Aime Simone: Answer The Night

Aime Simone was born in Paris to a French and Norwegian family and spent his young adult life between Los Angeles, Vienna, and Berlin. Since 2020, he has been back in his hometown and has made his way into the French radio charts and Parisian fashion scene without betraying his original DNA. He exists at the crossroads of the mainstream and the underground, drawing from pop songwriting and pan-genre production methods to create what he calls post-pop.

This year, he wants to take some time to create a new album, with just a few headline dates and a small selection of European summer festivals planned, including his show in Paris at Le Trianon on December 14th. In between his packed schedule, SLEEK captured Aime Simone in Paris at the Hôtel du Collectionneur, fully dressed in CÉLINE HOMME.

The feeling of freedom is buoyant throughout Aime Simone’s songs, especially on his new album Oh Glory, where he strikes a balance between painful realities and the euphoria of creation. While his face tattoo— etched on him by his life and creative partner Sonja Fix—  reads “reckless”, the certainty and control of a steady hand guides Simone’s albums with the production value of a studied director. The chaos and intensity of the singer’s life brings a seriousness to his music, but he carries it all the way to the stage upbeat, with high energy.

Aime Simone will be on tour throughout Europe this spring, traveling between venues while also working on his next album. With SLEEK, he discusses fatherhood and the gravity that this responsibility brings, as well as his musical inspirations and aspirations. 

SLEEK: Your most recent album “Oh Glory” has brought in more fans and listeners than ever before. Has it been hard to keep up with the expectations for performances and release dates?

Aime Simone: I don’t really feel the pressure of other people’s expectations or timelines. I put the most pressure on myself and it’s always been like that so I’m used to it.

S: How has your musical career been impacted by fatherhood?

AS: It put me on an intense schedule because if you don’t get organized really well it’s impossible to manage anything when you have a kid. So I think it made me much more professional and able to work efficiently. I can’t stay up all night working and playing around. I only have a limited time of the day that I can work, so I have to be fast and focused.

S: Your music style seems to be a blend of different styles and you once named it to be post pop. What does post-pop mean? How would you put the sound of your music into words?

AS: I call it post-pop because everyone always asks so I came up with that answer. It’s because I write using pop structures but I draw from pretty much every genre, and some people say post-genre today, but that tends to refer to quite experimental music, so since my songs are very traditionally structured and melody-based I say post-pop.

S: What album/ artist can you not stop listening to recently?

AS: Yung Lean’s album Warlord from 2016 is one of the best of all time.

S: You grew up in Paris, and lived in multiple cities across multiple continents over the past few years. Which cultures and their music histories have been the most informative/ impactful for your work?

AS: I have a lot of different influences both from where I’ve lived, the music I heard as a kid through my parents or school, and the internet. At this point, it’s a big mess. Classic pop from the UK, rap from the US, especially Atlanta and Florida, techno from Berlin, psychedelic rock from California, and reggaeton from Puerto Rico. There’s so much more though.

S: Have you noticed that the audience in different cities brings different energies? Where was your favorite place to perform so far?

AS: Yes, some cities have more of a live music culture, some are more about clubbing, some are more chill and some are more turned up. I like it when the crowd brings a lot of energy. I don’t have a favorite. My shows in Paris have a high energy because there are a lot of people. I can do a small show in Istanbul but the energy is crazy too.

S: You used AI to create your most recent promotional art for Oh Glory. How do you think AI is going to impact the music industry in the next few years?

AS: I think it will have a big impact because it will be very easy to create songs, so the volume of releases will go up and the competition will increase because of that. I think it will cause a big counter-movement which will make the value of human-made music go up a lot. I don’t see it as something good or bad, it’s just an evolution like any other, the industrial revolution changed everything, creating a lot of problems and a lot of solutions. We’re gonna experience a lot of change and that will be hard, but I think it’s natural to go through things like that.

S: You mentioned in previous interviews that life in Berlin was an inspiration for Oh Glory. What, if you do, do you miss about Berlin and why have you decided not to perform there for this upcoming tour?

AS: I had a show planned but I had to cancel it. Berlin has a lot of freedom, I do miss that about it. But right now I’m not in a phase of my life where I can take the time to float around. It’s a city that is perfect for experimenting but when you found your path it can get you stuck in the mindset of chilling and taking your time. At least for me, it was like that. Right now I’m trying to build something that takes a lot of energy. But I love Berlin, it’s my favorite place to visit. I have a lot of friends there and it always feels like a second home. I’ll do a show there again as soon as I can.

S: What is your vision for your next creative venture? Are you working on a new album or music videos?

AS: I’m working on a new album. I have a lot of intentions for it. It’s going to be risky, and I am going to contradict a lot of what I’ve put out so far. I feel like I have found a new perspective and it’s very different but I don’t want to abandon what I’ve built so far and turn my back on it either. So it’s going to be about shifting into that new perspective naturally, shifting things that existed before and introducing new elements. 

 Kredite

Fotografie: Marcello Junior Dino
Fashion Direction: Joana Zibat
Talent: Aime Simone
Talent Agent: Florent Farinelli
Künstlerische Leitung: Lorenzo L. Pradelli
Styling: Aime Simone, Sonja Fix, Joana Zibat
Grooming: Catalina Sartor @ Go-See
Production: Anne-Cècile Lemée
Photography Assistant: Anton Grebentsov
Styling-Assistentin: Orlane Melza
Retouch: Numerique
Location: Hôtel Du Collectionneur.

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