Emilie Simon @ GRAPPA'S

The multi-award winning, French electro pop chanteuse Emilie Simonsold out the City Hall on her last visit to HK two years ago, so this is an ultra rare chance to see her in the ever more intimate surrounds of Grappas Cellar. We'd strongly advise getting your tickets in advance.

Born in Montpellier in Southern France, Emilie Simon grew up bathed in the Mediterranean sun and immersed in the sound of clarinets and electronic melodies. Surrounded by music from an early age, Emilie was winning critical plaudits as early as 2003, when she released her self-titled debut. The LP went on to win Album of the Year at Victories de la Musique, a prestigious French music award ceremony, and Emilie’s plush, artful soundscapes swiftly garnered commercial success.

Allowing her music and inspiration to flow naturally, Emilie wished to imbue her second album with a more wintry and polar vibe. Coincidentally, in the midst of her search for sounds for the album, she was contacted by film producer Luc Jacquet to compose the original soundtrack for his Oscar award winning documentary film ‘La Marche de l’empereur’ (March of the Penguins). Emilie’s score went on to triumph once more at the Victories de la Musique winning the 2006 award for the Best Original Film Soundtrack.

2006 also saw two more Emilie Simon releases. Emilie’s third studio LP ‘Végétal’ dropped in April, and featured not only clever wordplay inspired by flora, but also sound samples taken from actual plants. The LP won (her now customary) Victories de la Musique award, this time for best Electronic Album. This was followed later in the year by ‘The Flower Book’ - a compilation of her first three records along with live material from her US tour.

Now residing in New York, the birthplace of so many artistic hybrids, Emilie has produced her most recent, accessible and personal album yet - ‘The Big Machine’. Working with sound engineer Mark Plati (David Bowie, Alain Bashung), mixer Renauld Letang (Feist, Gonzalez) and a string of musical contributors from members of Arcade Fire to a children’s choir, The Big Machine is a triumph of sensual songwriting and complex, old-school electronics.

On this album, Emilie’s experimental inclinations also involved the clever use of traditional Chinese instruments as a vestige of her long stay in the heart of Chinatown. How appropriate.

So come on down to The People’s Party at Grappas Cellar on Sept 25th for an intimate and magical evening with Emilie Simon.