Tahiti 80 - vive le pop

Releases
Written By Chris Singleton
Tahiti 80: The Past, The Present and The Possible
Out February 21 2011 on Human Sounds

“Scarily nice” - Q
“This is reality through a lovely looking glass” - The Guardian
“There’s a delicate romanticism to Tahiti 80’s music” - Independent On Sunday
“Alarmingly unpredictable and quite brilliant…” - NME
“These Gallic troubadours throw their light over the column this month…a quirky mix of guitar pop and kicking beat instruments” - Record Collector
“The tunes are simply blissful” -Daily Star
“Vive le pop” - Mojo
“Tahiti 80 …has set the gold standard for pop… both timely and timeless…” - Uncut
“Uncut album of the Year – Wallpaper For The Soul – No. 10” - Uncut

“Whoawow”. That was the first babbling word that came to mind when hearing The Past, The Present & The Possible. Tahiti 80 have proven themselves true originals who’ve touched our souls with carefully crafted delights for over fifteen years. Their latest offering however, is their most radical departure yet. Comparable to Blur’s transition from Leisure to Modern Life Is Rubbish or perhaps clutching towards Bowie’s chameleon-like early day personas, the entitlement of the word “rebirth” stands evident. Released as the first full-length on their self-owned label Human Sounds, boundaries are finally limitless, something the band did not take for granted this time and wont do going forward. 

For starters, Tahiti 80 is now a six-piece unit. The additions include long time touring members Julien Barbagallo & Raphaël Léger on backing vocals, keyboards, and percussions/drums changing the position of co-writer Sylvain Marchand due to chronic ear damage. The album was produced by Xavier Boyer and Pedro Resende; mixed by Tahiti alumni Tony Lash (Wallpaper For The Soul, Axe Riverboy, Cardinal, Eric Matthews) and Tore Johansson (Puzzle, Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand). The return of both Tony and Tore was a way for the band to be surrounded with familiarity, ensuring their foundation would not become compromised during this new exploration.

Their influences seemed to align, leaving them to call The Past, The Present & The Possible both willingly and reluctantly “our Postmodern album” noting a mixtape Xavier made with songs from Wire, The The, Andy Weatherall 90's productions, Cornelius and Squeeze.

The name of the album refers to Factory Records Artwork Designer Peter Saville’s introduction to Reasons To Be Cheerful; The Life & Work of Barney Bubbles. ”The Past is the sum of strong roots, The Present is us living in our times, and The Possible is one’s interpretation of the future.” The album represents this interpretation tenfold.  While both The Past and The Present have taught us what to expect from Tahiti, The Possible is by far the tightest, most complex and thoughtful instrumentation of the band’s career.  Many first-time happenings include Xavier programming beats for a record and Médéric Gontier singing lead on the warm, acoustic breezes of “Want Some?”. Defender, PPP’s opening track, shows no mercy to the listener, building a new layer of infectiousness every thirty seconds. In a same breath, the lyrics deliver enough emotional content to either sing along or just soulfully listen. 

Tahiti 80 has always been and will continue as a “musical” band giving the fans the best of their industry. The first single Solitary Bizness may not be the most conventional of selections, yet they are pleased to own decisions like these in unison, without compromise.  No Mercy, Merci.

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Chris Singleton
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