© Leanda Heler
From writing poetry with Pete Doherty, to becoming a voice of resistance in Ukraine, Aime Simone is only getting started.
It’s a Friday morning, you have two laptops, an iPad, and a mobile at your disposal, and you are desperately trying to bypass 2FA so you can log into a device with a working camera. Aime Simone, the French superstar with a platinum single, is waiting for you. You haven’t showered and you’ve drank more coffee than a healthy rhino could handle.
Once upon a time, a young Aime Simone hurled a book of poems at Pete Doherty mid-gig. Doherty picked up the notebook, was impressed by what he saw, and a friendship was born. Simone’s single Shining Light went Platinum in France in 2021, and his track In This Dark Time trended in Ukraine during the war, becoming a song of resistance to Ukrainians in 2020. It also shot Simone to stardom.
The Norwegian-French singer is named after his two grandparents, Aime and Simone, and is married to his creative director and long-time collaborator, Sonja Fix, to whom he credits much of his success. Simone has a fluid style that transcends traditional genres. His brand-new single is very poppy, it wouldn’t be out of place on an Ibiza Club Classics playlist (in a good way).
All of his singles could have been written by different artists from different genres, a unique skill for a musician. The only similarity is they all have the clear voice of Simone himself on the track. Regardless of what he is doing, he makes the pieces his own.
You are still in your apartment, and now Aime’s agent and manager have also joined the meeting. The camera still isn’t working. Apologies are made, excuses about faulty technology. Simone looks quizzically through the camera for a second, before his camera also shuts off.
‘Now we are even,’ he says. ‘Shall we begin?’
In My Blood, the new single is out, and it’s great. What prompted you to move in this direction, away from say Taking My Distance and previous tracks?
Overall, the next album is more of a cohesive body of work rather than individual songs. I wanted a bigger range for the new album, pop, rap, and experimental, and very inspired by Berlin.
The single is very poppy, but the album itself won’t be, not to that extent, anyway. I like to experiment. There are no guitars in Taking My Distance, for instance, which is very different from my usual tracks. In My Blood has guitars but they’re warped, and distorted.
You have an amazing range of genres, in Taking My Distance you are rapping, and it has the mania of an old-school dubstep/house track, compared to say Everything’s Changing which would not be out of place on a Lana Del Ray or RHCP record. Your ‘post-pop’ style seems to transcend genre, it’s been called a blend of pop, techno, reggaeton, and soul. You have elements of Indie and Trap mixed into your pop songs. Do you have a favourite genre to listen to?
Overall it’s mostly alternative music, alt rap. I’m a big fan of Yung Lean and artists like that. Or Alt-pop, like Charlie XCX. Anything with a degree of familiarity, and yet something quite disturbing.
Is there anything you won’t listen to?
I wouldn’t say so, no. But, I do get less excited about classic genres. Classic pop doesn’t move me, I don’t relate to it. But, I can still respect it. The artistry, the craft of a perfect pop song. An Adele or a Harry Styles. But personally I feel more moved when there is something off, something edgy.
You started writing songs and playing guitar as a teenager. Do you think the fact that you weren’t classically trained means you are more able to shift in and out of genres and play with music in a way others can’t?
When I started I was really bad at singing, I didn’t know how to play the guitar or produce. I barely spoke English - I’m still struggling with that! But when you build from your flaws, it’s like pushing you onto a path, a path to authenticity and it helps to stand up. But it also takes longer. It’s been more than a decade since I’ve been making music. I met Sonja, and we’ve been collaborating for years. She has been a huge part of me getting better. She became my main collaborator. She has a strong vision, sonically she knows what she likes, and she has strong taste. She really helped me push myself and improve, things I don’t think I would have learned.
You have been vocal about the importance of place in your creative process. After stints in New York, LA, Vienna, Berlin, and Paris, do you have any ideas about another creative journey somewhere else?
I would love to go back to the US. I feel like it has changed a lot culturally, and artistically. I’m curious to visit Asia and also Eastern Europe, Poland especially. And I’d love to perform in Ukraine. I haven’t been able to because of the war. But I have a strong base in France now, and French-speaking countries, so we’ll see.
Your new single is called In My Blood, you are French and live in France with your daughter. But you are also Norwegian. Do you spend much time in Scandinavia, and do you feel your Nordic roots have influenced you, or impacted you and your creative process?
My Norwegian half started my creative journey in a way, when I was going there as a child I got into playing the guitar and singing. Music was very natural for them. That’s why I started playing the guitar. I don’t see them as much but I still have a strong connection to Norway. In terms of travel, I would love to spend some time in Scandinavia at some point as well. I think it would be very inspiring.
You were famously mentored by Pete Doherty. Do you ever think of the impact you are making in France and beyond? And would you like to find a younger Aime Simone to mentor?
It’s a difficult thing to do! It’s hard to find artists in France who sing in English and have that hybrid music that’s not specifically attached to a genre. But I would love to give something to a young artist like Peter gave me when I was younger.
© Leanda Heler
In This Dark Time famously went viral in Ukraine. Knowing your voice became a song of defiance for a nation under attack, do you feel pressure knowing the importance of your voice when making music?
You can never fully grasp the impact your music can have. I guess when you have stuff happening like a song resonating with Ukraine, or with how Shining Light was received in France, you can’t expect it to happen again. I try not to think about it at all. It’s not conducive to creativity.
From what I gather the current tour is France and Belgium based. No plans to hit the UK or further afield on this tour?
Right now, it’s not really a tour, it’s just as I’m in between albums, tours, and shows. So the UK is in the future, but not at this moment. I love guerrilla gigs, last-minute shows, that kind of thing. I’m planning a bigger tour this year, around sixty shows. London, Germany, and elsewhere.
Finally, your birthday is the 31st December; any New Year plans, or are you taking it easy this year?
Um, I mean, on the 31st of December you never take it easy. Everybody’s celebrating. I usually attach myself to a party that’s already happening and pretend they are celebrating me. I’m sure I’ll find something to do in Paris.
© Manon Alder
Aime Simone’s journey so far has been spectacular, full of travel, music, and adventure. If the new single is anything to go by, the music world can expect much from Simone in the near future, in France and beyond.
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