Australian ‘past life twins’ Ivy Fox and Naomi Braun recently covered Jacqueline Taieb’s ye-ye classic 7 heures du matin in English. See video below.
Lulu Gainsbourg
New official video: “L’eau à la bouche”
Listen to a snippet of Vanessa Paradis & Johnny Depp singing ‘Melody Nelson’ on Lulu’s upcoming album HERE
NN+
It is always good news when old friends have a new album released. Especially when it is a brand new album from the legendary Filles Sourires Sweethearts Nous Non Plus. Jean-Luc Retard and (in particular) Céline Dijon are on our radar since the beginning of this blog as can be seen here. And their first album even made the list 0f best albums of the decade by official FS-contributor Sky.
After that debut album came a second one in 2009 and now there is a new album called “Freudian Slip”. And it doesn’t disappoint. Céline Dijon is as sultry as ever and the sixties yéyé influence is still there as is the eighties electronic organ. The title song sounds like a rediscovered Serge track, “J’en ai marre” strongly reminds me of French eighties new wave. Unfortunately there are only eight tracks on the album.
First single is a “tribute” to Italian President Silvio B. called “Bunga Bunga”. It goes with a lovely video that can be seen here.
But for today I choose for what could very well be the last summer song of the season, the lovely “Yé-Yé C’est l’Été”.
Nous Non Plus – Yé-Yé C’est l’Été / Summer Song
Dirty Beaches vs Françoise Hardy
Françoise Hardy’s piano in Voilà, combined with eerie, dark rockabilly. Now there’s a treat. The guy responsible for the mix is Alex Zhang Hungtai (aka Dirty Beaches), a Taiwan-born Canadian immigrant who spent a good chunk of his life feeling unmoored and adrift. He loves David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, Wong Kar Wai and the music of Johnny Cash and The Stooges (he covered them both). Dirty Beaches’ album was released in March, but Jan Kooi told me about Lord Knows Best, with the Hardy-sample. This video merges images of Hardy and Hungtai. In the same vein was the use of Chantal Goya in a track by Wild Nothing.
Dirty Beaches – Lord knows best
Françoise Hardy – Voilà
Alex Beaupain & Camelia Jordana
We know Alex from his brilliant filmscores, but he makes albums under his own name too. I missed this duet, an update of an older song, from Beaupain’s Pourqoui battait mon coeur-cd when it came out in April. But now it’s released as a single, with a nice video (shot by Christophe Honoré) featuring gorgeous Camelia. Not for a second you feel awkward that she’s 19 and he’s 37, this is totally believable. See an acoustic version HERE
Alex Beaupain & Camelia Jordana – Avant la haîne
Aurelie Cabrel, Bertrand Betsch
Yes, Aurelie Cabrel is the 25-year old daughter of Francis Cabrel. One of France’s highly acclaimed singer-songwriters, it’s not easy to follow his footsteps. Then again, lots of sons and daughters of famous French musicians started their own career – Thomas Dutronc, Arthur H(igelin), Charlotte Gainsbourg and M(athieu Chedid) all are very succesful. Aurelie will need a bit more time and experience to get to the level of Thomas and the like. Her voice is pretty, girly and very fragile. Her (rock)songs are very French, they remind me of Mademoiselle K and Jeanne Cherhal. The overall feeling of this album is that she’s talented, but not quite there yet. You have to start somewhere, she can be proud of her first effort. We’ll keep listening to what happens next.
Aurelie Cabrel – Un rien
Bertrand Betsch gave Nathalie Guilmot again a prominent role on his new album. As we remember from La chaleur humaine, Guilmot has a pretty, husky voice that sounds great next to Bretsch’s more gruffy pipes. The new Bretsch-album is pleasant, acoustics mix with electronics, but lacks real bite. Too few songs creep under your skin.
Bertrand Betsch & Nathalie Guilmot – Pour une chance
Camille
Camille’s mocking the Edith Piaf-singing style on her new album, Ilo Veyou. In a song in which she sings France is recycling it’s past like a photocopier. On paper it’s quite funny. When you actually hear the song, it’s funny too. One time. Easily one of the most anticipated new albums this year, Camille’s fourth album is a tad disappointing. Yes, there’s vocal trickery (Bubble Lady, about her pregnancy, and the child choir in Allez Allez Allez), but there are ‘normal’ songs as well. Sung in English and French. Some almost sound 17th Century, like Message. She Was sounds like a leftover from Feist’s latest album. Most of the time, the music is very basic: guitar, strings, voice. This works beautifully in Le Berger and Le Banquet. The title track, with it’s upright bass and vocal workout, is a flashback to Music Hole. I saw her on the Music Hole tour, and was blown away by the performance, the vocals, the percussion, her charisma. I still cherish this as one of the best concerts I ever saw. But now, when I hear her gasp, puff and sigh in Tout dit or Ilo Veyou, it’s kind of annoying. Yes, the girl can sing. Yes, she can do whatever she wants with her voice. But write good, solid songs, like Les Ex from her debut, or Au Port from Le Fil, that seems harder and harder for Camille.
Read an English interview with Camille here. And here.
Camille – La France
Soko
Remember Soko? The French actress/singer who gained popped up in 2007 as “one of those artists gaining popularity through the internet?” Her “I Kill Her” even became a hit in Belgium and Denmark. You know, The Soko who sang in English with a very heavy French Accent (“Ai Kiell Uhr”), that some people love? But the success as a singer didn’t last. Only an EP was released (“Not Sokute”) and in January 2009 she used her Myspace site that made her popular to declare herself “dead”. She dissapeared from the music scene, disappointed with “the music industry”..
Last year there was a sign of a comeback when she participated in the newest Nouvelle Vague project en now she is back. Or at least we hope she is. She finished her album but it will be only released in February next year, because she has a film career too that is asking her attention.
But what is known so far is wonderful. First there was this “official” video of “No More Home, No More Love”, with gives us a glimpse of the Soko we knew. Now there is a new song included in the French magazine “Les Inrockuptibles” and it is very nice. The accent is still there but the sound is different. Think sixties, girl groups and add some electronica. Her new album will be something to look forward too.
Soko – Just Want To Make It New With You
Melody Superdeluxe
More and more info about the SuperDeluxe edition of Histoire de Melody Nelson appear on the interwebs. This is how the contents of the box look. Very Gainsbourgian, the way the spindle pops up from the vinyl picture disc. On the Serge Gainsbourg Facebook page you can listen to a sneak preview of the uncut, 9.32 minutes version of the title track. Cello-galore! THIS is what we’ve been waiting for, people. Go HERE to see a preview of the MN-documentary.
UPDATE: From the comments, the tracklisting of the second cd:
CD 2 : BONUS ALBUM
1. MELODY 9’27 Complete take – unreleased
2. BALLADE DE MELODY NELSON 2’09 Alternative voice take – unreleased
3. VALSE DE MELODY 1’40 Alternative voices take – unreleased
4. AH ! MELODY 1’57 Alternative voices take – unreleased
5. MELODY LIT BABAR 1’05 Voice version – unreleased track
6. MELODY LIT BABAR 1’12 Instrumental version – unreleased track
7. L’HÔTEL PARTICULIER 5’12 Complete take – unreleased
8. EN MELODY 3’35 Alternative take – unreleased
9. CARGO CULTE 7’44 Instrumental version – unreleased