Sally Folk

  • Posted on 11/10/2013
  • /Under Musique

sally-folk-carrousel-4-minSally Folk is Quebecoise with a Algerian dad, who sports a beautiful fringe and has a thing for corsets, firebrigade lipstick and petticoats. She started off in English, making a 50’s style rock’n doowop album (listen here, see a video here), that drew attention of producer Marc Dery. I’m not sure, but my guess is that Dery turned Sally to French, cut back on the 50s music and added a more sophisticated neo-Sixties style. Her new album is just out and contains a few great songs. It feels like the last Coeur de Pirate album was a big inspiration. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. See the video for Sally’s current single here. Listen to snippets of her album here.

Sally Folk – La crosse

La // Plage

  • Posted on 09/10/2013
  • /Under Musique

There’s very little known about La // Plage, a female-fronted four-piece hailing from Liège, Belgium. See a picture here. They’re called Flore, Nico, Loïc & Mike. Backgrounds? Forget it. There’s also a band called La Plage from Bruxelles, confusingly. But this La // Plage is drawing more attention, thanks to their wonderful single Rendez-Vous. They name Justin Timberlake and France Gall as influences, and kicked off with a great remake/remix of Phoenix’ Trying to be cool (arguably the best track on Phoenix’ last album). Rendez-vous is an English song, but there’s a little French lyric at the end – hopes are high for a full French track.
You know what they say, as a band you start by imitating your heroes, then find your own style. Now, of course, it’s just one single, but mon dieu, the future of La // Plage is so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Piaf

  • Posted on 08/10/2013
  • /Under Video

October 11th marks the 50th anniversary of Edith Piaf’s death. A few days ago, a bunch of great French singers paid tribute to La Mome in New York. Anyone’s who seen the movie La Vie en Rose or read about Edith, knows about her ties to the big apple. See an introduction to that show here. Below, a few performances by Elodie Frégé, Olivia Ruiz and Coeur de Pirate on that tribute night:

DTCV

  • Posted on 07/10/2013
  • /Under Musique

DetectiveRemember Détective? The band of former Guided By Voices-member James Greer and the sulty Guylaine Vivarat? Well, they’re a trio now (Hi Chris!), and they changed their name to DTCV. Because this name is easier to find, and the internet isn’t kind to French accent marks. DTCV include flute solo’s, free jazz saxophone work outs and write songs that pass the eleven minute mark, but they also master the art of writing slow seductive French ballads for watching raindrops on windows. As you can hear in Contre Jour, taken from their new album.

DTCV – Contre Jour

The Painter’s Daughter

  • Posted on 06/10/2013
  • /Under Musique

timnabrOne of those albums that time forgot: Chansons et violons by Timna Brauer, daughter of Austrian painter Arik Brauer who also was a co-founder of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. Realized in 1999 with the Elias Meiri Ensemble, Chansons et violons serves as an homage to the holy trinity of Brassens, Brel and Piaf; classic French song material showcased chamber music style – piano, cello, violin –, a cool concept suffering a bit from Miss Brauer’s every so often all-too dramatic renditions. Nonetheless the albums’s opener, a classy swingin’ version of Georges Brassens’ Je me suis fait tout petit, lacks all the phoney grandiloquence and has that certain finger snippin’ grandeur reminiscent of Cristina Branco‘s most enchanting French language excursions. Fine art for sure.

Timna Brauer – Je me suis fait tout petit

Alka

  • Posted on 06/10/2013
  • /Under Musique

Blow Up Doll’s Mordi treats us to a guestpost on the new Alka album:
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Alka Balbir, French actress and now singer (don’t all the best ones do both?!) and probably model by the look of her, has released her first album – imaginatively titled ‘La premiere fois’. Songwriter supremo Benjamin Biolay has had his very talented hands all over the album, writing and producing the majority of it. Alkas breathy voice is very reminiscent of 70s Jane Birkin or 80s Isabelle Adjani – essentially that means breathy, almost orgasmic.
Combining the noughties equivalent of Serge Gainsbourg (Initials BB?!) with her vocals has resulted in an album that at times sounds like it could actually be a Serge and Jane lost classic – ‘Qui je suis’ could have been lifted straight from the ‘Di doo dah‘ album.
There are a couple of songs where Benjamin features – his duets can be a bit hit and miss (see Vanessa Paradis ’Profite’ ) but the ones on here work really well.
‘D’un amour a l’autre’ could easily slip on the end of Adjanis ‘Pull Marine’ album – one of the most wonderful parts of this song is her ‘Blah blah blah, blah, blah’ lyrics – sexy, naughty with a tongue firmly in her cheek. On a couple of the songs I wondered if she was actually about to pass out from an overwhelming orgasm – her voice achingly trying to keep up with the beat – just check out ‘Te satisfaire!’ As well as the more obvious comparisons to the Gainbourg girls – the album sounds current- there’s a sedated electronica vibe, so it feels fresh yet familiar
The final track is Alkas brilliant cover of France Galls song ‘Les gens bien éleves’ – very cute and a great way to end her first album.
If you like her – and let’s be honest, what’s not to like here? I’d definitely recommend seeking out a song not featured on the album called ‘Affaire classée’ that she recorded with Chateau Marmont.
I hope Alkas ‘premiere fois’ wasn’t painful for her- it was a pleasure for me!

Alka – D’un amour a l’autre

Mark/ Gérard (See Below)

When it comes to oblivion and bereavement, Washingtonian singer/ songwriter Mark Lanegan can be considered an expert on the matter. His last album was titled Blues Funeral, and on his recent one, Imitations, he’s covering Gérard Manset’s Elégie funèbre, with a tongue heavier than those of four exhausted pallbearers. That’s what French language does to Americans.

Gérard/ Mark (See Above)

Gérard Manset could have been the French David Bowie. Instead, he’s become a myth. Elégie funèbre is the last song on his landmark second album »La Mort d’Orion” (1970), his so-called »oratorio rock-symphonique«. For more about Manset and the album, see here. It’s all about sound and vision.

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