Articles Written By: guuzbourg

Marianne Dissard in China

  • Posted on 10/10/2011
  • /Under Musique

The lovely Marianne Dissard went to China to play and to record, and she wrote a nice diary about her journey. Below’s an excerpt. Read the whole thing here.

September 19th – We fly back to Beijing. The taxi drops me at my hostel. I am on my own again. I came to China with a mandate to record an album, “Beijing Three Takes”. I raised a bit of money from my friends, promising a collaboration with Chinese musicians on this third installement of the ‘City albums’ series that I’ve been recording while on tour.  But, truth be told, I don’t know who I might be able to record with or even what. But I’ve been thinking and listening to and observing the Chinese bands I met at the Black Rabbit Festival. Today, I know. I make the decision that this album will be different from “Paris One Takes’, different from “Berlin Two Takes”. And this is how I will proceed for the next eleven days : I borrow a Sony Zoom handheld recorder and set out to record the sounds of Beijing. Then, when I have edited and shaped this audioscape, I will ask Hanggai – at this point, you’ve figured out I have a musical crush on them, no? – to create the soundtrack to this movie-without-images. I’ll incorporate some of the writings I’ve done in the Transsiberian, first sketches of future songs. In the evening, I go to my usual hang, YugongYishan, to hear Huun Huur Tu and my friend Song Yuzhe’s band, Dawanggang. The place is packed.

Listen to Marianne’s music played on the streets in Beijing HERE

For French radio, Marianne recorded a track, Fugu. Download from HERE

 

 

Lulu Gainsbourg & Scarlett Johansson

  • Posted on 06/10/2011
  • /Under Musique

Poo-doo pa poo-doo! The full version of the Lulu-Scarlett duet is out there, a cut from the upcoming From Lulu to Gainsbourg-album. Shame: Scarlett sings in English. Serge recorded an English version without Brigitte Bardot, with different lyrics. There are various other English versions of Bonnie & Clyde, for instance by The Walkabouts, Steve Wynne & Johnette Napolitano, James Iha & Kazu Makino – all with slightyl different lyrics.

Not sure what to think of Lulu’s and Scarlett’s version, it stays very close to the original, albeit they lost the poo-doo pa poo-doo (or is it whoo-hoo hah-whoo hoo?) effect. Lulu’s singing voice, as Scarlett’s, isn’t very impressive. Another track by Lulu is on the interwebs, one of my favourite SG-tracks, L’Eau à la bouche. Really dig the samba-arrangement. But the voice…hmm. Really looking forward to the album, with vocal help from Rufus Wainwright, Vanessa Paradis & Johnny Depp, Marianne Faitfull…

Lulu Gainsbourg & Scarlett Johansson – Bonnie & Clyde
Serge Gainsbourg – Bonnie & Clyde (English version)

Mighty Mocambos & Caroline Lacaze

  • Posted on 06/10/2011
  • /Under Musique

Phat French Female Fronted Funk. Yay! When it comes to funkiness, the French have of course a string of great rappers (MC Solaar and the like), there’s CQMD, there was Vigon, some Eddy Mitchell-tracks, some Ben L’Oncle Soul-songs, but funky French filles? Severine recorded a few fine French covers of soulful tunes, but the whole funk, uncut funk, the bomb, in French, by a girl, I didn’t think I’d hear it. I was wrong. I just heard it. I saw it too. HERE. The band’s called The Mighy Mocambos, they’re from Germany and worked with Kenny Dope, with Afrika Bambaata, with Su Kramer (!) and make supersweaty, fatback funk. LOVE this. Turns out that The Mocambos did an excellent vinyl-single with Lacaze earlier, I missed that one completely. Listen on Soundcloud HERE.

The Mighty Mocambos & Caroline Lacaze – Physique

Ben Mazué & Pauline Croze

  • Posted on 03/10/2011
  • /Under Musique

Been a long time since we heard from Pauline Croze, the fragile girl with the fragile voice who sang FS-faves like T’es beau and Jeunesse affamée. She duets on the debut-album by Ben Mazué. Like, for instance, Betrand Belin and or Benjamin Paulin, he talk-sings, puts some humour in his lyrics and is influenced by rap music. See Ben play his single Confessions of a rap addict live here.

