French composer, songwriter and producer Ulrich Forman gives another taste of his upcoming album with new single ‘Wish I’d Love You More’, the third single taken from his upcoming album ‘Chapter IV’, due for release on May 27th. Stream ‘Wish I’d Loved You More’ Here. Watch the video here. Pre-order Ulrich Forman’s upcoming album ‘Chapter IV’ Here.
A collaboration with rising Alt-pop French singer Bergmann and French rapper Days, ‘Wish I’d Loved You More’ follows the release of previous singles including the powerful, ‘At Last’, and the intimate ‘Breathin’, which introduced Ulrich Forman’s emotive journey through the pain and joy that comes with love, vulnerability and songwriting he explores in his upcoming album ‘Chapter IV’. While ‘At Last’ reflected on the aftermath of love and ‘Breathin’ explored the emotions of “falling in love without warning”, in ‘Wish I’d Loved You More’ Ulrich continues exploring the theme touched upon with ‘At Last’, the relationship is consumed, love is dead.
“I had this idea of a couple back to back in bed, each one reflecting on the feelings they have for the other,” explains Ulrich. Bergmann and Ulrich Forman’s voices embody this couple, whose love is dead, consumed. Each character gets its own signature sound, we are introduced to Bergmann through moody samples and auto tuned vocals, before Ulrich’s verse changes the song’s texture through his unique vocal harmonies and folk-influenced guitar, while Days ends the song with his at first mellow, then gritty and distorted rap verse in contrast with expansive layered strings.
Like the out-of-tune piano that serves as the foundation of the piece, the protagonists realise how far apart they are from each other, the lyrics “wish I had the guts to go, wish I’d loved you more,” perfectly depict their denial, they prefer to stay in a dead relationship than leaving. External to their relationship, the third character, Days, is like a spectator concluding the song with the disintegration of his voice, at the same time as that of the couple.
The visuals, directed by Nathalie de Lopez – founder of Gen-Z Gangster Magazine and responsible for directing the critically acclaimed short film ‘Dance or Die’ – translate the relationship through movements by talented dancers and real life couple Helena Olmedo Duynslaeger and Robinson Cassarino – who have also starred in Yves Saint-Laurent’s latest campaign for Black Opium and are part of dance-theatre choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Eastman dance troupe.
Intimate, crafted with precision and delicacy, Ulrich’s music is wrapped around lyrics tinged with poetry. His arrangements, both sober and rich, sewn thread by thread with remarkable craftsmanship, combine emotive melodies, intricate guitars and warm acoustics with touches of electronic influences to create delicate yet expansive indie folk songs.
“I started writing ‘Chapter IV’ about two years ago. I already had a few tracks and ideas laid down when I got into a really bad motorcycle accident,” explains Ulrich talking about the upcoming album. Finding himself unable to play guitar or piano, the artist had to come up with a new writing process; “for the first time, I started by writing lyrics without any melodies in mind, that led me to write introspective lyrics about very intimate subjects, which would later become the foundation of the album”.
Lyrics became the beating heart of ‘Chapter IV’, with Ulrich tailoring the music around them in order to create the perfect settings to express them. “I did not want those lyrics hidden behind heavy musical arrangements. I chose an almost bare and minimalistic aesthetic, so that they could breathe and convey the vulnerability I felt after the accident that I was so desperately trying to accept”.Using tools traditionally associated with electronic music or hip-hop, and replacing organic instruments with samples, drum machines, autotune, this new writing process forced Ulrich to learn a new way of composing music; “I could not hide behind routine,” he says; “in a way, that led me to a certain type of innocence and sincerity I had when I first started composing,” he enthuses.
His previous releases – including two EPs, ‘See My Love’ and ‘Chapter II’, followed by the debut album ‘Chapter III’ – have seen his signature sound evolving from rusty folk to bloomy and sheer compositions bathed in tenderness. On stage or in studio, he collaborates with Yann Tiersen, Fab Dupont (Paul Mc Cartney/Carly Rae Jepsen), Florent Livet (Phoenix/Bloc Party), Pavle Kovacevic (Sébastien Tellier), Chab (Feist/Daft Punk) and Graham Hawthorne (Brian Wilson/Paul Simon).
Ulrich Forman new single ‘Wish I’d Loved You More’ is out now. ’Stream ‘Wish I’d Loved You More’ Here. Watch the video here. Pre-order Ulrich Forman’s upcoming album ‘Chapter IV’ Here.
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