Domesticated

Album review

After his Brazilian-themed album, Aventura, in 2014, Sébastien Tellier is back with a new album, Domesticated, which he mostly composed at home. Mixed by Nk.F, who is renowned for his work on PNL’s cloud rap, the writer of La Ritournelle has gone for a more homely feel on this album which showcases the “domesticated” father, explaining, “I found happiness in my family life and household chores”. Opening the album is the single, A Ballet, which combines autotune, saxophone and New Age and was produced by England’s Jam Slugs, working for the label Night Slugs, along with France’s Corentin Kerdraon, aka NIT. With its languorous pop melodies, Domesticated is all sunshine and cotton candy. It moves swiftly from Venezia, a song with its roots in the electro-funk of the ‘80s recorded with the late Philippe Zdar, to the hypnotic Domestic Tasks, with its bouncing bass and laid-back house beat and the more psychedelic Oui. This album stirs up a mix of transient feelings, like a combination of joy and melancholy as if you’re looking out at a beach party from the window of your apartment. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz