The singer likes Simone loves to perform in French -speaking Switzerland. “It is an honor and a privilege,” he says.IMAGO/Starface
He chose his artist’s name in tribute to his grandparents who believed in his talent. Likes Simone, whose tube “Shining Light” released in 2020, accumulates more than 50 million streams, released his third album, “Rev”, in which he gives himself open heart. And his fans are already delighted to see him on stage. The 30-year-old Franco-Norwegian songwriter will perform on July 16, 2025 at the Sion Festival under the stars (VS) and November 7 in the Alhambra room in Geneva.
How to describe your new album, “Rev”?
It is a “album concept” created on a science fiction background. There is a whole story with characters in a multidimensional universe. There is also a very characteristic sound palette with slightly more saturated sounds, in emotion. It goes from pop pop. There are suspended moments and very strong moments. It is an album that addresses three themes: revolution, revenge and revelation. For me, the revolution means that chaos is necessary to break codes and dogmas. Revenge is a form of rebirth, when we reclaim these codes. And the revelation is when everything lights up and is put in place. The title of the album is also a nod to the dream. It also talks about this parallel world, which one imagines, to survive and rebuild.
You define your musical style as post-peop. What does that mean?
The word post means that it is based on the idea of post-genre. My way of approaching music is very personal. It is like a language imbued with so many different genres that the concept of gender is ultimately fading. My production is so techno, rock, pop, punk … it’s a mixture of all this. It is a hybridization where the genre is broken. Basically, post-POP is an alternative pop, experimental music somewhere, but which can reach a general public.
You were a model before being a singer. Your particular look, with an androgynous side, is important for you as an artist?
My look is a form of creative expression, like music. It doesn’t really have a link with my old job, because the models are rather neutral individuals that we dress. My look is not at all that of a model. I have tattoos, so it is difficult to disguise myself in something other than myself (laughs). But that’s something I develop. That’s part of a whole. I don’t just do albums. I create a universe. And the look, the garment, the style, the aesthetics are part of this universe.
Have you always wanted to become a singer?
Yes, I started talking about it around 18 years old. It was not easy for my parents at the start, but they still supported me. Without their support, I don’t think I could have continued. But I never had a plan B, it was music or nothing.
What does music represent for you?
That’s life! It represents a lot for me. It is a way of living, of existing, of communicating, of surviving too. Music is perhaps too much for me (laughing). It is probably not the healthiest relationship, but I could not do without it.
