New York, London, Paris Munich, everybody loves blog music

I was asked by the wonderful Streetkiss blog to participate in their The Love Spring 2008 World Blogs Best Playlist. Which is a great honour. I've contributed a little text about Hektor 's Route 7-cover. If electronic pop music (Underworld, Booka Shade, Fred Falke, Ghislain Poirier) is your thing, find out what other bloggers are raving about HERE.

Ariane Moffatt

Highly-anticipated: the new (third) album by Canadienne Ariane Moffatt. A more electronic affair (although A. was never afraid of keys 'n beats), but the sweet, fragile songs aren't forgotten. Funny to read this so-so review, and this very enthusiastic one. I haven't heard all songs, but I was struck by the Lio-esque Jeudi 17 Mai, and the pastoral Hiver Mile-End. More to follow.

Ariane Moffatt - Jeudi 17 Mai
Ariane Moffatt - Hiver Mile-End

Dutronc

Thanks to Frogsmoke for the reminder: today Jacques Dutronc turned 65. He's ofcourse the man who sang J'aime les filles, a motto we can all agree to. Bon Anniversaire!
Here's a clip and that song.

Jacques Dutronc - J'aime les filles

Peppermoon

For everybody who was there, in Maastricht, Aachen and Heerlen. For everybody who wanted to be there:

Peppermoon - Les Petits Miroirs (live radio session, recorded 4/26)

Sacha

She calls her music 'pop chic', she counts Biolay, Belin and Divine Comedy among her favourites and her voice is so tender, it's like a pillow in a fluffy cloud caressed by angel wings. Or so. Sacha is her name, her Myspace is here, and I strongly urge you to buy her EP. Or go here.
A young Sheryl Crow is what I thought of first when I heard the more rockier songs. But this picture on the right makes me dream of Emmanuelle.
See a video here.

Sacha - Sans Bruit

Laurence Revey

Revenge is a dish best served cold-hearted, I always say. Take Requiem pour un Con by Serge, for instance. I love that beat, I love that guitar, I love the bitchy way Serge spits the lyrics in the mike. Swiss diva Laurence Revey proves you can spice it up a little by adding moans 'n groans, as if she's a sexy feline purring on the grave of her adversary. Cold-hearted maybe, but with glowing cheeks. Hehe.

Laurence Revey - Requiem Pour Un Con
Original video of the SG version.

Gaetane Abrial

Who needs a stagename if you're called Gaetane Abrial, eh? Her debutalbum Cheyenne Song (just out) has it's moments - not when she's travelling through Katie Melua-territory, mind you, but when the dobro comes into play (courtesy of Jeffrey Pevar, who worked with David Crosby and Ray Charles) for instance. Or when she's channeling Gainsbourg, in Initials DD. Don't know who sings the male part, could be mixer Dominique Blanc Francard, who worked with SG, and Jane Birkin. (I stand corrected, see comments!)

Gaetane Abrial - Initials DD

see videos of Gaetane here.

Debut Septembre

It took about a month to make the video above: 3 weeks to write the scenario, a day to shoot all the pictures (3311 shots), record the song and edit in two weeks, but the result is a great stop-motion-clip. The actrice is called Melody, the song (and the rest) is by Carole, aka Debut Septembre. This French artist (she sings, she writes, she makes videos) lives in Sydney, Australia and wants to make a video for all her songs. These will be shown during concerts - no dates yet, because, as you can imagine, it takes a while to get all videos done.
Carole sings in both English and French, she has a pleasant, cool and dreamy voice and writes very poetic songs. Beg-Meil is about escaping Paris, driving to the town Beg-Meil, to hear the birds and smell the salty air. Musically, I would place her near Emilie Simon and Marina Celeste. Looking forward to more videos.

