Tiphanie Doucet
Tiphanie Doucet is a French artist based in New York. Her emotionally disarming performances deceive in their simplicity, often times consisting of nothing more than her voice and a guitar, occasionally accompanied by a violinist. Yet, they nevertheless arrest audiences through their quiet, brooding intensity, holding a vulnerability that’s offset by a wintry, gallic allure.
On any given weekday, you can hear her voice echoing over the Hudson and East rivers. Equipped with only an acoustic guitar, a microphone, and a tiny mixer, the French songstress delivers hushed and intimate performances for passengers aboard Spirit Cruises, set against the backdrop of an idyllic Manhattan skyline. Doucet’s setlist meanders seamlessly between Top 40 staples like Cindy Lauper and The Week’nd, while discreetly inserting the odd Gallic classic and, of course, a few numbers from her own blooming repertoire. Oddly enough, this sort of eclecticism works, as Doucet’s own style has been informed by her superior command of the pop form.
Tiphanie Doucet got her start early on in the music and entertainment world. Harp and Ballet were part of her two passions since a very early age, and lead to a professional Dancing and Acting career. A starring role in the film Le bébé d’Elsa, and later in the Glee-like TV series “Chante”, gave her popularity in her native France, and the unlikely foundations for what would be a very eclectic musical trajectory. After leaving France, Doucet decided to gamble it all and start fresh in America. The 180-degree turn that her life took left her old life in shambles, bringing her plenty of heartbreak and homesickness that would prove to be a wellspring of musical inspiration. This moment of transition afforded Doucet plenty of material to write her own songs, which she began testing out on street corners, cruises and cafés throughout New York and her newly adopted home in Jersey City, New Jersey. The overwhelmingly positive reception was such that she decided to release her own work. She released her first single “Lucky guy” with Grammy-nominated producer Jason Agel, whose work can be heard in productions by everyone from Kanye West to Björk to Beyonce.
A year later, she released her debut album “Under My Sun”, a collection of rustic, yet polished folk numbers produced by David Baron and Simone Felice, who have worked with the likes of Lumineers and Jade Bird. Though Doucet’s influences are prevalent throughout the album, nodding to the likes of Norah Jones, Ingrid Michaelson, and Feist, the work is without a doubt a testament to the uniqueness and originality of her voice. The sound is amplified by Felice and Baron’s production, which never feels intrusive, but serves as the perfect complement to the singer’s overpowering voice, interjecting only at key moments of emotional revelation.