They've had worldwide success despite singing exclusively in French, pretending to rap and constantly evolving their femme-forward electro pop sound, and they're stoked to be coming to Adelaide.

French pop band Yelle (an adapted acronym for “Enjoy Your Life”) hit the music scene with infectious beats and a weird but loveable Gallic sense of humour. One of their first mainstream singles, “Je Veux Te Voir“, contained the lyrics “Je veux te voir/Dans un film pornographique (I want to see you/In a pornographic film)”.

Ahead of Yelle’s performance at the January 11, So Frenchy So Chic festival in Adelaide, we spoke with front-woman Julie Budet about the Yelle story-to-date, how they launched on MySpace (lol) and the importance of language to identity. 

CM: “Je veux te voir” seems to be where it all started for Yelle. MySpace! How times have changed… We’re interested in the idea that the final title of the song wasn’t its original and the story behind “Short Dick Cuizi”. Was there any resentment between you guys and the rapper or was it all just fun that led to you uploading it and to it catching on and – ultimately – attracting a label?
JB: Je Veux Te Voir was a fun diss towards this rapper yes! We have switched the name to get rid of the “private joke” aspect of the previous one. We never thought about attracting a label. We just wanted to make music but then we had an offer to produce the album and we said yes cause we needed some team at that time!

You sing exclusively en Français, mais ce n’est pas un problème. You are known around the world. You’ve opened for huge English-only acts. What is it about your music that needs no translation?
It’s all about the energy and the mood. People feel things more than they understand things. As a French teenager, I spent my time dancing and singing over songs I had no clue what they were about! We want to keep being spontaneous and sincere, and there is nothing more obvious than expressing yourself in your native language in this case.

“OMG” is the release this year. Yelle really took off thanks to MySpace. Does the Internet and its affect on society / communication feature as a central theme in your work? What are the pros and cons of being part of the Internet generation?
I actually don’t consider myself as an “internet person” at all. I am not fascinated by social medias, I am really more a real life person actually, old woman ahah! Internet is just a media to me, not a way of life, even if, like everyone else, my iPhone is never far.

Australia is v. far away from France. What do you look forward to about your visit and what will you be making the most of on this visit?
It’s been quite a few years that we haven’t played in Australia. So I am happy to come again and reconnect with people there! Also we will have days off to fill between Melbourne and Sydney so it will also be holidays!

This is your first time performing at So Frenchy So Chic, what are you most looking forward to about the format of a one-day festival, outdoors in the Australian summer with good food and wine?
FOOD.

If you, like Julie Budet, are all about the food and wine and having a good time – we have a special ticket offer. Buy two tickets to So Frenchy so Chic on January 11 and receive a FREE Cheese hamper. Simply click this link and redeem at the checkout.