Just discovered this one, Cote d’Azur-ian disco by a duo (Rose Franceschi & Olivier le Grand). Second sunkissed single. Love this.
Clara Luciani
She’s back! In French, driving, highly danceable. This is the first single of a new album:
Camille & Ballaké Sissoko
This is beautiful.
Ariane Moffatt
Canadian songstress Ariane Moffatt just released a new album, the very tender ‘Incarnat’. The album feels like somebody caressing you with a feather boa. ‘Beauté’ is a gorgeous single. She also duets with Jane Birkin’s daughter Lou Doillon, in a cover of The Korgis ‘Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime’ in French.
Autour de Lucie
Autour de Lucie was one of the biggest 90s indie bands from France, who could measure up against the biggest Brit Pop and American indie bands. After a long period of silence, they started up again recently, this is a great new single.
Gainsbourg Forever (III)
March 24 marks the 50th birthday of ‘Histoire de Melody Nelson’. To celebrate, I made an extensive playlist with preludes, inspirations, songs that Jean-Claude Vannier & Gainsbourg made earlier, soundalikes, contemporaries and use of samples. It’s HERE on Spotify.
I wrote an article for Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant about HdMN, that piece was translated to English for THIS website.
Reymour
Reymour is a Swiss duo (Lou on vocals, Luc on instruments), they live in Bruxelles, they’re on an Amsterdam based label and make eighties-wave inspired music. Heavy on bass and organs. Great stuff.
Saâne
Very sexy first track by Parisienne Saâne.
April March & Olivia Jean
The same song, sung in French and English. That is, in short, the concept of Palladium, an EP on which Olivia Jean and (so great to hear her again) April March take turn as lead singer, and in language. Listen to Sauce Picante/Hot Sauce for instance:
Gainsbourg Forever (2)
On March 24th, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of what is undoubtedly Gainsbourgs best album, L’Histoire de Melody Nelson. Still of enormous influence, artists like Angel Olsen, Beck, Balthazar and Octave Noir cited the album, stole from it, and took inspiration.
On several occasions, HdMN has been celebrated, with concerts and tributes. There were covers, like Ballad of Melody Nelson by Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis, or by Placebo. As far as I know, there are two full album tributes. New York band Avi Luna re-made the album in 2018:
A few years earlier, Lille-based French artist Holkash made a VERY interesting cover version of the full album, with more electronics and dub reggae influences:
Another nice Ballad of Melody Nelson cover I found on Bandcamp, is this fierce version: