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Beck and Phoenix: Old Friends Unite for Summer

US musician Beck performs on stage in the Festival d'ETE Concert in Quebec City on July 12, 2018. (AFP)
US musician Beck performs on stage in the Festival d'ETE Concert in Quebec City on July 12, 2018. (AFP)
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Beck and Phoenix: Old Friends Unite for Summer

US musician Beck performs on stage in the Festival d'ETE Concert in Quebec City on July 12, 2018. (AFP)
US musician Beck performs on stage in the Festival d'ETE Concert in Quebec City on July 12, 2018. (AFP)

It feels so natural a collaboration that the only surprise is it didn't happen before: indie favorites Beck and Phoenix have teamed up for a new single and summer tour.

The California singer-songwriter joined AFP on a sunny riverside in Paris to talk about their joint single "Odyssey" and upcoming dates in North America.

"A lot of times these tours where they put bands together, no-one really talks. There's no real connection," said Beck.

"To me it's more interesting if there's a life behind all that. We didn't ask permission to do it. We just did it."

The connections between the Los Angeles native and the band from Versailles -- probably France's biggest indie export of recent decades -- go back a long way to their debuts in the 1990s.

"The first time I heard Beck was probably 'Loser' on MTV, but the song I would play the most was 'Jack-Ass'," recalled Phoenix singer Thomas Mars, referring to a hit from Beck's seminal 1996 album "Odelay".

"It felt like we had a cousin or brother somewhere in the world."

Beck said he was sent the first Phoenix album by mutual friends -- probably French electro bands Air or Daft Punk.

"In the 1990s we were coming out of a long period of hard rock and grunge and Phoenix's music had 80s influences that were not fashionable yet. And it felt risqué to embrace happy 80s sounds," he said.

"'Risqué' was my email address back then," Mars joked.

Together for a summer

The old friends have been hanging out in Paris where Beck has been busy attending fashion shows and joining The Black Keys for a rendition of his 1990s breakout hit "Loser" last week.

He plays an acoustic set this Wednesday at city hall.

"It will be me, one guitar, and we'll see what happens," he said with a laugh. "Maybe I'll just do French hits sung with a really terrible American accent."

The two friends will reconnect from August 1 for the North American summer tour, titled "Summer Odyssey".

So why now to finally write a song together?

Beck jumps in: "Well we have the tour, and we decided to give it a name, and then a song, and why not a T-shirt... And let's have a restaurant and a hot-air balloon!"

Then a little more seriously, he added that it "makes it more interesting to have these artifacts from this time where we came together for a summer".

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Entertainment

Disneyland Paris Unveils Spectacular Nighttime Show Using Paris Games Laser Technology

A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
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Disneyland Paris Unveils Spectacular Nighttime Show Using Paris Games Laser Technology

A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A firework display lights up the castle of Sleeping Beauty in Disneyland, in Marne-la-Vallee, east of Paris, Friday Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

A cutting-edge nighttime show at Disneyland Paris is heralding a bold new chapter for Europe’s most-visited theme park, as a raft of ambitious developments comes to fruition under a 2 billion euro ($2.05 billion) expansion plan.
The overhaul includes the completed revamp of the luxury Disneyland Hotel, the upcoming renaming and doubling in size of Walt Disney Studios Park, and the much-anticipated arrival of The World of Frozen and a first-of-its-kind The Lion King land — cementing the resort’s gains after the wilderness years for theme parks during the pandemic, The Associated Press said.
Disney Tales of Magic Disney Tales of Magic was unveiled this month. It's a dazzling 20-minute spectacle blending drones, synchronized fountains, high-definition projections and ultra-bright lasers.
“For the very first time, not only will we be projecting onto Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, but also Main Street USA,” said Tim Lutkin, artistic director of the production, referring to the park’s main commercial artery lined with boutiques and merchandise.
The show’s standout feature — ultra-bright lasers — has been used only once before, at the Paris 2024 Olympics at the Eiffel Tower during the iconic opening ceremony that featured a performance with Celine Dion. The lasers, which travel 23 miles (37 kilometers), deliver extraordinary power while remaining safe near crowds.
“The Paris Olympics used it first. But we saw it first,” said Dana Harrel, executive entertainment director at Disneyland Paris.
Featuring Disney and Pixar tales brought to life by drone-made 3D figures, synchronized fountains and a 100-piece orchestra, the show is elevated further by the original anthem “Live in Magic.”
Audiences have been awestruck. “It’s marvelous. We’ve never seen such a beautiful light show,” said Sacha Tellier, a 33-year-old mother visiting with her family. “It gave me goosebumps,” added Nathan Ruiz, a graphic designer from Madrid. “The combination of music, lights, and the drones felt like pure magic. I’ve been to Disney before, but this show is on another level.”
The spectacle also reflects Disney’s storytelling evolution. Lutkin noted the shift from classic ballgown tales to modern narratives like “Encanto” and “Inside Out 2,” which delves into deeper themes such as anxiety and depression. The latter’s unexpected box office success, Lutkin said, proved that “the world and its relationship with Disney are ready to embrace more complex stories.” This shift is mirrored in the show’s selection of movies, spanning Disney’s timeless classics and emotionally resonant modern hits.
Disney Adventure World At the heart of Disneyland Paris’ expansion is the transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park, doubling in size and reimagined as Disney Adventure World. Opening in spring 2025, a new park entrance, World Premiere, will greet visitors with the glamour of a Hollywood film premiere, leading them into immersive themed areas.
“These projects reflect our commitment to innovation and storytelling,” said Natacha Rafalski, head of Disneyland Paris, adding that they will further strengthen it as Europe’s top tourist destination.
Already Europe’s most-visited theme park and France’s top tourist attraction outdrawing the Louvre, Disneyland Paris welcomed over 10 million visitors in 2023.
The expansion includes two eagerly awaited themed lands. The World of Frozen, debuting in 2026, will transport guests to Arendelle with a central lake hosting water performances and the Frozen Ever After boat ride, alongside themed dining, shopping, and accommodations. Meanwhile, The Lion King land will bring the Pride Lands to life with a log flume cascading from Pride Rock and encounters with beloved characters like Simba and Timon.
Life after the pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic delivered one the toughest challenges to Disneyland Paris, as with all resort parks around the world, forcing an eight-month closure in 2020 and another in 2021.
But Disney doubled down.
The ongoing €2 billion expansion is part of a $60 billion global investment announced in September 2023, aiming to redefine Disney parks, cruises and attractions over the next decade.
A centerpiece of the Paris overhaul is the revamped Disneyland Hotel, with suites themed around classic Disney royalty.
Birth and evolution Disneyland Paris opened in 1992 under its original name, Euro Disney Resort. Situated just outside Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, it marked Disney’s first foray into Europe. However, the park’s early years were fraught with challenges, including cultural missteps, financial struggles and lower-than-expected visitor numbers. Critics in France derided it as an American cultural invasion, dubbing it a “cultural Chernobyl.”
To reverse its fortunes, the park underwent significant rebranding, changing its name to Disneyland Paris in 1994 to emphasize its French location and connection to the capital. Over time, strategic changes, including the addition of new attractions and a shift in marketing, helped the resort recover. It is now a cornerstone of Disney’s global operations.