DOMESTICATED

There once was another Sebastien Tellier -- a lone wolf, as the Parisian pop genius puts it. Then he fell in love. Then, came marriage. After that, came kids, till one day, the acclaimed synth-loving songwriter found himself alone in his home, entranced by a toaster. Domestication is a universal subject, an experience, we all go through, he explains. It's a good life! I feel like I really exist now. That I'm more than just a wolf -- there's a warmth now, a purpose. On the cult star's sixth studio album, his first in five years, Tellier explores this topic in typically dreamy, lo-fi fashion. An airy, electronic adventure full of eclecticism and eccentricism, Domesticated is the French national treasure at his delightful best. Across a two-decade-spanning career -- in which he's been sampled by The Weeknd, worked with everyone from Jean-Michel Jarre to Mr Oizo and gatecrashed the Eurovision Song Contest in a golf cart -- Tellier's music has taken his listeners to exotic places. This release, however, focuses mostly on the mundane. It's about transforming the everyday into something extraordinary, says Tellier. From echoing opener A Ballet -- its name a pun on ballet and the French word for broom -- to the '80s electro slink of Venezia, the album is a joyous Franco-pop fantasia. Tellier rates it as his most melodically refined work yet. There are oceans of beat-makers out there, the 44-year-old suggests. Computer experts, producers. I wanted to be alone on an island, away from this ocean. I wanted to be a melody-maker. Becoming a melody-maker involved tweaks to his creative process. Every morning while working on Domesticated, Tellier would wake up and within twenty minutes be working on music -- often on his sofa, singing thoughts as they appeared to him into an app on his iPad. The result is a floaty, emotive pop wonderland to immerse yourself in. From 200 songs composed for the album, he whittled the record down to eight. Stuck in Summer Love is one of his favorites. Elsewhere, there's the enticing likes of Atomic Smile -- a song he describes as very different, very unique. It talks about destruction and revolution but in a soft way. The record reaches its denouement with Won, a Jam City and nit-produced gentle gem of a conclusion to Domesticated's story. 140 gram, transparent yellow vinyl; 300gr mat cover, 150gr glossy under-cover, outer deluxe plastic printed sleeve with flap. ?A1. A Ballet?A2. Stuck in a Summer Love?A3. Venezia?A4. Domestics Tasks?B1. Oui?B2. Atomic Smile?B3. Hazy Feeling?B4. Won