Indolore: Way Home

Here's something pretty good.

A new single from Indolore released last week hit s a sweet spot, marking the artist's return to his native Paris from his adventure in Nashville earlier this year that produced the Nashville EP.

He's back on home turf for his forthcoming Paris EP, Way Home the first track to emerge,

There's no shortage of songs about Paris, but this one avoids the clichés and taps into a more universal and relatable situation. While a homage to the city, it also speaks of the realisation of who you are, where you need to be, and why you need to be there. It might be a simple song, but it carries some weight and carries it with ease.

And yes, maybe the cover image of him walking in a corner of Paris I have walked many times makes it seem all the more personal.

In bleak days like this, a bit of optimism is always welcome, and this hits like a ray of sunshine on a grey day. 

Like any visitor with an exceptional guide, I'm looking forward to exploring the rest of Paris.

Feu! Chatterton - Avant qu'il n'y ait le monde (Live acoustic) #palaisdargile

It's no secret that at this blog we're huge fans of Feu! Chatterton, and have been since their debut album came our way.

They embody much of what I love about French music, the idiosyncrasies, the way they don't take themselves too seriously but remain unashamedly intelligent and their style which manages to be simultaneously mock pretentious and completely natural.

So their third album Palais D'Argile is something we're pretty excited about, and while waiting for it to drop we were delighted to see this appear.

While an acoustic session, it's a magnificent piece of work. It's also so perfectly shot it's only after a few watched that you realise it's just one shot for the duration of the song.

The song is originally by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, it's English title being Before the world was made. It's recently been recorded by Carla Bruni - on her No Promises album from 2007 - and The Waterboys on their 2011 An Appointment with Mr Yeats album.

Palais D'Argile is released on March 12.

July 14: Bastille Day

I always like publishing something appropriate to mark La fête nationale, Bastille Day, the annual commemoration of the French revolution.

While military parades and French presidential interviews fill the TV and fireworks light up town squares at night, La Marseillaise will no doubt be performed.

I've always liked the way Gainsbourg re-makes La Marseillaise, taking it from the hands of the establishment and re-connecting it to its popular origins.

This live version of the track from Le Zénith de Gainsbourg is quite different to the better-known studio version. While his reggae albums were pretty great, I've always thought his later work was quite under rated in comparison.

Interesting that the live version of Hey Man Amen from the same release features an early appearance by the then toddler Lulu Gainsbourg on stage, although not actually doing much other than being a very small kid.

Festival: We Love Green

This weekend sees a very tasteful two day music festival take place at the Parc de bagatelle in the bois de Boulogne, Paris.

We Love Green sees Christine and the Queens and Julien Casablancas and the Voidz at the top of the bill. Other acts playing include Django Django, H-Burns, Flavien Berger and C.A.R.

There are also sets by Siriusmodeselektor, Ratatat, Nicolas Jaar, Joey Badass, José Gonzalez, Allah-las and dozens of others.

 Seun Kuti, son of afrobeat legend Fela Kuti also takes to the stage.

The festival takes, as the name suggests, a pro-environmental stance, with green initiatives informing much of the organising of the event. Renewable energy and local produce feature, public transport, low carbon emissions and recycling are key.

The event takes place over two days, Saturday May 30 and Sunday May 31.

Marina Kaye: The Price I've Had To Pay

An acoustic session by the singer Marina Kaye, with the track The Price I've Had To Pay.

Her career began as a youngster, when she posted her versions of songs on youtube. She went on to appear on the TV talent show La France a un incroyable talent in 2011, the French version of Britain's Got Talent,  where she sang tracks by Adele and Katy Perry.

She subsequently won the contest on December 14, aged just 13.

The track comes from her debut album Fearless, which was released earlier this month.

It followed the release of the EP Homeless last year, the which reached the top ten in France.

Gérald De Palmas: Jenny

 Gérald De Palmas has released the track Jenny as his third single from his De Palmas collection.

The album came out towards the end of last year, with the songs Serait-il ? et Je me souviens de tout released as singles so far.

While the album might not have been as big a seller as some of his previous work, it's a more rocky collection for a singer perhaps better known for his more romantic songs.

The new single is a different version of the song that originally appeared on the album, the new version in French and English

A new edition of De Palmas is expected at the end of June, with the original album expanded with out-takes.

De Palmas is in the midst of live dates across France, with a show at L'Olympia in Paris on May 27.