At the end of 2020, Páula, Povoa, and Jerge — the group now known as PPJ — released the song "Primavera." It's a track that gives the feeling of a rainbow after a storm. It's sung in Portuguese, and I never had any idea what Paula was singing about, but I somehow understood it. The tenderness of her vocals embrace your soul like a warm hug. The production on the track feels like it could've come out at any point in the past 40 years and still manages to feel current. Three-and-a-half years later, I still feel the feels whenever I hear it, and PPJ made a lifelong fan out of me on their first shot out of the gate.
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The transcontinental trio, mostly based in France these days, have continued to churn out a steady stream of peppy releases that run the gamut from hyperpop to disco to hard techno, with one foot always firmly planted in the sound of Páula’s native Brazil.
Their newest EP, Bloco Vol. 2, features some of their most club-forward productions to date. I've been playing the lead single "Beijo" quite a bit on FREAKS ONLY in recent months. Its intoxicating mix of airy melodies and bruising beats is a wild sonic balancing act that shouldn't work, but it’s a testament to the trio's ingenuity that they could pull it off.
To celebrate the release of Bloco Vol. 2, PPJ dropped a party-ready FREAKS ONLY guest DJ mix inspired by Carnival in Brazil — featuring plenty of PPJ originals mingling with french pop, Brazilian baile funk, and FREAKS ONLY faves like Joy Orbison and Nikki Nair (full tracklist below). The group also shares the story of how they came to be, how they manage to work in so many different elements, and the role that cult Tamil super-producer Ilaiyaraaja plays in their sound.
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The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Travis Holcombe: When you first came onto our radar in 2020, you were known as Páula, Povoa, and Jerge. Now it's PPJ — what was the reason for the name change?
Povoa: We actually didn’t want to have a band name, but we quickly realized nobody could pronounce or remember our three names.
Páula: We really loved those three names together, like “Peter, Paul, and Mary,” but as Povoa said, it was too complicated for people to remember our names. It was often mispronounced or misremembered like Paulo, Pavao, Jorji, and to be honest, it was funny.😆
How did the three of you first meet and decide to start working together?
Povoa: Me and Jerge met in a music school in the north of France 15 years ago. I had met Paula a few times and we made music together even though she was living in Brazil. We really got to know each other when we happened to be in the same house during lockdown.
Páula: I used to live in Lille, in the north of France. After my studies, I decided to have a big trip in Brazil to connect with my origins. After this wonderful road trip, I came back to Lille and I was looking for a flat to share. A friend of mine told me that her friend was leaving and was looking for someone to occupy the room. Serendipity!! I took the room and my flatmate was Jerge, and we started our friendship and made music together as the band Tampon Tango ;) The rest is history.
Jerge: A few years before the lockdown, I had already left my hometown to move to Paris. I was co-producing Myd’s songs (Ed Banger), and touring all over the world with Christine and the Queens as the guitarist (including a KCRW live session!). It was intense and I was exhausted and the lockdown arrived at the right moment. Povoa invited me to escape Paris and come to Normandy. I suggested inviting Paula also, without any purpose of making a band! We started to make music without any pressure.
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How does the process usually start when the three of you decide to make a song together? Vocals first, beats first, or does it vary?
Páula: Sometimes we start from scratch in the studio. For example, for “Cajuína” I really wanted to make a reggae track. For “Double Rainbow” we started to make the song in the remote jungle in Brazil after a big thunderstorm.
Really the process depends on the moods and of the places :) But I’m writing words, thoughts, memories and lyrics in my notebooks all the time and I’m always ready to sing on the instrumentals ;)
Jerge: The process is always different, but we always try to bring something we never did before.
Does everyone in PPJ do a little of everything, or is there a division of labor and different roles for each member? What are the strengths of the individual members of PPJ?
Povoa: We obviously each have our areas of expertise, although our interaction in this process is greatly influenced by the song itself. Each of us is dedicated to safeguarding the specific qualities we believe are essential in making the song fun and captivating. Throughout this process of song completion, all these traits should fit together seamlessly, like pieces in a Lego construction.
Jerge: As time goes by, we are more and more influenced by each other, so it’s more and more easy to compose and understand each other’s ideas.
Páula: I think my biggest strengths in PPJ are:
- I’m Brazilian and I can connect my soul and heart with this culture whenever I want : it’s like a secret weapon, a cosmic trip.
- I’m a woman and I am really proud to be a woman on stage to inspire other women.
It’s good to put a feminine-tropical-crazy touch in the project to connect with people.
"Primavera" was my first exposure to your music and it still makes me happy every time I hear it, all these years later. Was that one of the first songs you made together?
