A limited special edition of ZAZ’s debut album was released, with four extra live-tracks. Two acoustic versions of her own songs, and two covers. One by Gainsbourg (a better version then this one) and one by Carlos Almaran. This Panamian songwriter is the father of Historia de un Amor,a song that was covered many, many times. I love what ZAZ did with both tunes. See a video of Z singing Ces Petits Riens here, and her singing Historia…. here.
Zaz – Ces petits riens
Zaz – Un historia de un amor
Re-up of the Gainsbourg-mix I made earlier, because on March 2 we’ll remember Serge’s passing, 20 years ago. That said, I guess I see y’all this Wednesday in Club Bitterzoet in Amsterdam for the Gitanes & Jazz-soirée? Or maybe you’ll go to Ruimte X in Tilburg on March 5 (I won’t be there), or Petrol in Antwerp on March 12 (I’m there, oh boy, I’m there)?
Download the mix from HERE.
Illustration stolen from HERE
Tracklist:
Serge – Folk Implosion
Chatterton – Seu Jorge
Couleur Café – Babaloo
Les Sambassadeurs – Serge Gainsbourg
La Javanaise – Richard Galliano
Jane B – Sandie//Trash
5:55 – Charlotte Gainsbourg
L’Anamour – Ivy
Harley Davidson – Souvenir
Laisse Tomber les Filles – Mareva Galanter
Je t’aime Moi Non Plus – The Traces
The Ticket Puncher – Mick Harvey
Fuir le Bonheur – Ariane Moffatt
En Melody – Kahimi Karie
Initials BB – David Shea
Les Petits Papiers – Jane Birkin & Françoise Hardy
This wednesday, France Inter has a great evening planned about Gainsbourg with covers by BB Brunes and Joseph D’Anvers, plus a dj-mix by Gilles Peterson
Michel Drucker, he of the infamous Whitney Houston-incident, hosted another great Gainsbourg-tribute on French tv recently. Featuring Benjamin Biolay (singing Sorry Angel, see above), Elodie Frégé & Stanislas channeling Serge & Catherine (very sexy!), Claire Keim singing La ballade de Johnny Jane, it’s overwhelming. Nice mini-docu’s too, this one, and this one. (thanks Sami)
Yesterday, the French music show Taratata was dedicated to Gainsbourg (because of the 20th anniversary of his death, on March 2). Nosfell and Laetitia Casta singing La decadanse, Charlotte covering Couleur Café, Ben L’Oncle Soul & Sly Johnson redoing the Vieille Canaille-duet… overwhelmingly beautiful! See the emission HERE. Youtube-clips HERE and HERE.
Serge Gainsbourg, produced by Martin Hannett, of Joy Division-fame. An apt description of the songs on Nicolas Comment‘s second album, Nous Etions Dieu. That was actually produced by Marc Colling, of Nouvelle Vague-fame. Nicolas is a photographer too, several books with his works were published. See examples here. Where you also can read that he worked with Rodolphe Burger and Jacques Higelin, and that Comment made a book-plus-cd in 2008. See/listen to a track from that album here. I listened to Nous Etions Dieu several times now. The Gainsbourg-influence is easy to spot, first song Je te veux sounds like a Melody Nelson-outtake. Closing song Comme d’une foret la hache is more in the Tête de chou-vain. First single and title track Nous étions Dieu is haunting, catchy, retro-chic song with a great video (posted that one earlier, here). L’Attendue is very strong too. Jerome Attal made a similar sounding album a few years back, he didn’t cross-over to non-French-speaking countries. But I can see Nicolas step over the border.
Nicolas Comment – Nous étions Dieu
No extensive introduction on Vanessa Contenay-Quinones here at FS anymore. Regular visitors already know the cool seduction on high heels with the beautiful, sultry voice and misty eyes for a while now. Her 60’s influenced French popmusic was already around here a few times. Same goes for the music of her band Vanessa and the O’s (about to release a new album soon too, the site stated), but we never had a topic on her first band Espiritu, with whom she recorded two albums from 1993 to 1997. The best was then yet to come.
Inbetween 2008 and 2010 Vanessa recorded several tracks for her project called Allez Pop! Some of them ended up on compilation albums like Filles Fragiles 2 and Musique Fantastique, one track (Bon Bon Bon) even made it to the OST of the action-comedy Killers with Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck and Katherine Heigl. So it was about time to put all the recordings together and release Allez Pop! A superb idea. The tracks are seductive, fresh, quirky and tributary of course to Gainsbourg and Bardot, Dutronc and Hardy to name but a few. An unpretentious candy with attitude. Highly recommended.
And for those who might start thinking that Vanessa can’t do any wrong… just wait and see her with a bizarre performance as Vanessa St. James in collaboration with Lou Reed (!) on a weird kinda dance version of Velvet Undergrounds ‘Sunday Morning’. Not even a sin of her youth, as this Italian show (starts at 02.30) is from 2004. But some can’t do wrong, right?
