Bruxelles-based, all-female trio Sirius Plan made quite an impression last year with their version of Bashung’s La Nuit Je Mens. Their debut album is about to be released, on first single Du Rose Dans Les Veines the girls sound like an Belgian answer to (the acoustic side of) duo Brigitte: hiphop-influenced, sultry, crystal-clear innovative pop. Which is nice.
See a cool video:
Blondino doesn’t like limitations, they’re not aiming to please. Yet the first EP by the Paris-based duo (Tiphaine Lozupone & Jean-Christophe Ortega) is a very pleasurable affair.
First track Mon amie is a twangy, brass and strings-infected ballad with a movie end-credits vibe. Think Lana del Rey, produced by Calexico. Tiphaine has the same ice-blue vocal chords like Lana, but with more Birkinesque huskyness.
Next song Oslo steps into La Grande Sophie-territory, a fierce scorcher of a song. But the cherry on the cake is the electronically charged Tant qu’il y aura des hommes. The gothic Hotel Morphée’s a reference, Goldfrapp and Bashung too. Different tracks, different moods, but that’s intentional. Blondino’s named after a novel by Sture Dahlström, they’re influenced by books, movies, musical spectacles and the aforementioned bands.
A highly recommended introduction.
Bruxelles-based threesome Sirius Plan ‘redefine rock and femininity’ as their website tells us. I’d say Skye, Gaelle and Claire sings as clear as a glass of water and do a angelic version of Alain Bashung’s brilliant La Nuit Je Mens.
Sirius Plan – La Nuit Je Mens (link works now)
It’s de rigueur nowadays: You are not an artist if there’s no tribute album made for you. In recent months we saw a Jacno tribute, a Boby Lapointe tribute and a tribute to Bashung. And now there is a Maxim Le Forestier tribute album, called “La Maison Bleue”. Le Forestier never gained popularity outside France (as far as I know), but in France he is respected for his chansons for almost 40 years. In 1971 he spent some time in the hippie scene of San Francisco, writing a song about it with the same name, but everyone knows it as “La Maison Bleue“. So that explains the title of this tribute, with only tracks of Le Forestier’s debut album from 1972, “Mon Frère”.
It includes reprises by Salvatore Adamo and Calogero, Filles Sourires-fans should rejoice over contributions by Daphné and Emily Loizeau. But for the Filles Sourires I choose a song by our beloved La Fiancée.
La Fiancée – La Rouille
Maxime Le Forestier – La Rouille
Tels Alain Bashung is a just-released tribute to the great French rocker, who passed away in 2009. He left a discography that, for the non-French listener, has as much turn-ons as turn-offs. He wasn’t a fantastic singer, technically. He had, as Sky said already in the post below, a tendency for pumped up stadium-rock and yes, he was obsessed by Dylan. Yet, albums like Play Blessures, Fantaisie Militaire and Osez Joséphine are still very listenable, and songs like La nuit je mens or Madame rêve lost nothing of their emotional value. Plus, he played in a few very good videos (like Volutes). On Tels Alain Bashung, FS-faves like Keren Ann, Vanessa Paradis, M, Dionysos and Benjamin Biolay make his songs their own. No stinkers here (ok, well, Christophe maybe channels some bad stadiumrock-vibes). On the dvd that accompanies the cd, almost all artists tell melancholic stories about Bashung, his songs and their memories. Oddly, rock-trio Mustang is also featured, yet they’re not the album. Shame. Their approach to rock ‘n roll is very much in the vein of another of Bashungs heroes, Gene Vincent.
Keren Ann – Je fume pur oublier que tu bois
Alain Bashung – Je fume pour oublier que tu bois
Note from Sky’s editorial desk: I beg to differ, Guuz — Christophe’s cover of Bashung’s Alcaline has class and haute tension.
Christophe – Alcaline
Alain Bashung – Alcaline.mp3
French filles singing songs about girls, to empower women. That’s what Paroles de Femmes is all about, the album featuring Claire Keim, Natasha St Pier, Shy’m and Amel Bent was released on March 8. International Women’s Day, of course. The songs are covers by Brel, Obispo, Becaud and Christophe. Hate to say this, especially with championed girls like Claire Keim and Nolwenn Leroy on board, but most covers are a bit dull. One that stands out in a good way is Amandine Bourgeois’ version of Bashungs slide-fest Osez Jospehine. Amandine (pictured) chose to leave the slide-guitar out, very brave. To compare, a live version by the grand master himself (RIP), who adds a little Dylan.
Amandine Bourgeois – Osez Josephine
Bashung – Osez Josephine (live)