“Je m’éteins“, the latest single from Daphné Chenel, doesn’t rush to impress. It lets itself unfold, half-lucid and humming with warmth, even when the lyrics dip into darker waters. And that contrast? It’s what makes it stick.
There’s a ghostly calm in “Je m’éteins“, like looking at your reflection and not quite recognising it. The lyrics are bluntly intimate—Daphné sings about absence, about feeling switched off, about even missing the sadness she once had. “Even sadness was better,” she confesses, in a line that stops the air. And yet, somehow, the track never feels heavy. It floats. It grooves, even.
A lot of that comes down to the production, handled with care by her brother Barnabé Chenel, who manages to build a soft engine beneath the existential weight. Electric guitar flickers, a soft bassline moves like a heartbeat, and there’s a subtle retro synth touch that gives the song this gentle sway. The vocoder touches at the beginning add an eerie distance, like a voice singing to itself from the outside. But then the acoustic guitar arrives midway—folky, grounded—and it tugs the song back down to earth, just enough.
You can hear traces of Léa Sen’s slow R&B sensibilities here, or even a quieter Clairo. But Daphné Chenel doesn’t imitate—she breathes through it all in her own, almost whispery tone. The track feels like a walk through fog in late spring: disoriented, quiet, but strangely alive.
About Daphné Chenel:
Born in France, shaped in Lisbon, and written across train windows and unfamiliar rooms all over Europe—Daphné Chenel is an artist who moves a lot, both literally and musically. Her 2023 debut “Mue” put her on the map, especially here in Portugal, where she played iconic spots like Maus Hábitos and Fábrica Braço de Prata. Since then, she’s opened for Léo Middea in Paris, toured through the UK and Portugal, and quietly built a presence across cities like Lisbon, Paris, and Montreal. She’s still fully independent, and you can feel that DIY intimacy in every song—there’s no overthinking, just emotion dressed in melody.
Follow Daphné Chenel: