French indie pop duo Watoo Watoo fashion gentle, sweetly melodic indie pop that mixes elements of ’60s pop, French chanson, bossa nova, and jangly lo-fi. Their first EP, a collection of songs recorded over the prior three years, arrived in 1997. They made their official debut in 2001 with Le Fumalin. Their fourth full-length, 2018’s Modern Express, came billed as their last.
Pascale and Michaël Korchia began recording as Watoo Watoo in 1994. He took care of making the music, she sang the words, and together they embarked on an under-the-radar career that found them releasing their music in a variety of formats for a variety of labels. Their first EP, Un Peu de Moi, was put out by American label Blackbean & Placenta Tape Club in 1997. Two years later, they released the EP Picture of a Lost Friend on Radio Khartoum. In early 2001, Blackbean & Placenta Tape Club unveiled Curiosités?, a compilation of rarities that included covers of such influences as Felt and Alain Souchon. Later the same year, their debut album, Le Fumalin, came out on Clover Records.
The band generally kept a low profile, regarding live concerts as too exhausting, but labels were still interested in releasing their music. Le Fumalin was reissued by Les Disques Maladroits in 2003. Their second album, La Fuite, arrived via Letterbox Records in 2007, and their next release, Le Tourbillon EP, surfaced in 2011 on Dufflecoat Records. Along the way, the duo contributed tracks to more than a dozen compilations, most notably Darla’s Donovan tribute album A Gift from a Garden to a Flower, where their version of “Jennifer Juniper” was a highlight. The duo’s 2014 full-length, Une Si Longue Attente, was released by U.S. label Jigsaw. Jigsaw also handled Watoo Watoo’s final album, 2018’s Modern Express. ~ Tim Sendra & Marcy Donelson, Rovi
