Seven years on from the release of her last proper studio album, IRM, French singer and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg has returned with a new single. “Rest” is the first single from the forthcoming album of the same name. It was co-written and composed by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk and it’s a luscious, hushed track, with Gainsbourg singing in French, barely breaking from a whisper over two melancholy, interweaving keyboard lines. de Homem-Christo isn’t the only special feature on Rest—Paul McCartney, Owen Pallett, and Connan Mockasin will all contribute.
The video for the song was directed by Gainsbourg herself and, in a statement released this morning, she explained that Lars von Trier encouraged her to take the reins:
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“At first I asked him if he would direct this video for me. He answered, ‘No… you should do it.’ He then said, knowing very well what I needed, ‘I will tell you exactly what you must do.’ He dictated quite precisely ‘the rules’ for me to follow. I was nodding through the telephone while writing down the master’s principles. And that was it—the first push I longed for. To go out, and carry a camera for myself. Up to me to deliver my personality in either the archive footage I was choosing or the new images I filmed. Trying to create a repetitive language through this musical loop. Thanks to this first step into directing, I was able to take possession of my own imagery.”
You can watch the video at Apple Music by clicking here. Listen to “Rest” at the top of the page.
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