Jerge: “Primavera” was the last song we made during the lockdown. It was quite special to make it, for a few reasons. The club tracks were already done: “Nao Sei” (techno) and “Sua Boca” (house), and an experimental and slow tempo track, “Doido.” “Primavera” is nothing like those tracks — it was more open to the world and felt like it was more ambitious. It is a smooth pop song that you can sing along to and also play in a club. We spent a lot of time on it, and I still love it.
Páula: “Primavera” was the first song we started with all three of us from scratch in Normandy during the lockdown. We recorded that with an old piano and I wrote the lyrics about all the spring elements which were surrounding us: the magic happened. So yeah maybe, in a way, we can say it was our very first song together ;)
I was really surprised to see a re-edited version of "Primavera" on the recent CamelPhat record. How did that come about?
Povoa: When they requested the stems, we were really surprised too, and we were really curious to hear their remix. Then, more than a year later, when we had completely forgotten about it, they reached us saying they were about to release their album with a re-edit of “Primavera” on it. We really liked what they did with it.
Who is PPJ's dream collaborator?
Povoa: We would dream to do one with Kero Kero Bonito. It was about to happen, but we unfortunately had to cancel. Next time we go to London, it will happen. We reached out to Maria Beraldo when we were in Brazil, but our schedules didn’t work out. Hopefully next time.
Jerge: I would like to do a collab with Hubert Lenoir from Canada. I like his personality and his music. The goal is to avoid “normal music.” We really like to challenge ourselves. The more we create music, the more I feel the possibilities and can hear in my head the music we have not recorded yet.
Páula: Hubert Lenoir — I love his energy, craziness, and creativity. The Brazilian artist Letrux — I think she’s a very good poet and I love the way she performs. Jockstrap — I’m such a big fan. They’re playing a lot with the sounds, structures, and effects. Walter Astral — this new French project which is mixing techno, folk, and mystic things. And Sorry — I love the girl in this band.
Is there a song the three of you bonded over when you first met?
Povoa: So many, but if we have to choose one, it is “Vikram” by Ilaiyaraaja.
Jerge: “Vikram” came into our vocabulary to discuss and describe music. “Oh yes this demo is great, but we could add some ‘Vikram’ to it… No?” It means adding some fun / U.F.O / weird vibe, or humour / silliness.
Páula: “Vikram,” obviously, and I would add Mc Carol’s “meu namorado é um otario.”
I've been playing "Beijo" a lot for the past couple months. What I love about the song is the balance between the really hard and clubby beats, and the soft, poppy sounds. How did you find that balance?
Povoa: The first version of that song was only the soft part, then the second version was only the hard part (though not as much as it is now), and it’s only when working on it together and trying to find the right interesting idea that we finally got it.
Jerge: I remember the guitar came after and replaced some synths we deleted, and we realized that we could play with the contrast between the softness of the guitar and the saturated club drums. Paula’s singing on it makes a big difference and adds something new.
Páula: Thanks a lot for playing “Beijo,” so good you loved it!! Povoa started a very soft demo and I decided to follow this vibe by making very soft vocals. And then after, the guys twisted the track into something very contrasted. It’s a reflection of the Rio Carnival, relaxing on the beach one minute and then jumping in Carnival bloco on the street the next — sweet and crazy.
How has the music of Brazil inspired your work as PPJ?
Páula: For me it’s really important to put even a little touch of Brazil, the country where I come from, in every track or mix we do. I’m French and Brazilian, and music is a way to express my nostalgia for Latin America. When I am away, this is the only way to keep it alive.
The samba beats, the Forrós, the baile funk, the Carnival bloco’s energy, the music of the umbanda rituals, the sounds of the tropical forest — everything is a source of inspiration and creation.
Tell us a little about your approach for this DJ mix?.
Povoa: We had a new and interesting approach in which we picked three tracks each. We then had so much fun mixing them live at Paula’s place.
Jerge: Yes, usually we improvise, but this time we each selected a few tracks before recording.
What's next for PPJ in the coming months? Any chance you'll be making your way to the US or Los Angeles in 2024?
Povoa: We would love to come to the US, we don’t know when but soon! We will, however, in the coming months, release a lot of music that we are really excited about.
Páula: We have a few gigs in Europe, including the Rex Club in Paris for our release party on March 26 :) We receive a lot of DMs from fans on Instagram all the time asking, “When r u guys coming to play in the US?” Hopefully soon, to be honest. I'm deeply dreaming about this moment. It could be historic!!
Beijoooo guys
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Bloco Vol. 2 is out now. Check out their Carnival-inspired KCRW FREAKS ONLY guest DJ mix above. Keep your eyes/ears open for any upcoming PPJ shows here in the States and find them on Instagram here.