Photo: Yann Morrison
"Stay in your apartment, get naked, and put your head in the fridge," says Jean-Sylvain Le Gouic of French duo Juveniles when we meet the duo on a ridiculously hot summer's day in London and ask how he copes in the heat.
Sadly, he doesn't have that option. He's here to play three shows in three days at the exceptionally hot and sweaty Hoxton Bar & Kitchen in East London with White Lies and Bipolar Sunshine. Good luck staying cool at that one, Jean.
The band came to our attention in 2012, when we hooked up with Le Gouic and bandmate Thibaut Doray for a live session during a previous London visit. Since then, they have delivered two of the best pop singles of 2013, the eighties-sounding 'Strangers' and the disco-infused 'Fantasy' - the latter of which saw the duo running around a country mansion with a pair of lesbians and both dressed as women. Le Gouic admits the cross-dressing was as much as a surprise to them as it was to viewers of the 'Fantasy' video.
"The director told us: 'ok guys you've got to put on this dress we're going to put make up on you and you've got to run'," he says. "He never told us that before shooting, so we have to shoot it."
Watch Juveniles' NSFW, lesbian, cross-dressing 'Fantasy' video below
The band are having fun with more than just their video shoots however, and claim that their experiences in 2013 are the best of their career so far.
"I think it's only getting better and better," says Le Gouic as he discusses the band's experiences in 2013. "We've been touring all these big French festivals, big venues, it's really hard to step up from small venues to ridiculously big stages. We spent a weekend in switzerland bathing, swimming, playing in the Alps. We played with Two Door Cinema Club. I can't pick one moment that stands out over the others."
The band cross genre divides, touching on pop, rock and electro throughout their debut album, but earlier this year showed their love for the mainstream with an exceptional cover version of Rihanna's international smash hit, 'Stay'. Le Gouic admits the band have no issues with expressing love for a commercial artist ("We really don't care"), and insists music fans listening experiences would be better if they cared less about image and media portrayal.
"It's a whole question of image with music," he says. "If you like listening to a whole load of stuff and you dont care if it's mainstream or indie it's just good music. Actually Rihanna has a couple of great songs."
Check out Juveniles cover of Rihanna's 'Stay' below
Juveniles self-titled debut album is one of the best electronic releases of the year, mixing rock and electro sounds and they have recently released new single 'Washed Away' from the record. However, just months after the release of their debut, thoughts have begun to turn to album number two.
"We just started writing new material," says Doray (the quieter of the two), before Le Gouic confesses his plans to get more artists involved with their second album - and to potentially move away from the guitar sounds heard on their debut.
"We want more collaborations, we didn't have enough on the first, apart from friends playing guitars and backing vocals," he says. "We'd like a proper featuring collaboration with other singers of bands. Maybe an electronica album? I think maybe it's going to be a bit more electro maybe less rock."
Watch Juveniles 'Washed Away' video below
Juveniles perform the last of their three sold out shows with White Lies tonight (25 July, 2013). Their debut album is out now.
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