Columbine : Cache Cache

A controversial new video by Rennes-based hip hop act Columbine, the first track to emerge ahead of their new album expected later this year.

Columbine released their Enfants Terribles album last year, a collection that has already earned them a gold disc, and they are wasting no time in releasing a follow up.

The video for Cache-Cache ("Hide and seek" in English)  is a strange and quietly disturbing piece, making reference to school shootings. The school prom setting is a scene familiar to anyone who has ever seen an American TV show or film, the members of the band on stage and showing no emotion or involvement whatsoever, the conclusion apparently being a romantic happy ending where the shooter finds love.

It's an ambiguous work with many possible interpretations, all the more so as the act's name obviously makes reference to the infamous American school shooting.

Are they trivialising very real and very tragic events?

How should we react to artists who apparently remain passive in the face of these kind of events?

Do the performers in the video represent a government that fails to intervene?

Does the entertainment industry with its stylised portrayal of violence play a part?

What part do gender stereotypes play in these incidents?

Would an American artist make a video like this and what kind of criticism would they face?

Many questions. It's a video that provokes some difficult reflection.

Columbine's album is released inn the autumn, and they have tour dates across France from October, including two shows at the Olympia in Paris on October 23 and 24.

The return of MC Solaar

Delighted to see the return of MC Solaar, ten years after the release of any significant new material from the pioneering French rapper.

Solaar was in the early 90s an artist who established rap as a serious genre in France, matching sharp lyrics with sounds that were fresh and funky as hell.

His work also had a resolutely French style, shot through with an urban experience that had more in common with les banlieues than the Bronx, and he charted a path others - many with lesser talents - have since followed.

He was also one of the first French rappers to make a mark in the anglophone world.

Solaar's last album was 2007's Chapitre 7, and the annoucement of a new album follows an unreleased track Sentinel Nord emerged earlier this year.

Solaar's new album is due before the end of the year, and a single is scheuled for August.

Festival: Nördik Impakt

The influential Nördik Impakt festival gets under way in Caen in Normandy today, with five days
celebrating digital and independant culture.

Shows are held in venues around the town, others in the larger Parc Expo.

The focus is firmly on electronic music, encompassing electro, techno, hip hop and rock, featuring emerging acts to more established artists.

Among those on the bill this year are Superpoze, Jeanne Added and Flavien Berger. Add dozens of more acts like Môme, Nuit, Killason,l Antigone and Madame.

Festival Nordik Impakt 17 - Teaser - vidéo dailymotion

Booba: 3G

A strong return for French rap supremo Booba, with the track 3G.

It follows his track OKLM, a number one single in France earlier this year

The backdrop of the unrest in the middle east provides the track with its momentum and gives it an urgency and a gravity that rap music often misses.

Booba's last full album was 2012's Futur, a platinum seller, It's predecessor 2010's  Lunatic gave him a number one in France and a double platinum seller.

He's sold over ten million so far in his solo career, a controversial figure but one whose importance cannot be understated.

Alonzo: A la Dafpunck

A track by rapper Alonzo reveals president Francois Hollande as an unlikely icon of street style, with his scooter and Daft Punk style helmet.

The rapper, known to his family as  Kassim Djae, mocks the president in his new track, and makes a very cool job of it.

Alonzo's usually found as a member of rappers Psy 4 de la Rime. The Marseille act released their most recent album Le Temps d'un instant last year.

Alonzo's most recent solo album was Amour, Gloire & Cité, a top ten album that was released in 2012.

1995: La Suite

A track by hotly tipped French rappers 1995 ahead of their new release next month.

The band - a six piece featuring five MCs and a DJ - Alpha Wann, Areno Jaz, Fonky Flav’, Lo’, Nek le Fennek and Sneazzy - quickly became the name to watch in French hip hop since their debut release last year.

Their first release La Source came out in June 2011.

The band takes their name from the year that saw the Wu Tang Clan break into the mainstream and change the face of rap, while the file La Haine took the issues of the banlieues to the big screen.

Their music is and imaginative and innovative funky flow, and that band looks set to be the next big name to emerge from the French hip hop underground to mainstream attention.

The album, also called La Suite, is released on March 5.