Sébastien Tellier Presses ‘Refresh’: Glamour, Reprogrammed
Sébastien Tellier just hit refresh—literally and spiritually. Five years after the domestic bliss and oddball chores of Domesticated, the French Touch lifer returns with “Refresh,” a compact, gleaming transmission that feels like a deep inhale before the next act. Where Domesticated flirted with the mundane as muse, “Refresh” is the pivot: brisk BPM, velvet synths, and that baritone half-smile guiding you toward the dancefloor as if to say—ok, back to pleasure now.
Tellier’s mythology is part chic lounge prophet, part cosmic prankster. Two decades after “La Ritournelle” became a secular hymn—and most recently floated above Paris as he performed at the 2024 Paralympics opening—it’s striking how current he still sounds when he leans into romance and repetition. “Refresh” taps that lineage: patient build, heart-on-sleeve melody, drums that insist without shouting. The veteran’s gift remains the same—turning a simple refrain into a city-sized feeling.
The single is co-written with longtime conspirator and wife, Amandine de la Richardière and turbo-polished by SebastiAn and Oscar Holter (yes, that Holter, whose pop credentials stretch from nocturnal synth noir to stadium sparkle). You can hear the split atom: the human tremor in Tellier’s vocal rubbing against immaculate machine sheen. It’s the sweet spot he’s chased since the early days—pop, electro, folk, braided until genre becomes mood. The hook lodges quickly; the afterglow lingers.
There’s pageantry in the visuals, too. Jean-Baptiste Mondino, fashion’s favorite lens for coolly lit desire, teams with AI imagery to toy with Tellier’s persona. The running gag: will the man with the messianic beard ever shave? The man knows the theater of pop, and he enjoys letting us in on the bit.
@sebastientelliermusic Daddy guitar class 🎸 🫶🏻 #sebastientellier #guitartok
What “Refresh” really signals is intent. It’s released via Because Music, a new label chapter that frames Tellier not as a retro fixture but as a present-tense auteur with unfinished business. If “La Ritournelle” was the lovestruck epic that made him a cult deity, “Refresh” is the quicksilver pulse that says the cult is recruiting again—less incense, more neon. The track is concise, replay-ready, and, in classic Tellier fashion, quietly emotional beneath the gloss. Start it once and your night subtly rearranges itself around its rhythm.
In other words, the refresh button worked. Now, press play—and let Tellier reprogram the room.
“REFRESH” OUT NOW”
“Refresh” Artwork © Jean-Baptiste Mondino
Follow Sébastien Tellier
Instagram // TikTok // YouTube