Debut Septembre - Camille
Debut Septembre - Beg-Meil

Barbara

Somehow, I never dove into Barbara's discography. Maybe because she's definitely not a fragile fille, with her deep, thunderrrrring voice and her fierce presence. But when I received this link (keep watching), I realized I had some catching up to do. Luckily, Natashka came to the rescue with a great guestpost:

It’s autumn, somewhat windy but not too cold, you’re in Paris, and just before the sun entirely disappears for the day you want to clear your head with a late afternoon trip to a quiet terrace alone. You order a rich, intense demi-tasse of French roasted coffee. That first sip goes straight to your brain and lights it up like fireworks on Bastille Day. That’s what Barbara’s music and lyrics can do if you let it.

Deeply intense singer-songwriter Barbara had equally complex artists as friends and influences such as Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens whose songs she recorded and which won her awards earlier on in her career. In Filles Sourires terms, she’s the old skool goth girl in the corner that sings like a beautiful blackbird if you’ll just listen to her carefully that first time.
Take another sip of that strong coffee. While Edith Piaf played the victim and Juliette Gréco the mysterious one, Barbara’s darkness was just as attractive as it was intriguing. In true French music tradition, you can’t just casually listen her songs: you get drawn in and you want to know more. She once was invited to give a recital in the German city of Göttingen. She stayed a week longer than expected and wrote a song called Göttingen before the week was up. Soon after, some of her songs were translated into German and Barbara eventually received the medal of honour of the city. That the kind of effect she has had on people.
Her hair is pitch black and her eyes heavy with black eyeliner. At least three songs by Barbara have the word black in the title: L’aigle noir (The black eagle) a veiled reference to the incest she survived and probably her biggest hit covered by many artists, Il était un piano noir (There was a black piano) more veiled references to the home front and Le soleil noir (The black sun) with its solemn contrabass intro and lyrics evoking cycle of life colours: white, grey and red.

(The first time I DJed with Guuzbourg a few years back, this was the first song I played in my jazz set and he had asked back then who it was.)

Barbara - Le Soleil Noir
Barbara - Si La Photo Est Bonne

26 Pinel

The great thing about my French fille obsession is that the well never runs dry: almost every day I discover new great artists. Take 26 Pinel, a Paris band lead by singer Alexandra Gatica who are named after their adress (26 Rue Philippe Pinel). They play acoustic, folky and upbeat music, and so far made two albums. Recently I received their 2006 cd Conversation de Film de Rêve, and immediatly fell in love with Alexandra's husky voice, and the great bohemien-sound. Gatica sings about love, childhood and heartbreak, and probably something about a big teddybear. See a clip here.

26 Pinel - Née Là
26 Pinel - Le Prix

To Do List

- April 29: hear Guuzbourg play and see The Lovers play @ Festina Lente, Amsterdam (Queens Night)
- May 3: hear Guuzbourg & Dewey play Stevie Wonder-songs (by him, with him or written by Stevie) @ Bar Struik, Amsterdam
- May 24: hear Natashka & Thomas Bohnet play @ De Nieuwe Anita, Amsterdam
- June 13: hear Guuzbourg play @ Circus Treurdier, Studio K, Amsterdam
- End of September: releaseparty Filles Fragiles II, former Shell Canteen, Amsterdam (to be confirmed)
- October: see Alfa Rococo play @ some venue, Amsterdam (tbc)
- November: see Francoiz Breut, Barbara Carlotti and Peppermoon play @ venues in Leiden and Amsterdam (tbc)

Eva de Roovere

There have been tributes to Serge, covers, honourable mentions, but as far as I know nobody ever wrote a song referring to one of SG's chansons. Up until now. Belgian fille Eva de Roovere, who sings in Dutch, wrote for her new album Over & Weer (Back & Forth) the song Zoals in dat ene liedje (Like in that one song). She sings: Zoals in dat ene liedje ben ik gekomen om te zeggen dat ik wegga (Like in that one song I've come to tell you that I'm going). Ofcourse she means Je suis venue te dire que je m'en vais. And although the memories are sweet (he's the one who introduced Miles Davis to her - talk about a special friend), Eva's the one who's leaving.
It's a good song, I really dig the music. That goes for the whole album (out 4/25), sweet, slightly naive lyrics, with really good, roots-y music.

