Montreal’s Felix Mongeon announced his forthcoming album as Radiant Baby, Pantomine, which is set for release on September 24th via Lisbon Lux. As part of the announcement, he’s shared a video for his new track, “Réputation.”
The synth-pop tune comes packed with a sort of playful ’80s flamboyance, with bubbly melodies and anthemic vocals that are sure to get you dancing. The accompanying Ariana Molly-directed video is full of compelling shots that follows Mongeon through a series of mundane tasks, as a mysterious man in a shimmering suit interferes with and sabotages those tasks.
“The concept of this story was really about swimming in our childhood memories as adults; revisiting the times when we were younger and unable to wrangle our vivid imaginations,” Molly explains. “I wanted to explore the idea of a projected self, an imaginary stalker that can feel all too real when we are alone and left to wonder. It was important that the hero of the story (Félix) had a childlike sense of wonder and discovery. As his awareness of the stalker grows and the tension builds, he has to come face-to-face with the creature of his own design, his inner saboteur.”
Watch the video for “Réputation” below.
“The song ‘Réputation’ comes from a collaboration in the winter of 2020,” Radiant Baby explains. I was composing quite a bit in the studio at the time and I already had the demos of most of the songs that ended up on the album. I wanted to push my lyrics further and get out of my comfort zone, so I started writing in French to explore a bit. It was new, I had always written in English until then. At first, I was not convinced of my lyrics and I was tired of being alone with my synths and in my head. I wanted to collaborate with other musicians, to play with other ideas. One evening at the studio, I ran into Pierre-Luc Bégin and then we found ourselves discussing the songs we were working on recently. He sent me two demos: ‘Réputation’ and ‘Comique.’ It really inspired me and I continued working on the demos with Steven throughout the recording and production of the album. Now both songs are singles on the album.”
Check out the tracklist for Pantomine below.
Pantomine Tracklist:
01 – “Réputation”
02 – “This Dream”
03 – “Somber Summer (feat. Ohara Hale)”
04 – “Comique”
05 – “Aquagym”
06 – “On the Run”
07 – “Smooth (feat. Ohara Hale)”
08 – “Inconnue”
09 – “Diaporama”
10 – “Talkback”
Lead photo courtesy of Ariana Molly.