Léonie Pernet unveils an alternative version of Acid Niger (Gael Rakotondrabe rework)
The piece distills Leonie Pernet’s art of nuance into a hushed reverie: melancholic, reflective, sentimental, and deeply emotional. Guided by the lyric “We dream of love / a temple for the misfits”, she sketches a sanctuary for outsiders and dreamers, a fragile refuge far from violence.
For this new version, she turned to longtime collaborator Gael Rakotondrabe (known for his work with CocoRosie, Anohni, David Byrne, and Woodkid). With finesse and restraint, he reshapes the electronic textures of the original, reveals its hidden harmonics, and leads the song toward a luminous conclusion: a solo piano coda, tinged with jazz and marked by a quiet but undeniable intensity. The result is not only a rework, but a dialogue between two artistic voices that expand the emotional landscape of the original piece.
The release is accompanied by an innovative video directed by Delphine Diallo, another trusted collaborator of Leonie. Crafted using AI-generated images, the video unfolds like a visual poem, blending more than 60 animated tableaux that evoke sacred landscapes of Niger, imagined somewhere between reality and dream. Each frame is meticulously constructed, immersing the viewer in a surreal and powerful cinematic experience that mirrors the themes of the song.
With this release, Leonie Pernet continues the journey she began with Poèmes Pulvérisés. Once again, she bridges the gap between poetry, emotion, and politics, creating music that speaks of identity, solidarity, and the possibility of healing.
This fall, after her acclaimed performance at Rock en Seine, Leonie Pernet will bring this vision to life in concerts across France and Europe, before a major date at the Olympia in Paris in March 2026.