Walter Sobcek

  • Posted on 06/10/2010
  • /Under Video

My current obsession is Walter Sobcek, not the guy from The Big Lebowksi (that’s Walter Sobchak), but the Parisian producer. Who claims he’s a German-Franco-duo, too. Anyway, his eighties-influenced, tad kitschy dancemusic is very charming. His videos are an essential part of that charm. See his YT-channel here. I absolutely adore his use of the movie Career Opportunities (with the supersexy Jennifer Connelly, oh, the scene on the playhorse…) for the She’s Gone cover. But the video (and the girls in it) linked above is just as great. And anybody using an Amber Lynn-movie is a friend in my book.

Bruni vs Bowie

  • Posted on 06/10/2010
  • /Under Musique

“It has to go down as one of the worst covers in the history of rock, although there are certainly a few by Tom Jones I would rank lower.” “Absolute Rubbish.” “What did David do to deserve this?” Random comments from French magazines and websites (see here for more) on Carla Sarkozy-Bruni’s take on David Bowie’s Absolute Beginners. She recorded it for the (DB-management approved) tribute album We Were So Turned On, a double-album with covers from Duran Duran, A Place to Bury Strangers, Warpaint and John Frusciante.  (See also here) Some are good, most are so-so. The odd thing for a charity album is the limited availability – you can only buy it in the UK iTunes store (and listen to it on Spotify, worldwide), but webshops outside of the UK don’t sell it. Yet. Now, is that version by Bruni really as bad as the French would like you to think? Have a listen yourself. And be sure to check Keren Ann’s contribution, a wonderful fragile version of Life on Mars?

Carla Bruni – Absolute Beginners
Keren Ann – Life on Mars?

Poney Express

  • Posted on 05/10/2010
  • /Under Musique

Always wondered how Joy Division would sound if they were fronted by a fragile French fille? Here’s your chance. Brest, from the new Poney Express album, sounds like they ripped the rhythmtrack from JD’s Atmosphere and then added PE-singer Ana’s vocals (well, sighs) over it. It’s like heavy petting against the Berlin Wall. Like watching Brix Smith put on black stockings and clipping them to her garter belt. Like Susan and Joanne from Human League having a… let’s not carried away here. If you liked the countryfied nouvelle chansons of Poney Express, like this great single, there is a danger of being disappointed by their new take. Martin Rushent produced the album, and you can certainly hear his mark. I’m all for it.

Poney Express – Brest

Elodie Frégé

  • Posted on 04/10/2010
  • /Under Musique


Ooh, to have an affair with the ravissante Elodie Frégé – I’m sure I could write a concept album about that. If I’m not mistaken, the beautiful redhead is one step ahead of me: she wrote a concept-album about being the girl on the side, or La fille d’après-midi. The long version of the video for the title-track is telling, songs like Nous ne parlons pas and La belle et la bete are too. On her second album, Benjamin Biolay lend a hand. His influence is felt on La fille…, but he’s not on board as producer. Dunno what happened, I heard Elodie was supposed to contribute on Bio’s La Superbe but bowed out. Anyway, the strings, the dramatic piano-chords, phat bassline and the subtle electronics all add to the sensual songs. I’m not having an affair with Mme Frégé, and I never will. That could be a fine concept-album too, by the way. If only I had the talent…

Elodie Frégé – L’imperméable beige

Peppermoon

  • Posted on 01/10/2010
  • /Under Musique

Peppermoon, the beloved trio from Paris returns with on October 18 with a great new album. Because of the 5th birthday of this blog, I can post some new tracks. Main man Pierre Faa tells all:

Happy birthday Filles sourires ! Joyeux anniversaire… Thank you Guuz for these five years of passion, thanks for opening doors to artists like us. We owe a lot to Filles Sourires and the Filles Fragiles compilations. And we keep only good memories from the Filles Fragiles tour you set up.
Five years ago, I was just about to meet Benoît and Iris, and form the band with them. It’s been quite a slow and difficult process to get the first album released. So slow… Amazingly slow… I wish I could release albums once a year, like they did in the sixties. It’s a good rhythm, it keeps you busy and creative. No time for procrastination and debates. Anyway.
We’re now about to release our second album Les moissons d’ambre (=Amber harvests). It begins where the first one was ending : the piano piece Lonelunaire has become a little song named Larme de lune. It’s like a bridge between albums, a magic link… It also shows that we intend to explore the same territory, in terms of music and mood. It’s like visiting the same island, but at a different season. Same landscape, different light. Different colors in the sky… Nos ballades was a spring album. Les moissons d’ambre has definitely warmer shades. It feels like late summer / early autumn. Hence the title…
Hopefully, we managed to create something that is not a photocopy of Nos ballades. Iris’ singing still has that very unique innocence and freshness, mixed with new colours, new layers of sensuality. May be we have a few more electro sounds here and there – probably under Jay Alanski’s influence. I bought a kantele (a finnish harp) that you can hear in C’est la pluie qui veut ça. And lyrics wise, I tried to escape from the clichés of modern french chanson (the worst one, to me, being the obscure-meaningless-poetry-but-let’s-pretend-it-means-something-with-a-pretentious-pose). “Impressionnisme” says that happinness is never delivered in one piece – most of time, you have to connect the dots, to find the pieces of that personal jigsaw. “C’est la pluie qui veut ça” is about the memories brought back by the smells of the rain : schoolyards, old lovers… Les moissons d’ambre is about the beauty of transformation times – in nature, and in ourselves. Poupées Russes is some kind of funny Yin-Yang metaphor, saying that opposite feelings are often contained in each other (love and hate, to begin with). Gaspillées is about all the unknown family stories running in our blood… and Le refuge is about Iris’ childhood shelter, in the woods, where she hides away from Paris’ pollution and music industry people !
This new album is also more open to collaborations : our guitarist Benoît gave me the melody to Cocoon. Our friend Toshiya Fueoka, from Mondialito, composed the music of Le refuge. And my friend Ludovic Perrin wrote the lyrics to “Gaspillées”.
Now, I’m already thinking about our 3rd and last album. I see a turquoise-light green-light blue cover, something mineral, with water, crystals, air… I hope to record it next year, and then peppermoon will be over as a band. May be Iris will do solo albums, as I plan to do myself. And we’ll probably go on working together on new songs. But we definitely want peppermoon to be limited in time. There are too many bands and artists who don’t know when to stop… and that’s where I stop writing.
Enjoy the music !