Eva de Roovere - Zoals in dat ene liedje
CLIP of Serge doing Je suis venu te dire

Coralie!

Breaking news from CC's Myspace:

CORALIE CLEMENT TOYSTORE sortira au mois de Septembre 2008 ... j ajouterai un peu de musique sur mon espace d’ici quelques semaines.
(transl: Coralie Clement's Toystore will be released in September. I will put online music in a few weeks)

Zoë Avril

Ain't she sweet? More here.

Zoë Avril - On Ne Changera Pas Le Monde.

Destins et Desires

When something is euro-, be it eurohouse, eurotrash, euroshopper, it's usually not a stamp of quality. Euro Groove is a compilation from worldmusic-label Putumayo, and I don't think their marketing people thought that title through and through. They also released a Euro Lounge-cd, that wasn't that great either. Anyhoo, as is always the case with these mixed bags, there are some nuggets. Like Destins et Désirs, by Lebanese producer Toufic Farroukh and French singer Jeanne Added. The latter is a big jazz name, and also active in the theatrical world. The song is loungey with lush strings (a plus in my book), but a fairly old beat. But on a sunny day like we're having right now in AMS, it's nice.

Toufic Farroukh feat. Jeanne Added - Destins et Désirs

Celine Mastrorelli

Not much is known about jolie brune Celine Mastrorelli (great name), 'cept she's in her late twenties, and a mother, and she likes boys who like girls who like boys who like...etc. (I guess that's a Blur reference, too). In one interview, she says Tori Amos and Kate Bush are her influences - but that's without the histrionics, I might add. She also likes Ben Harper and Pauline Croze, cuz she covered them both (click for her version of T'es Beau), Croze is also a good musical reference point.
Googling her, you'll find a lot of videos, either from live-shows or clips. She's up and coming, so to speak, but alas no record deal. Odd, because she has some great songs. Like the sweet 'n tender A Mes Amours, or the sad Dimanche 17 hrs.

Celine Mastrorelli - A Mes Amours
Celine Mastrorelli - Dimanche 17 hrs

Peppermoon...

...are coming to Holland and Germany! After their showcase @ the presentation of Filles Fragiles, and their short but sweet tv-appearance @ DWDD, they now playing proper concerts in Heerlen and Aachen, and they're doing promotional gigs in Heerlen and Maastricht! More here.

Josianne Paradis

I've been checking out some new names from Quebec lately (here, here and here), and Josianne Paradis' songs really stuck. I just missed her - in March she performed in Brussels. She comes from a family of six (in her bio she states that it was never silent in her house), played in various bands (she plays Wurlitzer, one of my favourite funky instruments) and as you can tell from her songs she's influenced by Camille, Barbara and Ariane Moffatt (new album end of this month!). I like the jazzy vibe in her songs and her soothing voice. Must hear more. Oh, and as far as I know, she's not related to Vanessa Paradis.

Josianne Paradis - Ma Realité
Josianne Paradis - Ces Yeux-La

Remember Nougat? They couldn't get Arno Hintjens to do the male vocal part of their pastiche Melodie d'Amour, instead they got Nightporter. If you're familiair with Dutch avant-rock, you recognise him instantly (need help? click here). Here's the new version:
Nougat - Melodie d'Amour

Cecile Hercule

Remember what I said about Parisian beauty Cecile Hercule? She just put a new song on her Myspace, that underlines (with big fat strokes) my opinion. Move over Vanessa Paradis! (Nah, I'm kidding, but Cecile's really good!) I so hope she will release a full album anytime soon. Or make a great video for this song.

Somebody PLEASE sign her!

