Biography

JOON MOON – CHRYSALIS

After their first album, which was noticed by KCRW, SXSW, BBC2/6, Sofar, France Inter, FIP, Flux FM or Couleur 3, Joon Moon is back with Chrysalis (release August 27, 2021).

Joon Moon’s musical universe is inspired by the golden age of soul music, mixed with classical orchestrations and rearranged with the colors of contemporary pop productions.

San Francisco, 1975…

We had met Joon Moon, fallen star of the Hollywood golden age, with her velvet notes, on Moonshine Corner, a first album which was spotted on KCRW, BBC2/6, FIP, France Inter, Sofar London, the SXSW festival, Fluxradio or Couleur 3. We now run into her again, a few years later, in the middle of the 70s in San Francisco, in an imaginary jam session.

Because Joon Moon is not who you think she is. Behind this romantic character, we discover the musician and producer Julien Decoret. Julien is a man with multiple facets: he begins by studying classical music at the Conservatory and obtaining a first prize in double bass, whilst being fascinated by electronic music. He then produces his first records on the label Pamplemousse Records. Since then, he has been working as a producer-director (Acoustic Resistance, La Boetie, Florent Marchet…), producing string arrangements and film music. He has also been traveling around the world with the pop-bossa-nova group Nouvelle Vague since over 15 years.

Each project allowed him to explore new directions and to enrich his palette of musical influences, but also to acquire an “instrumentarium”. Over time, Julien collected over a hundred instruments from all four corners of the planet. His signature is the art of mixing influences and reinventing sounds for different purposes, making them come together in a new way for each song, artist, or project…

For Joon Moon, Julien Decoret had a particular style in mind. Or rather a dream: to travel across the Atlantic and go back in time. A musical meeting inspired by the golden age of Soul music, mixed with classical orchestrations, and rearranged with the colors of contemporary pop productions. A universe where Nina Simone, Michel Legrand, The Roots or even Radiohead (who authorized the re-adaptation in French of their song “I might be wrong” on the album Moonshine Corner) could cross paths.

To embody the heroine for the second opus of Joon Moon, Julien Decoret invited Liv Warfield, Prince’s ex-protege and member of his NPG (New Power Generation). The first sessions took place in a modest studio in Montmartre, a thousand miles from Paisley Park… but the magic happens. Other sessions will follow in Chicago and Portland to record Liv and a Gospel choir which we can hear on some songs.

The melancholy of the first album gives way to the groove of Chrysalis, accentuated by exotic percussions such as the Argentinean Bombo, the South African Tama, or a good number of brass instruments such as the Soubassophone, the Tuba, or the Euphonium. The choice of sounds and colors gives each song its own aura. The album opens with ‘Bill’, the most soulful track of the album, a composition with a seventies feel enriched with the almost exclusive use of period instruments. Many rare sounds will follow : the Cristal Baschet, a Galanti vibraphone from the 50s, the famous Höfner bass-violin from 1968, electric pianos from the 60s, and analog synthesizers from the 70s to name a few. These associations bring the textures and colors together that give each track its identity and rare richness in sound.

Composed, directed and produced by Julien Decoret, Chrysalis will be released on August 27,  2021. Unable to perform and present this new album at the moment, it will be unveiled online and via social media. In anticipation of the release, the public can already discover two tracks, ‘Bla Bla’ and ‘Feel It’ already online, and ‘Modal B’ on July 2nd.

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