So Frenchy So Chic Festival – The Dø
The ultimate French picnic with a soundtrack descends upon Sydney this weekend with the So Frenchy So Chic Festival in conjunction with the Sydney Festival.
This event is a celebration of provincial France with a twist of Parisian attitude which gives Sydneysiders a unique opportunity to be fully immersed in the French food and wine culture while listening to some of the most beautiful music coming from that country provided by Emilie Simon, The Dø, La Femme and Francois and Mountain Atlas.
Coming off of the release of their third album Shake Shook Shaken The Dø will finally make their long awaited return down under having been unable to venture here following their second album. “We’re really anxious to come back. I’m actually a bit sad because it would have been great to come back for the second album but now we have this new album and we have some catching up to do,” says Olivia Merilahti.
Among some of the first French artists to top the French charts with English vocals The Dø would then catapult this success into international success in particular on Triple J in Australia with their off-kilter, indie pop sound. This success meant they were then able to tour Australia as part of the V Festival in 2009 winning over even more fans. Since then the duo has looked to evolve their sound bringing synthetic dance and percussion more to the forefront. “We definitely wanted something more synthetic because we hadn’t explored that before. It started out of the necessity to produce on the road with only a laptop and tiny midi keyboard, so we kept that as long as possible before adding in some traditional instruments,” Merilahti continues.
The new musical direction created a few new hurdles along the way in regards to the live performance and incorporating all of the new electronic elements. “It was quiet a struggle to familiarise ourselves with all of the synths and having a computer on stage which needed a few months of rehearsal but now it feels great to play these songs live and to share them.”
Jan 17, St John’s College, Sydney University, 10 Missenden Rd, Camperdown, $89+b.f, sofrenchysochic.com.au
