Coralie, I love you but you’re bringing me down…
Monthly Archives: March 2015
Now playing: Circé Deslandes
Circé Deslandes first album is out now on Spotify (partly on Bandcamp), with lustful tracks, chok full of double entendres, innuendo and pure sex music like this track:
See also this video:
French Disco Boogie Sounds
We’ve been boogie-ing down on this blog every NOW and THEN, but never to the sounds presented on this compilation, out end of this month. Rare titles by artists from either the (French) Carribean or Canada, this glitters like sequined hot pants. ‘Superstar’ by Canadian band (?) Contessa intrigues me the most – the song’s credited to one Geraldine Hunt, who made a few discofied albums herself, but certainly isn’t singing this track. Anybody has more info?
UPDATE:
The Plot Thickens. Superstar is a French version of the song ‘Star struck’ by Cheri, with Geraldine Hunt singing (and writing). Thanks Aux!
Contessa – Super Star 1983 sur WAT.tv sélectionnée dans Musique
Le Grand Bateau new single
Remember Le Grand Bateau? Posted about this Belgian band a few years back. They return with a strong single (video coming up) taken from their L’eau de vie album, released last year.
And here’s that video:
Ariane Moffatt – 22h22
‘No guitars, just plastic’, that was the motto for making 22h22, Ariane Moffatt‘s fifth album. The Canadian songstress even taped an ‘X’ on one of the guitars hanging on the studio wall. No strings, just buttons and keys then. And a contribution by ‘Henri and Marcel Marcil-Moffatt’, the twin boys Ariane had in 2013 and who became subject of this record. The title is a reference to the moment when, kids in bed, all work done, inspiration hits. From THIS interview: “Everything would come back to me at 10:22,” she recalled. “My life was so practical at that point, but at that time, I felt like it was the only opportunity I had to fly, to see what’s on the other side. It was reassuring to feel that again, because I was in provider mode and survival mode and taking care of babies and not thinking about anything else.”
‘The other side’, as Moffatt calls it, is a dream-like state, where plushy 70s-synths (Jean-Michel Jarre sometimes springs to mind) take over and the mood is reflective and introspective. Take ‘Retourner en moi’ for istance. On the other hand, there are more upbeat tracks like single ‘Debout’ and what to me is the highlight of this album, ‘Les tireurs fou’ – the latter is a song about trying to shield your kids from all the dangers and annoyances in this world. Brazilian percussion turns up in ‘De mort à vivant’ (a song about reincarnation), the twins lend their voices for ‘Matelos & frères’.
When Ariane leans less on the trickery (a choir of her fans in ‘Toute sa vie’, the baby voices, the bended voice in ‘Nostalgie des jours qui tombent’) and relies more on her songwriting, 22h22 lights up. ‘Retourner en moi’ is a great song, as is ‘Les tireurs fous’. B
eing a mom and an artist, it’s a struggle. That’s what 22h22 proves. It’s nice to drift off to ‘the other side’ every now and then. But it takes a lot more than some ‘hour of inspiration’ to get to a really great album.
Annie Philippe giveaway
Want a free Annie Philippe compilation? Read on!
Born in 1946, and still active today, it’s blonde bombshell and yeye-icon Annie Philippe! Ace Records just released a compilation with hits and nuggets, both on vinyl and cd. She’s best known for Ticket de Quay and uptempo banger C’est la mode. One of my favourites, J’ai tant de peine is also on the Ace compilation:
As said, she’s still active today! Watch a show she did this year HERE
I have one compilation-cd to give away. All you have to do is send me a guestpost on your favourite YeYe-song. Any song, not just Annie’s. Guuzbourg (a) gmail.com awaits your texts (100 words or more).
Another cool Ace-released compilation is ‘Ciao Bella!’ featuring Italian female 60s pop singers – what’s Yeye in Italian? I bought the white vinyl lp, this is one of my favourite tracks on it:
Julie Blanche
Montréal-based Julie Blanche featured on these very pages last year after she finished runner-up at that year’s Les Francouvertes (the annual French-Canadian music festival which acts as a showcase for emerging francophone artists). Enthusing over her auto-financed EP the overriding thought was that here was not so much a showcase but more of a teaser from an artist that we hoped would grace this blog again…
And now armed with her eponymously-titled debut album it’s probably safe to say that Julie has emerged with an album that should comfortably find a place in any end of year retrospective…
This album comprises ten haunting and melancholy bitter-sweet vignettes, that feel intensely personal and semi-biographical. Every song on this album tells a story, each one an episode imbued with a different emotion and each perfectly framed by the sparseness of Julie’s voice and beautifully counterpoised by the richness of the accompanying melody. Indeed, it’s this richness – that lends an underlying warmth to proceedings – which ensures the album never becoming over-sentimental or maudlin.
To be honest, I’m absolutely blown away by this album, thanks in no small part to the combination of the masterful compositions of Antoine Corriveau (Julie’s long-time collaborator and partner), producer Mathieu Charbonneau. and Julie’s crystalline voice that leaves you hanging on her every word. Every song on this album is truly memorable; “Deux visages”, the opening track and a tale of those conflicting passions, love and hate; “Le manège” and a lover scorned. There’s an underlining menace rippling not far below the surface of “Au bout de la nuit” and “Comme un décor”.
But lest you think the album is hard work, these songs are balanced by the wistful “Le fleuve au complet”, the ethereal “Presque” and the album’s closing number, “La vie facile”, an uplifting reminiscence of a life lived to the full.
This is truly an exceptional œuvre and although I’m pretty certain that I haven’t even began to convey how good an album this is, I’m immediately drawn to comparisons – and I’m not alone here – with fellow Québecoise Salomé Leclerc. There’s the same assured art of story-telling and the same range of emotions conveyed in the voice. Indeed in Francophone Canada the album has received rave reviews and is already being given serious consideration as an album of the year candidate…
Maria Due
Serge Gainsbourg, Jane Birkin, Astrud Gilberto, Stereolab, Billie Holiday…we like what sweet voiced Maria Due likes. The Norwegian singer just released a cover album (Lucky Fish) with songs by none of the artists just mentioned. But by The Cure, Canned Heat, Young Rascals and Van der Graaf Generator – not bad. Plus a very soothing French sung version of ‘Martine’ by Louis Philippe, that you can hear below:
See the original here. Thanks Joris Stereo for the tip.