Yet another very good, fierce song by Billie, heavy on the dream pop/new wave vibes. This is also one to watch for this year. Yeah, she’s the daughter of Mathieu ‘M’ Chedid:
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Maude Loue
And yet another Maude (see post below). A spectacular first single by French-Canadian singer Maude Loue, who debuted last year in this duet:
Maude’s first solo single refers to British dream pop (that janglin’ guitar), to Daniel Bélanger (one of her heroes, among Bashung and Marie-Pierre Arthur). A ‘chrysalide’ is the inactive, armored stage of an insect (such as a butterfly or moth) between the larva (caterpillar) and adult form. Let’s keep watching Maude Loue, see how she develops.
Maude Audet
Maude from Montreal makes music since the early 2010s, and refers often to the 60s heydays of Françoise H. and the like. Melancholy moods, marvellously made. A new album is upcoming, this is one of the singles. Love that twangin’ guitar:
T’en va pas
Last year, rising French pop star Miki recorded a cover of Elsa’s 80s smash T’en va pas. Alas, no video:
This is the original:
I thought, let’s check out how many other versions I can find. I’ll leave the tv-talentshow auditions out, this Japanese cover is close to the original but quite cool:
This Joyce Jonathan version, more acoustic and less synths, is also very good:
Dina Jeanne & Biolay
Dina Jeanne released only singles so far, starting in 2020, so she’s taking things slow (I guess). She likes Aznavour, Barbara, and her own songs have a classic chanson vibe. From what I’ve heard so far, she can sing quite powerful, but also very breathy. And that comes in handy in this sensual duet with Benjamin Biolay, just released:
Vio
Violetta Cuche = Vio, a French singer, featured here earlier. She has a new song out, a ballad that’s an ode to friendship, ‘a hug, a caress for everyone who’s feeling alone against the world’, as Vio states on her Facebook. Earlier singles by Vio were more beat driven, and cool, this song is different but cool too:
On her Facebook, Vio posted a very nice French translation of Lykke Li’s ‘I Follow Rivers’, hope she will put that on her YouTube channel. This Alain Souchon cover is great too:
ML
ML is the moniker of Maria-Laetitia Mattern, a Belgian singer who was featured earlier on this blog. Her music and voice refer to Hardy, Feist, Jacklin. ‘La fête’ is a delicate song, written in one go on a national holiday, about how everyone around you is happy, and you’re just not feeling it.
Also very nice, from 2022, this collab with Flore Benguigui (ex-L’imperatrice):
Aure
Very tender song by Aure, a French singer who writes in French, Spanish and English. This track, from her upcoming album, is in French and English. “Two people are looking for shelter, and the storm is still close. This song evokes a flight and tries to capture the fleeting moment of a break in the clouds – uncertain how long it will last, yet filled with a particular kind of grace. English and French answer each other throughout, leaving us unsure whether we’re hearing two voices or just one, inviting the other to join in their escape.” explains the singer-songwriter.
Grand Eugene
Album coming up, posted a few tracks on this blog before. This new single is upbeat, sunny, and features those breathy vocals of Melyssa Lemieux in a glorious fashion:
Melyssa was also part of the tender, more folksy Libelle: