Les Bien-aimés

  • Posted on 10/08/2011
  • /Under Musique

Les Bien-Aimés (The Beloved)  is a new film written and directed by Christophe Honoré. A mouthwatering cast for Filles Sourires Fans: Ludivine Sagnier, Catherine Deneuve and her daughter Chiara Mastroianni. The story is set in the 1960s and 1990s in Paris, Prague and London. You can see the trailer here and along interview with the three (en français) here. In an earlier film “Les chanson d’amour” (2007), Honoré already worked with Ludivine and Chiara. That resulted in a wonderful album, witten and composed by Alex Beaupain. This time they team up together again, and again the result is worth it. To put it short: what a lovely album! All the ladies have their own songs, they sing duets (with each other and with other actors). There is one mother/daughter duet and a song by all three. Because it is so hard to choose, two songs. The ladies all together in “Tout est si Calme” and a very nice duo from Ludivine with Rasha Bukvic, “Les Chiens Ne Font Pas Des Chats”

Sagnier, Mastroianni, Deneuve & Clara Couste – Tout Est Si Calme
Ludivine Sagnier & Rasha Bukvic – Les Chiens Ne Font Pas Des Chats

Serge at the Hollywood Bowl

On August 28, to be exact. At the KCRW’s World Festival. A programme and a line-up that makes me want to go there…I can’t but if you can you should! There will be a lot of Serge songs and the legendary album “Histoire de Melody Nelson“ will be performed in full with orchestra and guests. Director will be Jean Claude Vannier himself, French composer, arranger and longtime Gainsbourg collaborator. Among the guests some artists “have” something with Serge like Beck (who produced Charlotte Gainsbourg’s “IRM” album) and of course Lulu Gainsbourg. The others are pleasant surprises to me: Ed Droste (Grizzly Bear), Victoria Legrand (Beach House), Sean Lennon & Charlotte Kemp Muhl (The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger), Mike Patton (Faith No More) and Nika Roza Danilova (Zola Jesus). Good to see that apparently Serge still inspires a new generation of artists…
The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger made a cover of  “Comic Strip“!

Melissa NKonda

  • Posted on 07/08/2011
  • /Under Musique

We already noticed the fact that the French talent shows bring us more talent than for example here in the Netherlands. Melissa Nkonda was in “Nouvelle Star” and released her first album earlier this year, called “Nouveaux Horizons”. It is a soulful album, with R&B influences. Most songs are in French (bien sur) but some in English. Sometimes Melissa  remind me of Zaz, or Camelia Jordana like the French/English duet with VV Brown “J’ai Fait Tout Ca Pour Vous”. We bring you the bluesy, soulful “Pas Cette Nuit”.

Melissa NKonda – Pas Cette Nuit

 

 

Ambient fille

  • Posted on 02/08/2011
  • /Under Video

In English, alas. Love to hear something like this in French. See for details about the song/video here

 

 

Mitsou

Canadian 90s sex-symbol Mitsou (best known for this, and this) released a new single, On vole. Her style nowadays, you could say, is Lady Gaga meets Yelle, with some Mylene Farmer thrown in. That stewardess-outfit in the video works for me too. You can download the single for free on Mitsou’s Soundcloud page, HERE.

Note: not everybody is impressed by Mitsou’s return…

Lulu Gainsbourg

  • Posted on 27/07/2011
  • /Under Musique

Serge’s youngest son and pianist Lulu released an EP with jazz-reworks of his dad’s songs. Featuring Richard Bona (vocals), Angelo Debarre (guitar, he plays in the Vie Heroique-movie too), Terri Lyne Carrington (drums), Gil Goldstein (accordion), James Genus (bass) and Stan Harrison (sax, he played on Serge’s You’re Under Arrest-album). Most of these players studied or teach at Boston’s Berklee College. Lulu’s a student there. It’s an impressive album, with impressive guests. Really dig the manouche-version of Le poinçonneur des Lilas and the La Javanaise-version with Bona. But we have to wait for the really good stuff:  for his album with songs by Serge, Lulu invited Scarlett Johansson, Vanessa Paradis & Johnny Depp (who will sing La ballade de Melody Nelson), Iggy Pop, Sean Lennon, Rufus Wainwright and Marianne Faithfull. Whoa. Charlotte, Bambou and Jane do not contribute, Lulu said didn’t want to include family on his album.
The Gainsbourg name sure can get you in touch with big names, Charlotte can testify to that. But Charlotte’s really talented too, as her movies and her most recent albums prove. Lulu is a fine pianist, he was a musical director for a Gainsbourg-tribute in Israel and he composed songs for Marc Lavoine. He considers his album a gift to his dad, whom he lost at 5. There’s no shame in honouring your dad, and trying to make a name for yourself via his beautiful songs, I think. Really looking forward to the album.
See Lulu play live here. See Serge and Lulu here.

Lulu Gainsbourg & Richard Bona – La javanaise

Tributes Continue

  • Posted on 27/07/2011
  • /Under Musique

It’s de rigueur nowadays: You are not an artist if there’s no tribute album made for you. In recent months we saw a Jacno tribute, a Boby Lapointe tribute and a tribute to Bashung. And now there is a Maxim Le Forestier tribute album, called “La Maison Bleue”. Le Forestier never gained popularity outside France (as far as I know), but in France he is respected for his chansons for almost 40 years. In 1971 he spent some time in the hippie scene of San Francisco, writing a song about it with the same name, but everyone knows it as “La Maison Bleue“. So that explains the title of this tribute, with only tracks of Le Forestier’s debut album from 1972, “Mon Frère”.
It includes reprises by Salvatore Adamo and Calogero, Filles Sourires-fans should rejoice over contributions by Daphné and Emily Loizeau. But for the Filles Sourires I choose a song by our beloved La Fiancée.

La Fiancée – La Rouille
Maxime Le Forestier – La Rouille

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