As you know, voices are very important by selecting tracks for this weblog. And Opaline‘s sad but sultry vocals immediatly struck a chord. So did her atmospherical, new wave-ish electronic music – I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the cover of her new EP has some Stranger Things design overtones. I really like the more danceable ADN, but do try the other tracks too.
From Lyon, Clementine Weck released several songs and an EP (since 2024). Her voice has the right amount of melancholy (think Tanya Donelly), in her songs ‘it’s good to fall in order to get up again. Looking for the beauty in failure, the sweetness in pain.’ There’s a nice indie pop vibe, and new single Marcelle cherie builds to a fierce ending.
It seems to me that Franco-Italian singer Adèle Luisa‘s mission is to befuddle all of us with lush, laidback and leisurely songs that spark images of sultry beaches, fresh young coconuts and swaying palm trees. Take this floating airbed of a song, En Sous-Marin:
Or take this relaxing track:
More Adèle Luisa on this blog, here.
From Quebec City, Canada, it’s the duo Fleur de Peau. On their Bandcamp page, it says that it’s a musical synth-pop project. Pop, sure. But with lots of dream pop guitars, at least on this new album. Listen to this track, that nods to the 80s, there is a synth present, and that wonderful high-pitched voice of Elle Dubois-Sénéchal (her musical partner is Louis Fernandez). There are also more folksy, acoustic songs on this very versatile album.
Her name has a musical ring to it, Canadienne Eleonore Dessureaults first album has jazzy, folky vibes and (to me) sounds like Dutch songstress Janne Schra found a vocal family member across the ocean.
Eleonore writes songs that are piano driven, and give way to her wonderful, almost free style way of singing. References, apart from Janne Schra, are Emily Loizeau and (early) Feist. Her lyrics are very poetic, I love the title of the this track: The embrace of lost bodies.
Beautiful track by Montreal-based singer La Bronze, about being hyper-sensitive. To words, feelings, emotions, moods. Electronically charged, ominous and sensual at the same time.
Meimuna describes her music as ‘delicate folk in French’ (check her insta), which is true, but she’s adding beats and fx to that delicacy. ‘Nuits blanches’, the new single, has that trance-like build up (around 2m20s) that makes you wanna throw up both your hands, wailing. Before that moment, it’s Cyrielle Formaz’ voice (for she is Meimuna) that’s taking the spotlight: soothing, comforting. If Cyrille was a Swiss chocolate bar, I’d buy a warehouse of stock. By the way: there’s a big Dutch influence on this track (and others), with Ella van der Woude producing and playing, Nicky Hustinx and Nana Adjoa on drums and bass, and the mixing is also done by hands from the Lowlands. Which is nice.
It’s the hard funkin’ bassline that draws immediate attention. The melancholy-filled, eighties-referring female vocals are a high point too. As is the head nodding beat. That Viragezero is inspired by 90s abstract hip hop and electronica-overlords like Boards of Canada, also a big plus.
From the bio: ‘Viragezero is a new Geneva-based project born from the meeting of several musicians well known on the local scene. Around the brother and sister duo of Citron Citron (Zoé and Augustin Sjollema) gather two former members of L’Éclair (Sébastien Bui and Elie Ghersinu, also a member of Magic & Naked) and a musician from Magic & Naked (Léonard Persoz). Five trajectories intersect here to form a new sonic constellation, somewhere between dreamy electronica, hazy guitars and rhythms inherited from trip hop.’
Let’s follow this lot very closely.
