Flavien Berger's new video for Berzingue

An absolutely eye-popping new video from Flavien Berger for the track Berzingue.

 With its constantly evolving images and organic fluidity, the video is reminiscent of the work created by US artist Bruce Bickford for Frank Zappa in the 1970s. But it’s taking psychedelic to a new level and rather than relying on Claymation it’s reflecting and distorting artificial intelligence style imagery into a whirlwind of sensory overload, sliding effortlessly between the mundane and the surreal, the threatening and the friendly and the reassuring and the bewildering.  

We may see more videos like this in the near future, but I’m uncertain they’ll be as good.

The clip is by Jamie Harley, who was responsible for Berger’s Vendredi and La Fête Noire videos as well as works by Koudlam, Judah Warsky and others.

Berzingue features on Berger’s recent Dans Cent Ans album, his third album. Released on March 17, it’s a collection that features the previous single Feux Follets and it makes clear the case that Berger's one of the most impressive artists working in electronic music at the moment, himself moving with a fluidity and fluency through innovative and previosuly unexplored regions.

Berger’s just started an extensive tour that runs until mid-November, with two dates the Olympia in Paris at the beginning of May and some festival dates over the summer including the Francofolies in La Rochelle and Rock en Seine in Paris.

Christine and the Queens new video: True Love

A new video drops from Christine and the Queens ahead of the release of a new album in June.

The track True Love features a collaboration with American rapper and singer 070 Shake, one of two tracks on the forthcoming collection she appears on. The new video follows the release of To be honest last month.

If Christine's last album Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) didn't perhaps have the same impact as the 2014 Chaleur Humaine debut or the Chris follow-up, the tracks that have so far surfaced for Christine's forthcoming album Paranoïa, Angels, True Love shows an artist at the peak of their abilities, presenting work that is both immediately accessible and innovative at the same time.

The haunting To be honest probably ranks as one of his finest works so far, True Love suggests that Paranoïa, Angels, True Love might be one of the year's strongest releases by any artist. The new album is expected on June 9 and it includes three tracks featuring Madonna. 

Ditching his Redcar alter-ego and returning to the 'Christine and the Queens' name, not even the 'Chris' identity of his second album, it seems Héloïse Letissier is back to using the name that established his position as one of the most interesting musicians to emerge in recent years.

The new album Paranoïa, Angels, True Love takes its inspiration from the award-winning play Angels in America by Tony Kushner, a work from the early 90s that was set in 80s New York at the height of the AIDS epidemic. It's a complex piece with intersecting storylines and some characters representing angels and ghosts as well as others in communities affected by the unfolding tragedy.

Christine and the Queens are touring extensively with a show at the weekend at the second round of Coachella in California, and are in the UK for dates in August and September including a show at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh on September 8.

Moodoïd: Memories - My LIttle Paris session

We've been fans of Moodoïd here since we first came across him at the Les Transmusicales de Rennes almost ten (!) years ago, and his career since has been a rewarding one to follow. If his recent releases have seen him move on from the more overtly psychedlic pstylings of work like Je Suis La Montagne and his  Le Monde Möö debut album, he remains an artist who deserves following, his universe continuing to expand in unexpected directions.

For this session he performs for My Little Paris an acoustic version of Memories at the Petit Palais musée des Beaux-arts de la Ville de Paris, an incredibly scenic and atmospheric location. They've run four previous sessions over the past few weeks, including Catastrophe and VOYOU, each one making the absolute most of the Paris locations alongside some very well-selected music.

Memories features on Moodoïd's five track PrimaDonna vol. 2 EP which was released at the end of last month. Like its PrimaDonna vol. 1 predecessor, it features collaborations with other artists including Lottie P, Dora, Zombie Chang, Jane Perry as well as Olivia Merilahti who features in this session

For this session, he's accompanied by Olivia Merilahti, half of The Dø who also operates as a solo artist under the name Prudence. Since their 2014 Shake Shook Shaken album, a top ten hit in France, she and partner in Dø Dan Levy have been pursuing solo projects. 

The other musician playing in the session, Paul Prier has just released his solo EP Punctual Problems, and recently played piano at the YSL Winter Collection launch at the Bourse de Paris, where he accompanied Charlotte Gainsbourg. I'll give him some more well-deserved attention soon on this blog.

In the meantime, Moodoïd demands your attention for a sophisticated and atmospheric moment of unashamed beauty.

Magma: Hakëhn Deïs

If you're a musical act that's been around since 1969 and only got around to making a video for a song in 2023, it's more about making history than just making a clip.

Step forward Magma, giants of French progressive music, with a video for Hakëhn Deïs, a track from their recent Kartëhl album.

Magma have never made any concessions throughout their career, an act who have followed the vision of Christian Vander regardless of the ebb and flow of musical fashion, a world unto themselves. Their music remains as extraordinary today as it did when they released their debut in 1969.

Two dancers from the Paris Opera, Loup Marcault and Ida Viikinkoski bring the track to life, their movements amid a swirl of further almost psychedelic changes. If the dancing was already beyond anything normal, the visual effects take things further without getting in the way of their performance.

That Magma are still capable of surprises like this, after a career of more than 50 years, is an extraordinary achievement. Maybe it's a sign that the 21st century has partially caught up with Magma.

Magma are supporting Porcupine Tree in Manchester on June 29, along with shows in Paris at the Salle Playel in October celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Mëkanïk Dëstruktïẁ Kömmandöh album. 

Dancing optional.