Léonie Pernet

Léonie Pernet is a French singer-songwriter and a composer.  Since Le Cirque de Consolation, her second album released in 2021, a seismic shift has occurred in Léonie Pernet’s life.The musician travelled to Niger to meet her father’s family — previously unknown to her. Upon returning from the trip, Léonie came across a line by René Char: “I took my head as one takes a lump of salt and literally pulverised it.” The shock of this revelation stayed with her and led her to Poème Pulvérisé, a 1945 collection by the French poet and resistance fighter. Opting for the plural, Léonie titled her third album Poèmes Pulvérisés, to be released in June 2025 via Crybaby and InFiné. A crossroads of continents, the album links the limestone skies of her childhood in the Marne (France) to the deserts of Niger. From classical and electronic music to French pop, African and Arabic rhythms and experimental soundscapes, Léonie Pernet pulverises form, language, and composition. What are we, if not scattered fragments?

Léonie also has recently contributed to projects by friends such as Clara Ysé, percussionist and composer Lucie Antunes, and Rome-based French-Senegalese singer, songwriter and actress Awa Ly. As a composer for film and stage, she has created original scores for H24 (Arte, 2021 – CSDEM Prize), the theatre piece Dispak Dispac’h (Avignon 2024), and the documentary Le Deuxième Sexe (2025). A final testament to her deep connection to poetry — her artistic compass — is her preface to La femme qui boit by Colette Andris (Gallimard).

Last November, Léonie Pernet presented her creation Le Chœur Pulvérisé at the Philharmonie de Paris, accompanied by her musicians and a choir of 12 singers. Receiving a standing ovation, this performance marked the first live presentation of her third album, “Poèmes Pulvérisés“ — a title inspired by René Char’s poetry collection — set for release in June 2025 on CryBaby and InFiné.

Revealed with “Crave“ (2018) and “Le Cirque de Consolation“ (2021)—both critically acclaimed— Léonie Pernet explores a universe that is both introspective and politically engaged, oscillating between melancholy and exaltation, at the crossroads of genres and disciplines. Also a composer for film, she notably created the soundtrack for H24 (Arte, 2021), earning the CSDEM Prize for Best Original Score for a Drama. An established live performer, she will be touring worldwide with her eagerly awaited third album, “Poèmes Pulvérisés“.

 

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