Following the release of his critically acclaimed studio album Multitude, internationally acclaimed Belgian-born artist, writer, performer, producer, designer, and director Stromae has shared the official music video for his latest single “Fils De Joie.”
The video is a national tribute from a fictional country to a missing sex worker, “raised to the rank of heroine,” Stromae elaborates. “The idea for ‘Fils de Joie’ came from watching Faustine Bollaert’s talk show Ca Commence Aujourd’hui. One of her shows was dedicated to the children of sex workers. I was struck because I discovered a world that I did not know at all. A child testified by explaining that a client of his mother had come to tell him, ‘Ah well, yesterday I b____d your mother.’
He continues, “I found the phrase and the attitude most out of place. How can you afford to say such things to a child? I wanted to take everyone’s point of view since everyone has an opinion on her, but unfortunately we don’t often ask her for hers. I therefore speak in place of the son, the client, the pimp and the policeman. ‘Fils De Joie’ is in a way, a tribute to these women who do this very difficult work, very little recognized, but which exists and which will exist, whether we like it or not.”
Multitude was composed by Stromae, produced by his creative label Mosaert, and came after a period of forced hiatus from the stage. With it came enforced furlough and its silver linings: settling down, leading a more relaxed, structured life, closer to family, making work exciting again, expanding his sources of inspiration and, most of all, making what he went through worth it by reinvesting the dividends of this challenging phase into the core of new songs.
In April, the musician will perform on both weekends of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Prior to his lengthy hiatus, Stromae delivered standout performances at the 2015 iteration of the festival.
Later this year, Stromae will embark on a North American arena tour making stops in Vancouver, San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Washington D.C., Boston, and Quebec City. Ticket information can be found on the official Stromae website.