Folamour Continues to Soar

Having just released his fifth album Manifesto and a huge remix of a 70s Austrian classic, we catch up with the prolific French producer & DJ

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For nearly a decade now, French producer and DJ Bruno Boumendil has gone from strength-to-strength under the name Folamour, releasing a unique brand of luscious disco-flavoured house sounds as well as being a context fixture in clubs and festivals around the world as an in-demand DJ.

Showing no signs of slowing down in 2023, this year has seen the release of his fifth album Manifesto - a record that was two years in the making, where across fourteen tracks he explores his vision of "love and freedom" through a funk-filled house lens. A true celebration of love, the record sees Folamour teaming up with some very talented vocalists, songwriters, and fellow producers including Baccus, Amadou & Mariam, Jungle By Night, Khazali, Emmanuel Jal, and Tim Ayre.

Speaking of this new album, Folamour says, "This is a manifesto of my love for a free humanity, of my affection for these sparks that are born from our frictions. When we are open to the other, we can highlight friendship and sharing, which only forges us even more. Exempt of expectations and constraints, we unveil ourselves in a new light. It warms up the hearts and minds of those for whom freedom it’s still a mirage in an infinitely lonely desert, where there is only room for deception."

Just two weeks after the release of Manifesto, Folamour surprised and delighted fans with his latest release - an upbeat, tropical themed four-to-the-floor remix of the soul-pop classic Peace Now by one of Austria's most famous singers, Udo Jürgens, originally released in 1970. With the track conveying a message of love and unity, it fits right in with Folamour's Manifesto as he brings this 50+ year old song to new generations and dancefloors everywhere.

With all this going on, we checked in with Folamour while he's on a massive European tour to find out all about the album, remix, DJing vs producing, collaborations and more!

Congrats on your new album Manifesto! What was the idea and creative process for the album? Does this differ from writing singles or remixes?

Thank you, so happy it’s finally out ! The creative process of the album was to finally accept all the sides of who I am as an artist and stopping overthinking everything. I kept pushing for more organic instruments, live strings and horns, guitars, bass, drums sometimes and of course all the vocals as I was already pushing in my previous album, more writing and layers in the composition but also bringing back the « made for the dance » vibes. The idea overall was to make an album that could be played in a club for the most part, but bringing emotions and stories to it, or being listened to at home, on a bus, with friends etc… That was the challenge creative-wise.It does differ from working on EPs and singles, I want to tell a proper story with different aspects and angles, I want to cover more emotions and diversity in the genres than on a shorter format.

With some awesome guests on the record, how important was collaboration in the process?

When I feel that the song needs a collaboration with another artist or band, then my focus always is to find the best partner to tell the story I have in mind, who would feel it to their heart and soul and help me share it in the most interesting or beautiful way possible. I’m so proud of all the collaborations on the album, they all found their natural spot in the story I was telling and all felt smooth.

Do you have any dream collaborators you’d love to work with one day - musical or other?

So many! Right now I would love to work with Belgian rapper Hamza, RY X or Brazilian trio Gilsons.

Your latest release, the Udo Jürgens remix is huge - when did you first hear the original? What made you want to remix this track?

This is probably one of my favorite remixes I’ve ever done. I first heard the original from an email sent by my label and it carries such a meaningful and strong message that resonated a lot with me right away, it being so closely linked to the message I want to spread through my music and as an artist more globally, I’m humbled to be part of this track’s story. It has already brought so many unforgettable moments during my sets recently.

How do you balance DJing and producing?

I don’t really haha! I just produce pretty much all the time, with some « off » period when my inspiration is taking a break or when I feel I need time to know where I want to go with my next music. Nowadays, I’m back at being excited about producing music to dance on and I’m always trying new genres, new sounds or themes and I play them right away in my sets so DJing and producing is finally linked for me after years of trying to separate them completely.

How’s your current huge European tour going at the moment?

Great! There are a lot of shows I’ve been waiting for some time: my Glastonbury debut after three years of trying, my House Of Love stage at We Love Green in Paris was out of this World, I will also be coming back to Berlin that will be amazing for sure! So many things to be excited about, it keeps me going through the tiredness.

What have you been listening to lately?

Actually, I fell back hard into drum’n’bass, specifically liquid. It eases my soul during tough or long rides, it almost feels like ambient to me. French hip hop and acoustic / folk music besides that, so much good music coming out.