Brit-duo Fear of Men (Jessica and Daniel) made a French-language version of one of the highlights on their latest album, Loom. Fear of Men is up there with Camera Obscura, Young Marble Giants and Marine Girls. Or, more recent, Hotel Morphée and Forêt. (Merci Joris)
M’Barka Ben Taleb hails from Tunesia, but is a minor star in Italy. She already made four albums, one of her songs is in the movie Fading Gigolo (starring Vanessa Paradis). On Ben Taleb’s upcoming album Passion Fruits, there’s a cover of Je t’aime… moi non plus. Featuring a well-known sample.
It almost seems like we’re posting either filles from Canada on this blog, or girls/boy-girl-duo’s influenced by Elli & Jacno. Here’s yet another duo: Theremynt. Emma and Yann are influeced by Philip K. Dick-novels and, yes, Elli & Jacno. Check out the remixes as well:
Formerly of the band Circus, here’s Karen Brunon first single. With a little help from Benjamin Biolay:
One of this blog’s favourite brooding, Gothic bands returns this autumn with a brand new album and a new sound.
Montréal-based Hôtel Morphée release the long-awaited follow-up to last year’s “Des histoires de fantômes”, with the September release of “Rêve américain.”
While still dark and brooding, the new album promises a more openly poppy sound. The band have just released a thumping single from the album, “Dernier jour” that hints at the disjoint between dreams and the sobering light of reality and as as to be expected from the band, is deliciously subversive. There’s that trademarked and liberal use of the syncopated rhythms of orchestral strings, but this time around they’re married to a distinctive rockier beat and Laurence Nerbonne’s vocals take on a distinctive rasping (and at times sultry) edge, especially with the subtle reverb added to the chorus…
“Dernier jour” serves as a tantalising tease for an album that is going to be eagerly awaited.
Benjamin Biolay has a few things to say about the gain of the Front National in France:
Been a while since we heard from Belgian beauty Karin Clercq. For a new single she teamed up with Benjamin Schoos and Jacques Duvall (also behind Mademoiselle 19, Lio, Phantom, etc) and made a song reminiscent of Pet Shop Boys, Human League and New Order. Check:
Remember that scene at the end of La Grande Bellezza, where we see Jep and the girl who deflowered him? Did it make you remember your first time? It might just be like the first time pictured in the new video by Odezenne. This band, hailing from Paris and Bordeaux, was part of the ‘renaissance of French rap’ in the late 2000’s (zeroes), but now aims for the ‘varieté français’ label, which means they left the boom-bap behind and incorporated more pop-influenced, yet electronic sounds. ‘Je veux te baiser’ (I want to fuck you) is a pretty blunt sentence and title for an elegant song, that lifts the bassline from Julee Cruise’s dreampop-classic ‘Falling’. It’s not rapping what Ali does, it’s more reciting, close to the way Grand Corps Malade or MC 900ft Jesus do. Odezenne reinvent themselves on their new EP ‘Rien’, see also the (also pretty blunt) title track.
Never mind just another talented jeune Québécoise, here’s yet another talented graduate from the École Nationale de la Chanson de Granby…
Hailing from the Bas-du-Fleuve region of Québec, 20-year old singer-songwriter Véronique Bilodeau has already made a pretty big impression – a winner at the 2013 National Cégeps en Spectacle (for students attending a General and Vocational College in Québec – previous winners include Isabelle Boulay and Ariane Moffatt); walked away with prizes galore at that year’s Tremplin de Dégelis (“Springboard” festival of Dégelis – previous alumni include Klô Pelgag) and for good measure will be appearing at the prestigious FrancoFolies de Montréal this June.
“Sans les mots”, available from Véronique’s Bandcamp page is a beautiful folk-tinged romantic ballad (of which there seems to be a veritable production line in that Francophone Province) that touches on the telepathic relationship that couples often share. But what makes this song stand-out is that Véronique poses the most confident, soaring yet velvety-smooth voice. The composition’s arrangement is incredibly well balanced with a melodic acoustic guitar and piano accompaniment, all brilliantly fleshed out with accordion and double-bass.
As an added incentive, the single is currently available as a free download from the artist’s Bandcamp page.