Twelve years have passed since Paul Armand-Delille (Polo) and Alexandre Grynszpan (Pan) first met at Le Baron, a Parisian bar where the two Frenchmen frequently performed DJ sets in the early days of their careers. Now, the duo known to fans as Polo & Pan has launched their third full-length LP, '22:22'. They connect with CLASH through video call while enjoying a well-earned break. Having amassed over two billion streams worldwide, the pair just returned from a highly successful first leg of their European tour, selling out nearly every venue, including London’s Roundhouse.
“We have to admit, we’re quite proud of ourselves,” Pan states with a big smile. “It’s really surprising because we’ve only released a few new songs, and it’s been quite a while since our last album. We’ve somehow managed to sell out shows across France and Europe, and we’re headed to Coachella.” Expanding on this, Polo adds, “We’ve definitely enhanced the show since our last tour. For the first time, we can move around the booth. Previously, we were fixed in one spot, but now we have more freedom to move.” He continues, “It’s a new way for us to engage with each other during performances. We have this face-to-face interaction that feels almost like a duel, providing a fresh experience for us and the audience.”
The visual elements of their performance feature the duo in all-white attire, navigating a large, illuminated control pad reminiscent of an 80s sci-fi film. An immersive yet minimalistic sequence of vibrant 2D shapes plays on the transparent LED screens behind them, allowing the audience to appreciate the venue’s own features. This concept comes from visual artists Benjamin Moreau and Noemi Ferst, who have collaborated with the group for a long time, designing all their album artwork. “We have an excellent team that assists us in crafting the live experience. While we work closely with them, we also give them ample creative freedom to develop ideas and determine what resonates,” Polo explains. “From the start, they’ve helped create aesthetics that align well with our sound, fostering a strong creative partnership.”
The era of '22:22' marks a transition in how the duo approaches both live performances and their studio creativity. Polo elaborates, “With ‘Caravalle’ (2017), we wrote a complete storyboard and meticulously planned everything. We even composed 12 paragraphs and predetermined that the album would have 12 songs. But for this album, instead of discussing the songs in advance, we just went and created them.” He adds, “We assembled all our new equipment in a large analog studio and connected everything simultaneously to perform it all. It’s quite unusual for a band to shift from a more conceptual process to a less structured approach, but this time we felt we could convey the story through our music rather than just words.”
The lead single ‘Disco Nap’ features Joseph Mount from Metronomy, whose management reached out while Metronomy was on a break, expressing his interest in collaborating with them. The duo met with Mount in Paris for drinks and hit it off, leading to a decision to book two days in the studio a few weeks later. The first day was spent working on a song that was ultimately discarded, but on the second day, ‘Disco Nap’ was created in just four hours. “Working with him was an honor,” Pan remarks, playfully adding, “He’s a bit like a musical Arsène Wenger – always very direct!” Polo elaborates, “It was a rapid collaboration. He knows what he wants from a track, so it was great to work with someone who has that clear vision.”
Emerging Parisian duo Kids Return, who opened for Polo & Pan on their recent European tour, are also featured on the album. ‘Bluetopia’ is a 90s-inspired synth-pop track with hints of the DFA sound while evoking the essence of Air, another French duo both groups admire. Discussing the collaboration, Pan says, “Kids Return remind me of Polo and me ten years ago. I appreciate their humility and the way they interact creatively and professionally, and I believe they have the potential for greatness.” He adds, “I’m really proud they’re part of the same independent label as us (Hamburger Records, Ekler’o’Shock), and I’m confident they will become huge stars.”
Polo agrees. “There’s immense respect between us. We see them learning from us, and we’ve learned a lot from them as well. They possess much better musicianship than us. They’re instrumentalists while we’re producers, so our approaches differ significantly. We also really enjoyed their new album '1997' and are eager for its release.”
Polo mentions that he crafted the track’s contrasting title and explored its musical implications. “We aimed to create a song that was
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It's been 12 years since Paul Armand-Delille (Polo) and Alexandre Grynszpan (Pan) first met at Le Baron, the bar in Paris at