Second feature on French duo Barbara Rivage (Roxane Argouin, Vivien Tacinelli). The debut album ‘Tout sera beau’ is out, and it’s a cool one. Fresh, bit dark, danceable. I hear Les Rita Mitsouko as much as Françoise Hardy (as Clara Luciani, with lesser disco input), but these two aren’t copycats, no sir. Love Roxane’s low voice, the funky basslines, the electronics. Two examples of their greatness:
Canadian duo Bibi Club are on my radar for quite some time, but oddly enough, I never posted about their upbeat indiepop on this blog. The duo formed by Adèle Trottier-Rivard and Nicolas Basque, they can be tender, emotional and very very joyous. It’s modern day pop music, with electronics, guitars, beats.
New single:
Francoiz never fails. So many features already, all good. This GORGEOUS new single is such a gem:
Thanks to fellow French pop aficionado Steve J, here’s a small feature on Swiss singer Mira Zoff. Steve tipped me her EP, released last year, and the new single (alas not on Bandcamp). Mira has a soothing sweet voice, makes indie(ish) pop with nods to Vanessa Paradis and Feist. I’d say ‘Vampire’ is a step up from the charming EP. Mira’s one to watch.
Something different, but something really beautiful now, this French track by French-Colombian bassist Ëda Diaz. Suave Bruta is her debut-album, with a modern feel (electronics, samples, etc) but nods to the great Afro-Colombian musical tradition too. Check out the catcy Al Pelo, to get a good taste. Really colourful album. The last song is a slow burner in French:
Belgian singer Corine BLF released this early 00’s sounding, sensual and danceable track:
Paola Frankel, actress, singer, is Joe la Panic. She released an album in 2022 that had a slow jam/soul vibe. This new single is more in the realms of the neon-coloured Videoclub retro-80s synth pond. Still soulful, too. I like to see where this going:
So, in 2021, we said, hey, there’s this singer called Lonny, she’s from Quebec, oops, no, she’s from France, and she’s an artist to watch. Keep track of Lonny! And then, we didn’t follow our own advice. So now, in 2024, we have to catch up. Lonny released an album (Ex-Voto, on Bandcamp HERE), and an EP, with reworked versions of song on her debut album, live tracks, demo’s. Her sultry, yet powerful voice is something else. There’s classic chanson in her voice, deep Americana and Stereolab’ish experiment. This is my favorite new track:
The guitars, the ethereal vibe of this song, reminded me of this Filles Sourires fave by Lisa Portelli: