Plastiscines
Encyclopedia
The Plastiscines are an all-female French rock band
who perform mostly in English. Their song "Barcelona" was featured on the NYLON
Summer Playlist.
, met Basilien, originally a harpist, at a concert by the English band, The Libertines
. Their talent was recognised early on by Maxime Schmitt, producer of the German band Kraftwerk
, and they were signed by EMI
for the Virgin France
label in October 2006.
In addition to the Libertines, the band's influences include the White Stripes, the Strokes
and, from an earlier generation, the Kinks and Blondie
. Closer to home, the prevailing style of their first album, LP1, was similar to that of the 1960s' singer Christie Laume, Édith Piaf
's sister-in-law.
The Plastiscines' name derives from the phrase, "plasticine
porters with looking glass ties" in the Beatles' song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
", on the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
.
The Plastiscines have been critical of French retailing of rock music
. Louise Basilien has remarked that she learnt about rock 'n' roll through her parents, the Internet, and by reading books: "the generation before us could not learn about rock 'n' roll because the stores here were rubbish". As a consequence, the French rock scene in 2006–07 was seen by many as fresh and exciting, even though the requirement that forty per cent of songs broadcast on radio in France should be in French continued to militate against bands who wished to perform in English (which, because of its American origins and British dominance in the 1960s, has always been the prime language of rock 'n' roll).
In 2009, Marvin Scott Jarrett, Editor-in-chief of NYLON Magazine
, founded NYLON Records and signed the Plastiscines as its first act, after seeing them on the cover of French fashion and style magazine Citizen K. The Plastiscines were featured on the TV series Gossip Girl
episode "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?" at the Cotillion ball. Their song "Bitch" was also featured on the same episode. The music supervisor on Gossip Girl, Alex Patsavas, noticed the Plastiscines' record, and has written several of the band's songs into the series.
Their single, "Barcelona" was iTunes
single of the week during the first week of January 2010.
In February 2010, they embarked on the 'Hot Mess Across The EU-niverse Tour' in support of Cobra Starship
, along with Family Force 5
.
In December 2010, it was announced that they would be producing the music for the comic book based, animated TV show titled "Scary Larry".
Marine Neuilly left the band. They are featured on the song, "Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met...)" by Panic! at the Disco
on their new album, Vices & Virtues
. They are also featured on the song, "Fool Like Me" by Cobra Starship
on their upcoming album, Night Shades
.
ian teenage bands, referred to collectively as les bébés rockers. Paris Calling, a compilation album of music by several of them, was released in France in June 2006 (and in Britain in 2007). It contained the Plastiscines' first studio tracks, "Shake (Twist Around the Fire)" and "Rake". Those present at its launch included the French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
, and Babyshambles
singer Pete Doherty
.
Such bands tended to be scorned at the time by some elements of the press for their bobo (bourgeois bohème
or bourgeois Bohemian
) backgrounds: in other words, they were portrayed as "the spoilt kids of rich parents playing at being rock stars".
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
who perform mostly in English. Their song "Barcelona" was featured on the NYLON
Nylon (magazine)
Nylon is an American magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel...
Summer Playlist.
Formation and discovery
The Plastiscines are Katty Besnard (singer/guitar), Louise Basilien (bass), Anaïs Vandevyvere (drums) and former members Marine Neuilly (guitar) and Caroline and Zazie Tavitian (both drums). They formed in 2007 after Besnard, Neuilly, and Tavitian, all of whom were at school together in Saint-Cyr-l'ÉcoleSaint-Cyr-l'École
Saint-Cyr-l'École is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.It used to host the training school for officers of the French army, the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr , which was relocated to Coëtquidan in 1945.The old buildings of the ESM are...
, met Basilien, originally a harpist, at a concert by the English band, The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
. Their talent was recognised early on by Maxime Schmitt, producer of the German band Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
, and they were signed by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
for the Virgin France
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
label in October 2006.
