Empire of Sound - Empire

Pauline Pénicaud makes her directorial debut with Empire. From a young age, her parents gave her a camera which she carried with her everywhere. Alongside this, she studied classical piano which sparked her second passion, music. It was only natural that image and sound would take an important place in her life. Parisian jazz clubs became an endless source of inspiration and meeting new artists from the French music scene such as Ibrahim Maalouf, Tigran Hamasyan, Etienne Mbappe, Richard Bona, and Eric Truffaz. She produced numerous album covers, photos, and videos. It was in the live atmosphere that she enjoyed expressing herself and capturing the moments that moved her the most. For her, each melody told a story. Her collaboration with the band Empire of Sound allowed her to explore a more narrative style of writing and let her creativity shine. One thing is certain, she still has many stories to tell.

Julien Grenier is the founder of the music group Empire of Sound. As a keyboardist, he started his career in the reggae and jazz scene in Bordeaux before moving to Paris. It was there that he met Pascal Nègre (former director of Universal Music Europe), who took him under his wing and entrusted him with the musical production for several of his artists such as Zaz, Anggun, and Frérot Delavega. Meanwhile, Julien continued to compose music for himself in a completely different genre that he cherished: rap/hip-hop, which inspired his creativity. In 2015, Empire of Sound was born and released their first album "Out of the Norme". However, Julien wanted to take his vision even further. He was very sensitive to the importance of visuals and had a strong aesthetic perspective. That's why, when he met Pauline Pénicaud, they decided to completely revamp the image of the group to take it to the next level. Ideas were flowing, and Empire was created through a collaborative exchange. This duo will continue to surprise us in the rest of their journey.