Vanessa Contenay-Quinones – Odyssée
It was 20 years ago this year, that Serge passed away. There’s always a reason to celebrate his legacy, but this year we’re doing this with the release of the Dutch translation of Sylvie Simmons’ excellent SG-bio (on Feb 10, Maison Descartes Amsterdam), and with no more then three Soirée’s. On March 2 (appropriatly) in Bitterzoet Amsterdam, on March 5 in Ruimte X Tilburg (I won’t be there) and on March 12, as you can see, during the original Soirée in Petrol Antwerp. Serge van Duijnhoven (poet, writer, phenomenon, Gainsbourg-fanatic) will be there, singer-songwriter Rick Treffers, a food performer, a jazz pianist, a Flemish conferencier, and me. And in Antwerp of course the indispensable Louis Katorz and Pierre Elitair.
Oh, and on Feb 12 I’m partying like it’s my birthday (which it is) in De Nieuwe Anita Amsterdam, together with this gal.
Comic Strip is not the first French rap crew to use a Serge Gainsbourg sample, but they sure are the funniest. This is their English bio (from here): ‘COMIC STRIP is an up and coming french rap band. Led by freaking MC Wapi alongside producers TAMBOUR BATTANT , COMIC STRIP is about telling funny stories , sometimes with a hidden sense to it, and sometimes not. It s about hip hop and it s about electronics. It’s about “rap français”, and it s about UK grime, and US HipHop, and russian hardcore techno (well not quite sure bout the last one). Burning stages with heavy beats and an unusual sense of humor, it s meant to stay on the stage, and there s no firing those crazy unemployed B Boyz’
You can download their album Gateau Blaster for free (or a small donation, make sure doing so) HERE.
Comic Strip – Comic Strip Song
Of course, that’s this Gainsbourg song they’ve sampled.
Vanessa Paradis doing a tribute to Franck Langolff, Anais Kaël singing about a vibrator, the first single by a new Canadian talent and Fredda & Pascal redoing Serge’s Dents de lait, dents de loup. And a new album by Canadian singer Maryse Letarte. And an EP by Buridane. And that’s just from the past two weeks. Here’s a quick roundup of releases you really should know about:
Franck Langolff died in 2006 from cancer. The songwriter wrote many great songs, like Joe le Taxi for Vanessa Paradis. She is one of the stars who pay tribute to Langolff by singing unreleased songs, found by his son. Other singers contributing to Dr Tom ou la liberté en cavale are Arthur H, Thomas Dutronc, Ours and actress Cécile Cassel (yes, Vincent’s sister, pictured on the left). More? Here.
Vanessa Paradis – La gardienne et le réverbère Du 41
Cécile Cassel – La plante carnivore
Anais Kaël sings songs in the old chanson tradition. Her second album is just out and features a very funny song about a ‘vibromasseur’.
Anai Kaël – La Confession du vibromasseur
Curly blonde, Vanessa-Paradis-soundalike Buridane released an EP on which she doesn’t sound that much like Vanessa any more. Which is not bad at all.
Buridane – Comme avant
Brigitte Boisjoli was a contestant on Canadian tv-talenthunt Star Academy. She’s about to tour with a musicalgroupe through Canada (just like almost every tv-talenthunt winner in Holland is about to join the musical acting guild), but her first single sure sounds like she has way more talent than to be just a chorusline girl:
Brigitte Boisjoli – Fruits défendus
Fredda (Dastrevigne) and Pascal Parisot finally had the follow-up released to their Radiomatic-album (2007). Yeye-covers, with a modern twist. Very nice. Lots of Gainsbourg-tracks too, like this one.
Radiomatic – Dents de lait, dents de loup
Canadian songstress Maryse Letarte (pictured on the right) came on my radar when she released her beautiful Christmas album (mostly original songs) in 2008. Her new album is just as seasonal: lots and lots of tristesse. A must-have for people who regret Keren Ann’s transition to English.
Maryse Letarte – Ajourd’hui c’est dimanche
Raised in the Ardèche, named after etheric oils her grandmother used, Melissmell debuts with an EP that features a rework of the French national anthem. Called Aux Armes. Any Gainsbourg-fan would wanna know what she did with it. I’d say she Raphael-ized it, added dramatic strings, marching band-drums and musical drop-downs (I mean: the music comes and goes), not unlike Raphael did on his majestic Caravane album. There’s a Brel-influence there as well. And yes, she quotes those immortal words Serge uttered: ‘Aux Armes etcaetera’. Serge remixed Rouget de Lisles anthem as a statement about integration (in the late 70s, mind you): you’re really a part of the state if you know the national hymn so well, you can remix it the way you like it. Still powerful, methinks. Melissmell was trained as a graphic designer but drifted into the music. No surprise for a girl who could sing before she could speak. On her album she worked with some big French guns, but I heard only the EP. Not a fragile fille, more a girl with big lungs and big plans. See a nice acoustic session here.