The Penelopes

The Penelopes are a group from Japan active from 1993 to the present, described as a j-pop band. The name also refers to a French dance rock duo based in Paris, made up of Axel Basquiat and Vincent T. The Japanese project is mainly associated with singer and songwriter Tatsuhiko Watanabe, whose work centres on twee-pop.

Japanese project

The Japanese Penelopes debut in 1992 with In a Big Golden Cage, followed in 1993 by Touch the Ground. By this stage the act is largely a solo project for Watanabe, though the Penelopes name continues on later releases. In 1997 the group issues Kiss of Life, and A Place in the Sun appears in the same year as the first album on Watanabe’s own Vaudeville Park label.

French duo

The French Penelopes, styled as tHe pEneLOpe, work in both rock and electronic music. Before recording their debut album, they release singles and remixes, including work for DJ Hell’s International DeeJay Gigolo Records. Their first album, The Arrogance of Simplicity, comes out in 2006 on Citizen Records, the label founded by Vitalic.

The album includes several notable collaborations. Demian features Dierdre Dubois of Ekova and refers to Hermann Hesse’s novel of the same name. In a Storm includes Samy Birnbach of Minimal Compact. Other tracks include a live cover of Devo’s Gut Feeling recorded in Paris, and Rebellion, a cover of an Arcade Fire song. The album is later reissued in Japan in a limited edition under the title Choose: Arrogance, Simplicity or Both, with a Black Strobe remix of Demian, a video for the track directed by Danakil, and the Elli et Jacno cover Je t’aime tant, on which Chloe Delaume appears alongside the band. That song is commissioned by the French fashion designer agnès b. and is part of the Les Jeunes Gens Modernes exhibition.

Live work and recognition

The Penelopes perform at major festivals including Dour Festival, Sónar, Razzmatazz in Barcelona, Monegros, Santander, Garorock, Nandrin and Tohu-Bohu. They also play in Japan, Spain, Belgium, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Russia, the USA, Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and South America. In concert they support Ladytron in Paris and Geneva, and The Human League in Belgium at Les Nuits Botaniques. They also play at agnès b. fashion shows in Paris and Tokyo. The group wins the Best Discovery 2007 band Qwartz Electronic Music Award for The Arrogance of Simplicity.