Mixing pop, disco, and rock into a stylish blend, Phoenix grew out of the garage band vocalist Thomas Mars, bassist Deck d'Arcy, and guitarist Christian Mazzalai played in while growing up in the suburbs of Paris. Mazzalai's older brother Branco joined the band on guitar when his band Darlin' disbanded in 1995.
The group got its start playing on the French bar circuit, doing Hank Williams and Prince covers to drunken audiences. Two years later, the band took on the name Phoenix and pressed 500 copies of a single on its own label, Ghettoblaster. The A-side was a punk rock song...