Cecile Hercule - La tête à l'envers (misspelled that title first, thanks Franss for the correction)

Camille

'It's hard not to be impressed, although occasionally you're beset by the feeling that you may be marvelling more at the journey than the destination', writes The Guardian today on Camille's new album Music Hole. My thoughts exactly. A part from a few songs (like
Gospel with no Lord, Money Note and Canards Sauvages) it gets a little annoying at times. Maybe it's best to consume in small parts. That said, I have heard only real quick, so my verdict's certainly not final.
Nice review in The Observer.

Camille - Canards Sauvages

Moby

Moby's new album Last Night is a tribute to eclectic dance music in and from New York. 'I essentially tried to take a long 8 hour night out in New York City and condense it into a 65 minute long album', Moby said. A few of those minutes are for a song that is supposed to be a cross between Roxy music and Gainsbourg. The French vocals are by an Algerian singer whom Moby discovered while she was singing a James Brown song in a karaoke bar. I let you decide if she was really a discovery, and whether Roxy or Serge are really paid tribute here.

Moby - Hyenas

Poney Express

No shortage of young fresh acts to burst out of France this year. Take Poney Express. I'd like to quote fellow blogger Aidan on PE's song Paris de Loin: "There's a song on the radio these days in France which captures this longing to burst out of the city and into the country. The song we're talking about, 'Paris De Loin' ('Paris from afar'), exudes this desire to escape the capital. It opens with a pulsating bassline full of adrenaline, and then bursts free with acoustic strumming and brushed drumming like those whirring bicycle wheels we described above. By the time Anna and her breathy voice gets to the opening line ("Quitter Paris..." - 'Leave Paris...') you're already miles away in some rural paradise, drinking wine and eating fine food in the sunshine."
Poney Express are Robin and Anna, a couple onstage and in life, who used to play in Tetard and Louise Attaque. Their just released debut album Daisy Street is a breezy, folky affair with references to their favourite acts Violent Femmes, Belle & Sebastian and Johnny Cash. Ideal album (as said) in the car, under way to a picknick.

Poney Express - Une Actrice
Poney Express - Paris de Loin (CLIP)

Oh, and yes, I forgot to mention his birthday yesterday. Lucky for me, Romke reminded me. Click.

Sound of C mix

When thinking of my favourite filles, I noticed that a lot of them have names starting with a C (either their first or last names, or in the case of Coralie Clement, both). When planning a mix for springtime, this was a good theme. Hope you like it too. Again, it's one big file, 46 minutes long.

Filles Sourires Sound of C mix. Download from HERE.

Tracklist:
Printemps - Cecile Hercule
Ton Ombre - C++
Les Filles Exotiques - Caroline Thomas
Jeunesse Affamee - Pauline Croze (acoustic version)
Canicule - Jeanne Cherhal
Pour La Nature - Barbara Carlotti
Gospel with No Name - Camille
Le Mal Aimé - Clarika
L'Impasse - Coralie Clement
Le Raison de plus fort - Soy Un Caballo
Daniel et Nicole - France Cartigny
Les Panneaux Blancs - Liz Cherhal
Apprends-moi a en Rire - Marie Cherrier
Le Vent dans les Voiles - Marina Celeste

In other news: if you're into Stevie Wonder, you might want to check out the mixes I made with my boogie-down-pal Dewey, over HERE.

Moon Safari Anniversary

The 10th birthday of the release of Air's Moon Safari is celebrated with a special edition of the album. It's a booklet containing the regular album, an extra cd with remixes, live-songs and demo's and a dvd with Mike Mills' film Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing, about Air on tour. I remember not being very enthousiastic about Moon Safari back in the day, only single Sexy Boy and het openingtrack La Femme d'Argent did it (and are still doing it) for me. I liked Premier Symptomes, the first EP by Air, way better. It didn't help that quasi-hip bars and cafés played MS to death, even now I cannot hear All I Need or You Make it Easy without remembering bad rosé on crowded terraces. That said, the extra cd of this anniversary edition features a few gems. The demo of the never-before released Bossa 96 for instance, and Beck's remix of Sexy Boy. Happy Birthday.

Air - Bossa 96
Air - Sexy Boy (Sex Kino mix) IFPI says NO!