Music: L’enfer – Stromae
On “L’Enfer,” a new piano-backed song from Sromae, he addresses themes of loneliness and sadness, as well as revealing that he’s had suicidal thoughts in the past.
“I’ve thought about suicide a few times and I’m not proud of it/Sometimes you feel like it’d be the only way to silence them,” he says on the tune, which is accompanied by a haunting chorus and an ominous tempo. “All of these ideas are driving me insane/All of these thoughts are driving me insane.”
The “Papaoutai” singer unveiled the single during a televised news show interview. During a Q&A, he performed the single while seated at the newsdesk, holding back tears, when asked whether music helped him escape his terrible thoughts.
Before playing, he commented, “People generally classify my songs as ones with cheerful melody and subjects that are a little deeper, a little sadder.” “It’s how I look at things… There is no such thing as a high without a low, or a low without a high. That’s how life is.”
“L’enfer,” or “Hell,” is his second single from the upcoming album Multitude, after “Santé.” The album is his first in over eight years; his sophomore album, Racine Carrée, was published in 2013.
Stromae’s 2010 hit “Alors on Danse,” which had recently gone viral on TikTok, was sampled on dance producers Joel Corry and Jax Jones’ song “Out, Out,” which featured Charli XCX and Saweetie, back in August.
He’s sang on French rapper Orelsan’s tune “La Pluie” and Coldplay’s song “Arabesque” from the band’s album Everyday Life since Racine Carrée. He also directed Dua Lipa’s bizarre “IDGAF” music video in 2018. He also owns Mosaert, a clothing company.
