Q&A: DEAD CHIC Draw Us to ‘The Venus Ballroom’
A FERVOROUS DEBUT EP FROM ROCK BAND — DEAD CHIC, The Venus Ballroom follows the band’s first single, “Too Far Gone,” released in early 2022. Composed of Andy Balcon (Heymoonshaker), Damien Félix (Catfish & Bigger), Mathis Akengin (Emea), and Remi Ferbus (Kimberose & Mika), DEAD CHIC melds years of experience into a fresh start.
The Venus Ballroom was recorded in collaboration with Peter Deimel (Anna Calvi, The Kills, The Last Shadow Puppets). Through a fusion of sounds — brass, percussion, and acoustic — the EP displays DEAD CHIC’s ability to jolt through live performance.
Immediately upon the first track, “You Got It,” Balcon’s raspy vocals set up the raw yet posh sound of the EP. The song showcases DEAD CHIC’s lyricism with its abstract imagery: “You serve redemption in a glass of bones and pull this poetry apart.” The song is electric and brassy, with bold horns that establish a tremor-like start to the EP.
Being a Franco-English group, DEAD CHIC balances English and French on “Les fleurs séchées,” specifically Félix’s construction of the French chorus to which Balcon brings his trance-inducing voice. The next track, “The Belly of the Jungle,” is an eccentric one. The song impresses with its animalistic atmosphere achieved through grunting vocals and a Farfisa organ. The track comments on rule and modern systems: “Dance for me, welcome to my house, come freely, go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring.” While the song achieves a unique and immersive atmosphere, it borders flashiness as Balcon sings about “the britannique orgy of life and death” and twists the pronunciation of “microwave” when he sings, “The eclipse to bring new dawn and feast on the microwave synthetic taste.”
A direct contrast to “The Belly of the Jungle” is the interlude, “El Malećon,” which provides an instrumental drifting moment of recollection before “Ballad of Another Man,” which is both percussion- and strings-led. A catchy refrain (“The man in the mirror”) surrounded by soulful guitar makes it easy to follow and melodious.
To end, “Good God” is emotive and filled with religious symbols: “I’ve been a preacher, I’ve been preached upon. Found forgiveness, my hand on my heart.” The track is perfectly balanced between engaging lyrics, a memorable chorus, a sophisticated brass arrangement, and a grand electric guitar. The entire EP is dynamic, and just as “You Got It” launched The Venus Ballroom with power, “Good God” leaves listeners out of breath and energized with Balcon’s passion building up to the final word.
Read our conversation with Balcon below as he walks us through the making of The Venus Ballroom.
Photo by David Boehm
LUNA: You all come from previous projects and groups before DEAD CHIC. In terms of sound, does DEAD CHIC feel like an accumulation of experience or a new start to you?
BALCON: It would be unavoidable to come into a new project without there being some residual reference of previous work. Though this may be true, I would say that approaching a new project almost feels like entering a new home. Even if you were to leave everything behind, it’s still oneself that arrives in the new space.
LUNA: In my prep, I received the lyrics to the EP in documents formatting the songs in stanzas, so I experienced the songs as written word before listening — they could easily pass as poetry if only read on the page. In “You Got It,” you reference poetry, and I’m wondering if literature is one of your influences. Could you speak on this?
BALCON: That’s very lovely to hear. Yes, literature plays a massive part in my life and I know Damien is very passionate about this also, as I’m aware of his literature degree. From my side, there are periods when I come away from music [but] though I am and have been forever writing, rarely does it get revisited. I feel it’s incredibly positive to realize [your] experience or sensations — songs just happen to be a carriage in which the circus comes to town.
LUNA: Between the guitar, your cadence, Andy, and the imagery (wait down by the river bank, a shipwreck on the sea), “Ballad of Another Man” has a classic American quality to it. You’re often balancing English and French, and this song adds an additional layer of an American English. How do you decide to what extent one sound will be accentuated over another from track to track?
BALCON: This is merely a product of the moment. There is a conscious effort from time to time. For instance, “Les fleurs séchées” was very much Damien’s hand. It was my role to serve justice to his beautiful words on my counter English part.
LUNA: “Good God” is a soulful, emotive plea. I imagine this is the type of song that must be powerful on stage. When you’re writing, how much awareness goes toward knowing you’ll eventually be performing? Or do you primarily focus on the music and consider performance afterward?
BALCON: At this moment, songs need to be something tangible and can be something we can all connect through. As we live in different places, we need to know that when we see each other we can enter that state. Performance is very much the knit of the band. I don’t think a song is something to be served cold.
LUNA: Can listeners expect any upcoming shows to experience The Venus Ballroom live?
BALCON: It’s coming. Stay tuned.
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