Browsing Tag chanson
Munya – Hotel Delmano
Do you like French pop music like Air and Charlotte Gainsbourg? Montreal-based singer, songwriter and producer Josianne Boivin, aka Munya, certainly does. She’s classically trained in piano, jazz, and opera, and combines her extensive musical education and Francophilia into atmospheric synth-pop that simultaneously feels nostalgic and modern. Call her a romantic retro-futurist.
Her next EP (out on 5 October) is called Delmano, and it’s named after Hotel Delmano, a fancy cocktail bar in Williamsburg. The title track is about encountering a blue-skinned woman in that cocktail bar. Boivin says about it: “There is a French band named Vendredi Sur Mer and I just fell in love with their music video of ‘La Femme À La Peau Bleue.’ I watched it so many times that she entered my dreams, once we were having a drink at Hotel Delmano. The song is about that dream.”
For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Feu! Chatterton – Zoé
This weekend, during a music festival in Verdun (near my holiday destination in north-east France) I saw a gig by French band Feu! Chatterton. When I tell you they named themselves after the 18th century poet Thomas Chatterton, who committed suicide at the age of 17, you won’t be surprised poetry and drama are important parts of the band’s music and overall performance. These ingredients, combined with elements of pop, rock, funk, spoken word and of course French chansons, define their sound. Highly recommended to go and see live when you get the chance.
This week’s concert wasn’t the first time I heard of the band. I already liked the early single La Malinche from their first eponymous EP in 2014, and a year later, I played their single Boeing in my then radio show Carte Blanche. Last spring, the 5-man band released their second full length album L’oiseleur, but new single Zoé is a brand new song altogether. Not totally representative of their sound and live dynamics, but a fine introduction all the same!
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Vanille – Glace Vanille
It’s clear Vanille Leclerc has musical genes. That’s not strange, for she’s the daughter of French musical hero Julien Clerc. Her music is as sweet, soft, feminine, delicious and exotic as you’d suspect by her name.
Vanille is about to release her first album, that she recorded in Brazil. This explains its sound, which combines the French chanson tradition with bossa-nova and South-American rhythms. Glace Vanille (‘vanilla ice cream’) is the first single off it. A very tasteful debut. A delicacy, even…
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Foé – Qu’est-Ce Que T’as Là?
There are a lot of good things happening in the French music scene, with loads of great new artists emerging. Keep following Carte Blanche Music, and I’ll introduce you to all of them.
Did you know Foé already? He only released his self-titled debut EP last autumn. All four tracks off it – and seven more – are now also available on his first full album Îl. It’s out on the Tôt Ou Tard label, home to acts like Cats On Trees, Shaka Ponk and Yael Naim, who featured here before as well.
Foé, only 20 years old, named himself after Daniel Defou, the author of ‘Robinson Crusoé’. You could file him under ‘urban pop’, but Foé is not your regular new artist. The first thing that will strike you, is his theatrical voice and way of narrating/singing, slightly reminiscent of Grand Corps Malade. Musically, he presents a mix of hip hop rhythms, classical piano and electronic sounds, ranging from dance pop via latin jazz to classic French ‘chanson’ territory.
One of my favourite tracks on this promising debut album is Qu’est-Ce Que T’as Là? It has verses in French, while the chorus is in English. At the same time, the music switches from summery mid-tempo dance pop to a slow, less heavy form of dub step. Actually, you shouldn’t read about it, you should just listen…
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Angèle – Je Veux Tes Yeux
Last year, Angèle Van Laeken entered the pop arena with her debut single La Loi De Murphy. A fun track that crossed over to France, providing the Belgian singer-songwriter with her first hit in the European Border Breakers Chart.
New single Je Veux Tes Yeux slows things down a bit, and ticks all the right boxes for it to enter classic ‘chanson’ territory. Somehow, it also makes me think of the utterly beautiful Coward by Yael Naim.
Je Veux Tes Yeux once again crosses to France (for starters), making it Angèle’s biggest EBBChart hit to date, entering in 37th place this week. The clip passed the 1 million mark on YouTube within 10 days, so you’d better keep a keen eye on this one…
For more great new music follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
Calogero – La Vraie Vie
One of my favourite French artists is Calogero. I already recommended his recent single Je Joue De La Musique, and even made album track 1987 Wildcard without it being a single.
Both songs are taken from Calogero’s most recent album Liberté Chérie, which sold over 175.000 units in France alone so far, and has just been re-released in a Deluxe Edition. It features seven additional tracks: an Extended Version of first single Je Joue De La Musique, a new version of second single On Ne Sait Par Coeur (now featuring Clara Luciani), a piano version of third single Fondamental, three songs recorded live in the famous Abbey Road Studios in London, and – best of them all – one brand new track…
La Vraie Vie was co-written by Colagero’s wife Marie Bastide and finds itself somewhere halfway pop, rock and French ‘chanson’. The track criticizes our modern day hyper connected society and calls upon more personal contact. An irresistible song!
Music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Has been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, he developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.
