French acts at the Great Escape festival 2015

Many of France's finest musical exports are playing at the Great Escape festival in Brighton this
weekend.

The event has in recent years become something of a beachhead for French acts, many of which have gone on to considerable success subsequent to their appearance at The Great Escape.

Christine and the Queens, darlings of the 2015 Victoires de la Musique awards, played there in 2013.

Perhaps some of this playing over the next few days will go on to similar success. But regardless of whether or not they make any kind of commercial breakthrough, there's a great selection on offer.

Hundreds of acts play across the city, in the closest thing we probably have in the UK to the SXSW festival in America, both an event in itself and a showcase for acts to establish themselves.

Andrea Balency is no stranger to this blog, she plays Tonight (Friday) at the Komedia Studio Bar 9.15pm-9.45pm and on Sunday at the Paganini Ballroom 1.30pm-2.00pm




Bristol, the new project from Marc Collin of Nouvelle Vague. They offer a unique interpretation of 90s trip hop. Bristol plays the Spiegeltent on 16th May 2015 2:15pm - 2:45pm




Camp Claude have featured on this blog before, and play today (Friday) at Carousels 2pm - 2.45pm.




C.A.R. play two shows over the weekend, with a show on Friday  at the Prince Albert from 7.45pm-8.15pm, and another tomorrow (Saturday) at Brighthelm from 1.00am-1.30am.




Forever Pavot have also featured here previously, on account of them being wonderful, and they play at The Hub on Friday 12.30pm-1.00pm




Ibeyi bring their soulful pop blended with Cuban stylings to Brighton and play at Coalition on Saturday, 8.15pm-8.45pm




Saycet brings some cutting edge electronics, and plays on Saturday at Patterns-Downstairs, 2.15pm-2.45pm




Others on the bill include Jeanne Added, Acid Arab and Stal, but having played yesterday you'll have to catch them next time they play the UK.

In the meantime, make the most of the opportunity to catch the acts above while you can.

French bands at The Great Escape

Last year I featured some of the French acts playing at the Great Escape festival in Brighton, and this year the event again has a strong showing of French performers, ranging from the well-known to the more obscure. There are also some favourites of this blog on the bill.

Last year there were acts like Christine and the Queens, Concrete knives,  Melody' s Echo Chamber, We Were Evergreen and Tomorrow's World.  They've all gone on to critical and in some cases massive commercial acclaim since, so many of the acts this year may very well do the same.

The festival truly showcases some of the best new talent, and it's great to see so many French acts on the bill.

As Animals



As Animals play at the Spiegeltent on May 9 at 8.30pm, and at the Prince Albert on Saturday 10 at 1.30pm.

As Animals released their debut album earlier this year. More on the band on their website http://www.asanimals.com/

BRNS



 BRNS play at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar on Saturday May 10 at 4.30pm and at the Queen's Hotel the same day at 10.30pm.

The band relased a new single Void/My head is into you for Record Store day in France and played a few dates in the UK supporting Etches Catch up with them on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/BRNSmusic

Cats on Trees


Cats on Trees play the Festival Hub on Saturday May 10 at 2.30pm and later that day at Above Audio at 7.45

I've featured this duo extensively on the blog, and a high-profile introduction to a British audience should do them well. Their website is here http://catsontrees.com/

Francois and the Atlas Mountains



Francois and the Atlas Mountains play at the Speigeltent on Friday May 9 at 10.15pm

Indie rock masters and strong contenders for the album of the year (well, on this blog anyway) play beneath the big tent. Keep up with the latest dispaches from the Francois and friends on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/francoisandtheatlasmountains

Le Vasco



Le Vasco play at Brighthelm on Thursday at 12.30am, Believe Presents showcase on Friday at 4.15pm and at the Queens Hotel the same day at 7.45pm

No strangers to this blog, hopefully Le Vasco will get some of the recognition they deserve from the UK. The latest from Le Vasco here https://www.facebook.com/levascomusic

Moodoid



They play at Sticky Mike's Frog Bar on Thursday at 9.30pm and on Friday at Brighthelm at 1pm

The mighty Moodoid are another highlight of the event, their debut album much anticipated here.

https://www.facebook.com/Moodoid?ref=ts&fref=ts

Orval Carlos Sibelius 



Orval Carlos Sibelius play at the Spiegeltent on Thursday at 1.15

Their most recent is set to get a UK release shortly. More about the band here  https://www.facebook.com/orvalcarlossibelius

Others on the bill worth catching include Persian Rabbit, at the Hope on Friday at 12pm and at the Bermuda Triangle on Saturday at 8.30pm.

