4 Years on… with Papooz
Today is Last Bus Magazine’s fourth birthday. Time for the first day of school. ‘At this age, your child should be running, hopping, throwing and kicking balls, climbing, and swinging with ease.’ Judging from this, I reckon we’ve got nothing to worry about. In a nostalgic act of self-indulgence we are revisiting some of our very first interviews we conducted and checking back in, 4 years later, to see how they’re doing. Don’t bother going back to read the original interviews, they sound like they were written by a six year old. Four years is a long time... First up we’ve got Papooz.
Over the last four years, the Paris-based duo released' ‘None of This Matters Now’, a meal of an album, played to a sold-out Lafayette London crowd, spent time working on exciting newness in NYC and have toured all over from Germany to Mexico, and places in between. They’re still just as painfully cool and releasing music just as magical as they were back in 2019, just with a little extra on the side. We caught up with Armand & looked at our life together thus far.
Photos by Ana Kras
It’s been four years! What’s one thing that’s changed and one thing that’s stayed the same in that time?
We changed drummer but remained groovy I guess.
You were jokingly being branded as Tropical Groove back in 2019, this still the case?
Oh no, it was Tropical Garage when we released our first EP in 2015, because of the DAW garage band and our love of brazilian music. We used to be very DIY and record music directly to the built in microphone of an old run down MacBook… Not the case anymore, we’ve gone Pro Tools now!
How has your sound evolved in the last 4 years?
Quite naturally. Our last album was more in the folk-rock genre, mostly because we wrote it apart, during the first lock down, and I was listening to a lot of Neil Young or any Laurel Canyon type of music at the time. It suited perfectly the slow-life mood we adpoted during confinement, the flowing of red wine and the cooking of fennel sausage pasta. I think that made its way in the music.
We interviewed you after your Oslo show (50 person cap) and your most recent London show was a sell-out at Lafayette (600 person). Where’s next ?
As long as it is in London and near a good pub, anyplace will do. But maybe something bigger?
Enough of London. Where will we find you on a Friday night in Paris?
You could try to spot us in the Strasbourg Saint Denis district. We might have a few drinks in a dive bar and skip dinner. Or we might be feasting in an old brasserie somewhere in town. Anyway, we’re hard to catch.
If not Paris, where would you rather live?
We’re both city boys. And we spent a lot of time in New York this year… so maybe…
If you had the chance to rename your band now, would you? If so, what to?
As much as we would like to change it, I do believe we’re stuck with it. It’s like a family member that you have to like or a jail companion you grow to be in love with.
Where do you think you’ll be four years from now?
Hopefully making another album somewhere.
Where in the world do you wish to play that you haven’t played yet?
We’d love to do a proper UK and Ireland tour. Also Italy could be fun.
I was promised a song! How’s that coming along?
Oh! Don’t you worry, it’s on its way...
Photos by Ana Kras
Who would you love to pick up a guitar and sing with?
On top of my head, Shane MacGowan, Marcel Proust and Joni Mitchell. That sounds like a great bonfire party.
What do you do for lovers on their birthday?
We usually gather friends in an italian restaurant callled L’Alimentari in the 3rd arrondissement.
It’s Last Bus’ 4th birthday. Online it says for 4 years you get your partner fruit ‘to bring refreshment to each other as the relationship continues to grow’. What fruit would you like? And what are you getting us?
We like all fruits as long as they’re seasonal. I think I’ll buy you a mango or something exotic. Paradox is key.
When are you back in London?
Can’t tell you when, but we’ll definitely come back for our next tour in 2024… maybe sooner.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
A lot of of Chrissie Hynde songs.
What do you listen to on the Last Bus home?
Death is Not Enough, by the Pretenders, obviously.
