive than ever.