In addition to the Libertines, the band's influences include the White Stripes, the Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
and, from an earlier generation, the Kinks and Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
. Closer to home, the prevailing style of their first album, LP1, was similar to that of the 1960s' singer Christie Laume, Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
's sister-in-law.
The Plastiscines' name derives from the phrase, "plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...
porters with looking glass ties" in the Beatles' song, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
", on the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
.
The Plastiscines have been critical of French retailing of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
. Louise Basilien has remarked that she learnt about rock 'n' roll through her parents, the Internet, and by reading books: "the generation before us could not learn about rock 'n' roll because the stores here were rubbish". As a consequence, the French rock scene in 2006–07 was seen by many as fresh and exciting, even though the requirement that forty per cent of songs broadcast on radio in France should be in French continued to militate against bands who wished to perform in English (which, because of its American origins and British dominance in the 1960s, has always been the prime language of rock 'n' roll).
In 2009, Marvin Scott Jarrett, Editor-in-chief of NYLON Magazine
Nylon (magazine)
Nylon is an American magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Its coverage includes art, beauty, music, design, celebrities, technology and travel...
, founded NYLON Records and signed the Plastiscines as its first act, after seeing them on the cover of French fashion and style magazine Citizen K. The Plastiscines were featured on the TV series Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
episode "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?" at the Cotillion ball. Their song "Bitch" was also featured on the same episode. The music supervisor on Gossip Girl, Alex Patsavas, noticed the Plastiscines' record, and has written several of the band's songs into the series.
Their single, "Barcelona" was iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
single of the week during the first week of January 2010.
In February 2010, they embarked on the 'Hot Mess Across The EU-niverse Tour' in support of Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
, along with Family Force 5
Family Force 5
Family Force 5 is a Christian crunk rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They consist of Solomon "Soul Glow Activatur" Olds, Jacob "Crouton" Olds, Joshua "Fatty" Olds, Nathan "Nadaddy" Currin, and Derek "Chap Stique" Mount...
.
In December 2010, it was announced that they would be producing the music for the comic book based, animated TV show titled "Scary Larry".
Marine Neuilly left the band. They are featured on the song, "Nearly Witches (Ever Since We Met...)" by Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...
on their new album, Vices & Virtues
Vices & Virtues
Vices & Virtues is the third studio album by American rock band Panic! at the Disco, released on March 22, 2011 on Fueled by Ramen. Produced by John Feldmann and Butch Walker, the album marks the debut of the band's two-man lineup, featuring vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Brendon Urie and...
. They are also featured on the song, "Fool Like Me" by Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
on their upcoming album, Night Shades
Night Shades
Night Shades is the fourth studio album by American dance rock band Cobra Starship, being released through Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records on August 29, 2011. The album is the follow-up to 2009's Hot Mess....
.
"Les bébés rockers"
In the mid noughties the Plastiscines were one of several ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian teenage bands, referred to collectively as les bébés rockers. Paris Calling, a compilation album of music by several of them, was released in France in June 2006 (and in Britain in 2007). It contained the Plastiscines' first studio tracks, "Shake (Twist Around the Fire)" and "Rake". Those present at its launch included the French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres , often known as RDDV, is a French politician, France's Minister of Culture from 2004 to 2007...
, and Babyshambles
Babyshambles
Babyshambles are an English indie rock band established in London. The band was formed by Pete Doherty during a hiatus from his former band The Libertines, but Babyshambles has since become his main project . Babyshambles has released two albums, three EPs and a number of singles...
singer Pete Doherty
Pete Doherty
Peter Doherty is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles...
.
Such bands tended to be scorned at the time by some elements of the press for their bobo (bourgeois bohème
Bobos in Paradise
Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There is a book by David Brooks, first published in 2000. The word bobo, Brooks's most famous coinage, is a portmanteau of the words bourgeois and bohemian. The term is used by Brooks to describe the 1990s descendants of the yuppies...
or bourgeois Bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
) backgrounds: in other words, they were portrayed as "the spoilt kids of rich parents playing at being rock stars".