Home Safe / Crayon

This is Crayon's "Home Safe" LP (2025).

Crayon, a central figure in the Parisian music scene and a trusted producer for French rappers like Josman, Dinos, and Prince Waly, steps into the spotlight with this work as a highly personal and communal solo project that transcends genre boundaries.

"'Home Safe' is a reunion with the music that supported me when I was growing up in a small house in the Parisian suburbs," Crayon says. "It's like remembering that space with the smell of a fireplace and my stepfather's folk records playing." That nostalgia is reflected in the warm sound of the entire album. "I needed quiet music," he adds.

At the heart of the album is a question Crayon posed to the participating artists: "What does 'home' mean to you?" The answers are expressed through a diverse range of voices, including anaiis, Rhye, ELIZA, Yamê, Arthur Teboul (Feu! Chatterton), JPL (Tora), and Lossapardo, a painter turned singer.

"Originally, I started expressing myself by drawing what I heard. That's where the name Crayon comes from," he explains. "After I started writing music, I began painting with sounds. I create a palette of sounds and combine textures, like combining fabrics and shapes." That sensibility is still central to his creative process. "You can 'hear' shapes and even 'taste' them. Everything feels connected."

The mask, said to be made of paper clay, is avant-garde and like an unstable dream. However, the music contained within combines elements of R&B, soul, and alternative, making it an album that will surely satisfy listeners. (Ammel)