No news so far about a new album from Pauline (her website didn’t have an update since 2009), but it’s good to hear her again. I always think of Maria de Medeiros talk about blueberry pancakes in Pulp Fiction when I hear Pauline sing.
UPDATE: A new Pauline Croze-album is announced! End of this year, beginning of next year.

Ben Mazué & Pauline Croze – C’est léger

Chloé Lacasse

  • Posted on 02/10/2011
  • /Under Musique

Montréal-based Chloé Lacasse sounds on her debut album like a cross between the tender ballads of Feist and the emotional outbursts of Marie-Pierre Arthur, with added fatback drums. She did the rounds like so many Canadian singers (various concours de la chanson, winning Francouverts this year), plays the piano and writes intelligent songs. This debut-album is released after two self-produced EP’s, and though you can hear what Chloé’s been listening to in the past years, she does have her own style. It’s rough round the edges, at times up to eleven (loud drums, piercing guitars), but she knows how to keep balance and, like in the song posted here, she can sound sweet as well. This is her single.

Chloe Lacasse – Pyromane

RIP Sylvia Robinson

  • Posted on 29/09/2011
  • /Under Musique

Sylvia Robinson passed away today. In her honour, and ’cause it’s such a brilliant version, here’s a re-up of Sky’s post about Sylvia’s cover of Je t’aime…moi non plus.

In the so-called 1972 porn classic Deep Throat, a notably sleazoid threesome featuring Dolly Sharp, Jack Byron and Jack Birch is scored with a delirious funk/ soul track titled Love is Strange. The original version was recorded in 1957 by r&b duo Mickey & Sylvia – i.e. Mickey Baker, the hottest session guitarist of his time, who eventually bought a ticket to France and never came back, and Sylvia Robinson, who at least went temporarily to the Paris of her mind.

In 1973, she recorded a cover of Serge & Jane’s Je t’aime, released on the aptly named Vibration label, transferring Gainsbourg’s spirit to the sultry mood of Spanish language moanings. Her partner in cooing was salsa singer Ralfi Pagan, who provided the Latin lover feel, while Sylvia seemed to practice for her smash hit of the same year, Pillow Talk, a premier bedroom anthem foreshadowing Donna Summer’s disco orgasms. In short: Soul Je t’aime wasn’t perfect, but a sexy mother of a song.

Jack Birch, the stud from „Deep Throat“, became father of Hollywood star Thora Birch („American Beauty“). Ralfi Pagan was murdered during a tour in Colombia, while Sylvia founded Sugarhill Records in the early 80s, becoming the mastermind behind seminal pre-hiphop outings like the Sugarhill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight: She even played bass on the recording.

Mickey & Sylvia – Love is Strange

Sylvia Robinson & Ralfi Pagan – Soul Je t’aime

Sylvia Robinson – Pillow Talk

Birkin & Waits, Birkin & Gainsbourg

Interesting shows with Jane are coming up. Together with Arthur H, Stef Kamil Carlens and Waits-collaborator David Coulter Birkin is part of a tribute to the Tom Waits-album Rain Dogs. She appears in two shows, one in Eindhoven (Holland) and one in Paris. Later on, Jane and four ‘of the best Japanese musicians’ pay tribute to the songs of Serge Gainsbourg. Why? Well, Jane asked herself the same question. From her site: ‘I’d done it all before, Serge in pop, arabesque, classic quator, 14 musicians, 6 musicians, a harp, a squeeze box, violins…’. But then the earthquake in Japan happened. Jane was shocked: ‘I have known these people for forty years… “go there” I thought… tell them that back home folk are thinking of them, but get there, “and do what ?” What can I do? …the only thing I can do… a concert…’ That concert grew into a full-blown tour. She’s coming to Amsterdam, various European cities and the US. See here. Reviews of the show (links, or written by you) are welcomed!

← Newer Posts
Older Posts →