Tristesse Contemporaire play at the Bermuda Triangle on Saturday at 1.15 and at the Blind Tiger at 12.45am

 Meanwhile, the mighty We Were Evergreen  play on Friday at the Speigeltent at 11.30pm.

French bands at The Great Escape in Brighton

This weekend sees a whole host of French acts play at the The Great Escape festival in Brighton, an event that like the SXSW festival in Austin Texas showcases some of the best new acts.

The sold-out music business and convention and festival runs from May 16 to May 18, with 350 artisps playing at 30 venues around the town.

Thousands of delgates from the UK's music industry attend the events, with many coming from abroad as well. They include publishers, managers, broadcasters, promoters and journalists, in an environment where there is no shortage of excellent acts to catch the ear.

Meanwhile, the public get the chance to catch some wonderful acts playing in the town, a more pleasant and approachable way of seeing a huge number of acts without the downside of being at a festival.

As I mentioned, there are some great French acts playing, with the credit going to the good people at French Music UK for making this happen.

Rather than give a detailed rundown of every act that is on the bill, I thought a quick list with a video from each act would help introduce some of these bands.

I'll feature them in more depth in the next few weeks.

Archipel: Roving Jewel



Archipel play on Saturday May 18 at the Old Ship Paganini Ballroom at 1.30pm and on Sunday May 19 at the Green Door Store at 1am.

More details on the band's website

Aufgang: Kyrie



Aufgang play on Friday May 17 at St Bartholomew’s Church at 9.45pm More about the band on their Facebook page

Christine and the Queens: Nuit 17 à 52

Christine and the Queens play on Saturday May 18 on the Queens Hotel Stage at the French Music Office Party at 1.30pm, and at the Queens Hotel Stage at 8.30pm. More about the band on their website 

Concrete Knives: Greyhound Racing



Concrete knives play on Saturday May 18 on the Queens Hotel Stage French Music Office Party at 12.30pm, and on saturday May 18 at Audio at 8pm. Keep up with Concret Knives on their Facebook page  

Girls in Hawaii: Misses



Girls in Hawaii play on Saturday May 18 at the  Queens Hotel Stage for the French Music Office Party at 2.30pm and on Saturday May 18 at the Brighthelm Centre at 10.30pm

There's more on their website

J.C. Satàn: Taketori Monogatari (The Moon)



J.C. Satàn plays on Friday May 17 at The Hope at 8.30pm  More details on their website

Melody's Echo Chamber: Some Time Alone, Alone



Melody's Echo Chamber play on Thursday May 16 at the Corn Exchange at 11.15pm. The band are on Facebook here

Mutiny on the Bounty: Myanmar



Mutiny on the Bounty play on Friday May 17 at the Queens Hotel Stage at 2.35pm, and on Saturday May 18 at Concorde 2 at 7.45pm. More about the band on their website

Owlle: Ticky Ticky



Owlle plays on Thursday May 16 at Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar at 11.45pm More on Owlle on their official website

The Penelopes: Summer Life



The Penelopes play on Saturday May 18 at the Queens Hotel Stage at 7.45pm and on Sunday May 19 at the Blind Tiger at 1.45am Want to know more about The Penelopes? Find it on their website 

Tomorrow's World: Drive



Tomorrow's World play at Digital on Thursday May 16 at 8pm.  More details about the band on their website 

Unno: Whatever Comes



Unno plays on Saturday May 18 at the Green Door Store at 12.30pm More about the band on their website 

We Were Evergreen: Leeway



We were Evergreen play on Thursday 16 at the Metro Hub at 4pm, and at the Dome Concert Hall at 8pm. More on the band's website