This week, I’ll be mostly staring at pictures like these. Only real. See you next week.
Isabelle Antena – Les poissons du mers du sud
Another example of a gothified fille. Lou (3 albums already) makes ‘Dark and down-tempo-chansons looking like slow-frenchy-folk-organico-minimal & groovy torch songs’ (says her Myspace). Try it on for size.
Lou – D’avril A Juillet
Funny song about them kids, sung by the highly talented Django Reinhardt-fan Mademoiselle Sane. Well, on her most recent album are some gypsyjazzified songs. This is a reggae-ditty, I strongly advise you to crank up the volume towards the end, for maximum effect. I have also added the seductive Dans ton cul, a song from her debut album. Yes, the title translates as In Your Ass. Like I said, funny.
Mademoiselle Sane – Les gamins (On n’en veut pas)
Mademoiselle Sane – Dans ton cul
Might be in the eye of the beholder, but more and more French girls seem to turn goth. Canadian singer Anik Jean got the biggest bat of ‘m all, The Cure’s Robert Smith. On Anik’s self-titled new album they’re redoing Believe, a song Smith sang on Earl Slick’s album Zig Zag. Anik added French lyrics (and vocals, obviously) but I doubt Robbie re-sang his part, to me it sounds more like he was sampled. Anyhoo, not a song for eternity but a nice diversion nonetheless.
Anik Jean & Robert Smith – J’aurai tout essayé
Earl Slick & Robert Smith – Believe
Today was a beautiful day, lots and lots of sunshine. And then this record fell on my doormat. Cuban superstar Raul Paz together with lovely French vocal-trickster Camille (in Spanish, ain’t she versatile). The record’s called Carnaval, and that’s what it is!
Raul Paz & Camille – Carnaval
When the female choir rises up, it’s quite easy to see Ceci est mon corps as a song that Gainsbourg never recorded for his masterpiece Melody Nelson. Some guitarriffs come really close to those on that album. That said, it’s a haunting ballad in it’s own right, with enough charm (and sexiness) to make a lasting impression. Lafille (don’t know her real name) chanes on her debutalbum from bratty poprock (Aujourd’hui J’me Lave Pas) to touching ballads (J’ai Rencontré Quelqu’un Qui Te Ressemble). I Wanna Be Your Cat is dreadful, but the two closing tracks Ceci est mon corps and the titletrack Lafille tout attaché(é) are absolutely brilliant. An album for the yearlists.
Lafille – Ceci est mon corps
Exclusive content on FillesSourires, a live-recording of Flemish singer/actor Evi de Jean doing Serge’s Le poinconneur. With this song she won the prize of the public of Le Concours de la Chanson, an acclaimed contest for (fairly) young singers singing French songs. The songs starts with Evi telling a story about taking the train from Amsterdam to Antwerp to visit her grandmother. In Belgium her ticket got punched by a train conductor – an odd thing, in these computerized times. It reminded her of Serge’s Le poinconneur des Lilas. Accompanied by a violinist and pianist she sings a slow, seductive version that picks up in a train-like fashion when the lyrics talk about the punching of the tickets. Nice touch. More on the impressive curriculum vitae of Evi here. The recording was made by Anton van Halderen for Het Chanson.
Evi de Jean – Le poinconneur des Lilas
Charles Baudelaire inspired many musicians, from pop to classical. His book of poetry Les fleurs du mal is best known, containing poems touching on lesbianism, sex, death and wine. Gainsbourg was a fan, obviously, and in the past artists like J-L Murat, AS Dragon and The Cure paid tribute. And now Dutch band Kashmir Boots set Tristesse de la lune to music. Guido of KB writes: ‘I recorded this with my ex-girlfriend Sarah, who is French and with whom I had a pretty intense relationship. We broke up, but saw each other recently and recorded this. Sarah loves French poetry, especially Baudelaire and Rimbaud. It’s short, but sweet. We might do this again.’
Kashmir Boots – Tristesse de la lune
Serge Gainsbourg – Baudelaire