Peppermoon – Poupées Russes
BONUS:
Peppermoon recorded a few covers for the Asian release of their album. This is a lovely version of a Sylvie Vartan-track
Peppermoon – La plus belle pour aller danser

Le Tour #5

  • Posted on 30/09/2010
  • /Under Musique

Though Thomas Bohnet, compilation svengali behind the Le Tour collections, lives in my old ’hood and still only a few kilometres away, we have never met. That may have to do with tastes. Le Tour volumes 1-4 were competently anthologized, but there always was some diminutive irritation factor. Now, with Le Tour #5, I figured it out. The assortment contains impressive and appealing stuff, like Féfé’s Clichés, Biolay’s Padam, or a minor track by FS faves Mickey 3D, but some songs here, despite being French, would easily qualify for Munich’s famous Oktoberfest: The opener, La Crise by L’Homme Parle, features German boof-tah at its very grooviest social-democratic street festival feel, and the As de Trèfle and Babylon Circus tracks are surely great, if … well, if you’re into Stimmungsmusik of this kind. I’m more into Mélanie Pain, also on Thomas’ compilation. Kind of a French Schlager as well, but a more sexy one.

Mélanie Pain – Ignore-Moi

Babet

  • Posted on 30/09/2010
  • /Under Musique

Babet Maistre, aka Babou Calou, made on of this summer’s prettiest songs. Now, when Fall is on it’s way, her second solo-album is released. It feels like the summer’s heat is still in the grooves of the album – pretty, upbeat songs with folky influences, subtle violin (of course, Babet plays the strings in Dionysos) and a few male collaboraters. Edouard Baer, Andy Maistre, Mathias Malzieu and everyone’s favourite gravel-throat, Arthur H(igelin). Love their duets. Piano Monstre is a great album that has you longing for an indian summer. Talking about great albums, summer is definitely over in France, outstanding albums are being released. Elodie Frégé’s (more on her later), Bertrand Belin, Marie-Amélie… Hope I’ll find the time to keep you updated on all the goodies.

Babet & Arthur H – Ciel de soie

Youn Sun Nah

  • Posted on 29/09/2010
  • /Under Musique

On her brand new seventh album Same Girl, South Korean jazz singer Youn Sun Nah covers Rodgers/ Hammerstein, Randy Newman, Metallica, and My Name is Carnival by Jackson C. Frank, the legendary white bluesman with the saddest life story you might ever read. She also interpretes La chanson d’Hélène, originally written by Philippe Sarde and Jean-Loup Dabadie for the movie Les choses de la vie, and does a remarkable job. A daring one as well, since it’s surely impossible to capture the magic Romy Schneider created with her vocals forty years ago. The male talking part, done by Michel Piccoli on the original recording, went to French romancier, musicien and plasticien Roland Brival, whose last, quite intriguing album Vol de Nuit could be described as kind of a missing link between Arthur H. and a 50s St. Germain jazz nightclub.

Youn Sun Nah/ Roland Brival – La chanson d’Hélène

Romy Schneider/ Michel Piccoli – La chanson d’Hélène

EXTRA:

FS reader Teyo d’Unux brought a sweet English language version of the chanson to our attention, the Dreammakers’ Helen’s Song. And since he labeled it a perfect tune for autumn:

Dreammakers – Helen’s Song

EVEN MORE:
Francoiz Breut – La chanson d’Hélène
Berry – La chanson d’Hélène
Get Well Soon – La chanson d’Hélène
Marina Celeste – La chanson d’Hélène

Mièle

  • Posted on 29/09/2010
  • /Under Musique

The second Catherine starts singing, you’ll know why I’m posting about Belgian trio Mièle. Her voice is like cutting through a big, soft, pastel-coloured, supersweet birthdaycake. The band is part of the tres sympathique Humty Dumpty Records (they also house Françoiz Breut), they just released their second album. Music-wise, they’re like the Walloon cousins of Peppermoon (more on that trio later this week), but a little rougher on the edges. Find out more here.

Mièle – Chateaux de sable

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