French indie synth-rock quartet Phoenix launched themselves onto the global stage with the inescapable upbeat catchiness of 2009's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. Headlining festival slots soon followed, and the album earned them the GRAMMY for Best Alternative Music Album at the 52nd GRAMMY Awards.
The band took a hiatus following the release of 2013's Bankrupt!, but have finally returned with the summery daytime disco stylings of their sixth studio LP, Ti Amo, released in June.
The band members — comprising Thomas Mars, Deck d'Arcy, Laurent Brancowitz, and Christian Mazzalai — credit the break as a much-needed period of meditation, allowing them to reconnect with music, their sound and get things back to a place where it all feels fresh again.
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Bassist d'Arcy and guitarist Mazzalai recently sat down with The Recording Academy to discuss their latest album in detail, pointing out the moments and influences that helped inspire their new album's sunny, danceable melodies.
When questioned about what other "summer jams" they found most inspirational in crafting their new record, the pair commented they looked back to the greats, rather than to their musical contemporaries:
"We love so much of the Beach Boys' [music]. Going to the studio, I would listen to “Wonderful” from The Smile Sessions," said Mazzalai. "There are two versions, not the finished one, but from the Session. It’s beyond amazing, the harmonies, the bassline, the melody. Brian Wilson will be always, for us, a beautiful mystery because there are many songs now we are grown up, we know the trick, the magician’s trick, but Brian Wilson [is] impossible."
"Yeah, it's not even an inspiration because it’s too hard to understand," added D'Arcy. "For sure it’s an inspiration, but musically, what I’m trying to say is we can’t manage to steal anything from him."
