La Folie purvey clique 80’s pop

Somethingyousaid.com’s Jemma Cole reviews the latest incarnation of Marc Houle, live in Berlin:

Last week, Marc Houle unveiled his new band effort, exposing a side a side of himself which takes his techno followers deeper into their 80’s electronic roots

Canadian techno producer Marc Houle has been transmitting euphoric techno vibrations through hearts worldwide for decades. Most notably the man has worked with reputable labels Minus and Items and Things and most recently teamed up with one of Techno’s biggest stars, Miss Kittn. Simultaneously during this time, however, he and a man called Joaquim dos Santos have been harbouring a private hardcore fetish for pure 80’s synthized pop so far from his former material, it’s almost schizophrenic.

On Wednesday, after 10 years, the unlikely pair unveiled these secret recordings under their new band title ‘La Folie’. Their name comes from a French phrase that describes the madness when one is madly in love. Throughout the showcase of the band’s debut LP at Berghain Kantine, this theme resonated highly in the classic 80’s awkward robotic nature juxtaposed by anti-love lyrics and front man Joaquim’s mysterious allure.

Joaquim himself looked dressed up like a magician in an Adam Sandler movie, where Cleia (there latest live backup vocalist) looked like your quintessential supermodel that could have easily been transported from a Robert Palmer’s clan dead pan band babes in ‘Addicted to Love’. All the while Marc pulled his strings tight orchestrating sythesizers into entertaining cheeseball brilliance, channeling something between Devo and Duran Duran, or maybe in a rough on trend nutshell, the entire Drive soundtrack.

Overall this new outfit delivered a delightfully fun, and at times humorously yet by the same chord, pleasurably clique 80’s pop set which sustained a perma-smile of the intimate audience’s faces from start to finish. Highlights were blunt failed romance tale that was sound tracked on ‘40 dollars richer’ and then my personal constant ear worm of the week ‘Her New Dress’ which is their debut single.

These guys are so fresh having just finished their first LP they are yet to be signed. But while we wait check out the new single ‘Her New Dress’ above and you will get what I mean…

Review by Jemma Cole. Follow La Folie on Facebook.