‘Anna’ is the new single by Charlotte Gainsbourg (who’s coming to my hometown! Whoo!), with remixes by Moonlight Matters, Clock Opera and, posted here, a very FS-friendly, floating version by Tom Furse.
This is a very nice rework of Paradisco.
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Anna (Tom Furse remix)
We don’t overuse the expression ‘yearlist material, people’ on this blog, yet were not afraid to use it either. This year, Fanny Bloom got tapped, and now I’m adding Barbara Carlotti’s L’Amour L’Argent Le Vent and Amylie’s Le Royaume to that Indispensable-list. Quebecoise Amylie released her sophomore cd, it’s richer in sound (orchestral, if you like) than her extraordinary debut, but there are heavy beats too, like in Comme un reine. Amylie flirts with classic chanson the same way Coeur de Pirate did on her second album, but updates it. Overall, the atmosphere is upbeat, her voice is strong, serene and sexy, and rockabilly workout Les Filles deserves to be a big summer hit.
Carlotti is a little more seasoned, L’Amour… is her third album, and less girlie then Amylie’s. The atmosphere reminds me of Air’s first EP (that’s meant as a compliment), her lyrics are based on literature, her travels to Brazil and India made an impression and she revisits the music she listened to as a 14-year old (Kraftwerk, Lio, Daho) on the track Quatorze ans. It’s less folky than earlier stuff, but as gentle and breezy. Love her duet with Philippe Katerine as well.
Both albums sound elegant, detailed and classy. Did I mention that they’re both yearlist material, people?
Barbara Carlotti – J’ai changé
Amylie – Bouche coucuse
You must’ve noticed the stream of ‘public domain’ compilations with Gainsbourg-songs recorded pre-1962. Most of those rehash the same stuff, the first EPs, the Gréco-versions, the Alain Goraguer-filmscores and the odd Michèle Arnaud or Les Frères Jacques-cover. Very rarely, as fellow FS-writer Sky also noted here, such a compilation is done right, i.e. with all the relevant recording data, informative liner-notes and/or remarkable ‘new’ material. The Frémaux & Associés-released triple-cd ‘Intégrale Serge Gainsbourg et ses interprètes 1957-1960′ is a noteworthy exception. Though it’s claimed to include ’13 Titres Inédits Sur CD’, it actually has five songs that I hadn’t heard before, or couldn’t track on other compilations. Four Gainsbourg-songs recorded in 1958 in the Paris’ Alliance Française, and a live-version of Le poinçonneur… by Hugues Aufray, recorded in L’Olympia. The Gainsbourg-tracks, with their introduction and little interview, show that the stories about Serge’s stagefright weren’t exaggerated – he sounds like a rabbit in the headlights. This new comp is fairly cheap, expansive and includes enough nice covers and versions (Trumpet Boy, Simone Bartel, Francis Lemarque, the odd Los Goragueros-cover) to recommend. So there.
Serge Gainsbourg – Douze belles dans la peau (live @ Alliance Française 1958)
Hugues Aufray – Le poinçonneur des Lilas (live @ Olympia, 1958)
She’s in Europe again, our beloved husky Tucsonian seductress Marianne, performing for crowds in Lyon, France and more in Germany (*sobs*). But she’s bringing a touring cd, that you can also download via her Bandcamp (here). You only see two tracks, but there’s more. Way more. A duet you can’t afford to miss, with ‘a Belgian friend’ with a very distinct singing voice (*cough*), there’s a remix (listen here!), there are several beautiful versions of great MD-tracks like Cayenne and Fugu, and, well, it’s Marianne, so what else do you need to know? Go see her if you’re in Germany, kiss her from us, and say we’re very much looking forward to her collab with an Italian composer.
And because Marianne loves us back, here’s a free download of Fondre, from her Berlin Takes touring cd.
Marianne Dissard – Fondre
More on the AMAZING new album later. See HERE too.
Every now and then I get ‘music submissions’ from artists that have a FS-feel (i.e. sultry, kooky, Gainsbourgian) but who don’t sing in French. At FS HQ, we like to keep it clear what we post on this blog (i.e. sultry, kooky, Gainsbourgian AND French), but these two tracks I recently received are just too good to keep from you. And when Possimiste replied to my email in French, well, I just couldn’t resist.
I loved the artwork for Blow by Ghost Loft, the moniker of LA-resident ‘Danny’. This track reminds me of Everything But The Girl mixed with Junior Boys, melancholitronica. If you ever try something in French (or with French samples), lemmeknow Danny!
Go HERE.
Ormonde = Anna Lynne Williams (of Trespassers William) and Robert Gomez, whose debut album will be released soon on Hometapes. They met at a the recording of the John Grant album, found a lot of musical similarities (‘Sotol, Gainsbourg, Nabokov, Neil Hamburger, stars’), rented a house later on and recorded an album. Machines, for which I don’t know a release-date, will feature a Serge Gainsbourg cover, Lemon Incest, that you can already hear on Robert’s Soundcloud.
Posted earlier about this song here.
Lots of new albums and singles are released this week. While we’re waiting on the new Barbara Carlotti-album, we can enjoy the new (7th) cd by bestest French rockband Dionysos, of course featuring the ultra-lovely Babet. She’s duetting with Mathias Malzieu on the track posted here, from an album that’s based on a novel written by Malzieu, about the world’s most unfortunate stuntman. Malzieu also pops up on the second album by Carmen Maria Vega, who traded her manouche-influences for more eclectic ones. CMV refers to The Clash, for instance, but count Les Rita Mitsouko in too. Jack & Jenny’s released their first single – not a boy-girl duo, but two guys who sound very feminine. Diana Léa sure is a girl, she’s a guest on David Parienti’s just-released album that sounds very, very sultry. Finally a track from Soan‘s sophomore cd, with added vocals by Melissmell (who herself released a new EP).
Dionysos – La sirène & le Pygmalion
Carmen Maria Vega & Mathias Malzieu – Miaaou
Jack & Jenny’s – Où tu veux
David Parienti & Diane Lea – Était ce utile?
Soan & Melissmell – A tire d’aile
Détective is James Greer (from Guided By Voices), plus the super-sultry sounding Guylaine Vivarat, who plays in an LA band called Useless Keys and used to play in another one called Tennis System, and Rory Modica, who also plays in Useless Keys with Guylaine. They released an EP in February (here), but Dommage! is not on that. It’s a brand new song, the first one in French, but James emailed me that more is coming up (in May). This is an exclusive track for Filles Sourires! I hear a bit of Barbara Carlotti in it, a little Stereolab, some Peppermoon-ish touches, and Guylaine’s blessed with that happy-to-be-sad-tone in her voice that heroines like Hardy have too. Good start!
Détective – Dommage!