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.

Review: Moodoïd - Cité Champagne

Moodoïd's 2014cdebut album Le monde Möö and the singles that preceded it showed that Pablo Padovani had a lot more to offer than just being the guitarist for Melody's Echo Chamber.

Already a significant figure in France's neo psyche scene, Moodoïd's colourful and pleasantly unhinged vision was closer to Prince's Around The World In A Day than garage rock and all the better for it.

With his second album, Cité Champagne I'm pleased to report that Pablo and his pals have lost none of their charm and while it's a glossy and shiny piece, it remains weird at heart.

Musically thing are a little different.  It's glossy and lush and nods towards the 70s, with the easy listening exotica of Kasbah, the Kraftwerkian chrome of Amour Voiture and Planete Tokyo, and the unashamed disco of Reptile.

But while it might on the surface seem a more commercial proposition, it' feels like it's entirely on his own terms. Psychedelic in the broadest sense, unashamed to engage all the senses and refusing to be bound too strictly by any genre conventions. Moodoïd remains a mind expanding trip.

Moodoïd: Miss Smith video

A new video by Moodoïd is always a cause for celebration here.

Pablo Padovani and his team have never ceased to surprise us, from their debut release onwards. Whether explicitly psychedelic rock or exotically flavoured disco, there's always something interesting going on here.

So to the new track Miss Smith, another surprise turn, which remains infused with the weirdness we love but with a polished edge that makes it an possible commercial proposition while losing none of the charm that makes Moodoid interesting.

I don't reckon Moodoïd will remain a cult French act much longer. It can only be a matter of time until they're being mentioned as 2018's serious breakthough artist

Incidentally, I can't help but admire the video. Shot in California it's absolutely first class.

Moodoïd recently confirmed their new album will be called Cité Champagne, and is due to be released in June. To say a follow up to 2014's Le Monde Moo is awaited impatiently is an understatement. We're already counting the days.

Before then, Moodoïd have a number of free live dates across France from the middle of April, under the Societé Ricard Live Music banner with Isaac Delusion and Mnnqns. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the brand's involvement in live music sponsorship in France.

They play at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris with Catherine Ringer and Mnnqns on April 12.

Les Inrocks 2017 festival

Paris hosts this years Les Inrocks festival until the weekend, with acts, DJs, talks and events at the city's Gaite Lyrique and Casino de Paris venues.

The event, which kicked off yesterday and runs until November 26,  celebrates the 30th anniversary of the magazine, which has become one of the country's leading publications, going beyond music and becoming essential reading for wider cultural and political issues.

Among those on the bill are Ibeyi and Django Django,  while Marie Flore played a set at Les Bains  last night.

Moodoid play on Saturday at the Gaite Lyrique in what will probably be one of the highlights of the event.

Other events include appearances by writers including Will Self and a DJ set by Franz Ferdinand's Paul Thomson.

Organisers say that this year's event is faithful to the publication's ambition to be there when things start, and have curated acts and artists that will feed conversations for months to come.

Moodoïd: Au pays des merveilles de Juliet

Delighted to report a new release by Moodoïd, to these ears one of the most important acts in France's fertile psych scene.

Pablo Padovani from Moodoïd was previously guitarist with Melody's Echo Chamber, one of the acts that helped bring France's  new psychedelic acts to the world's critical attention.

I've been a fan of Moodoïd since before the release of their 2014 debut Le Monde Möö. Their work has consistently surprised, shot through with a playful strangeness that refuses to be easily constrained by genre conventions.

Their album had flavours of jazz, Bollywood, electro and funk, a widescreen and technicolour creation with more creativity and adventure in one album than many artists manage in their entire career.

The new track is a very disco informed cover of Au Pays des Merveilles de Juliet, the title track of a 1973 album by Yves Simon. While making an instantly approachable track, Moodoïd keep the strangeness of the track to the fore.

Padovani's continuing to release surprising work, and it bodes well for future Moodoïd material. fingers crossed we won't have to wait too long.

Moodoïd play La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris as part of Les Inrocks Festival on November 25.

Mathieu Boogaerts: Pourquoi pas

A lovely clip by Mathieu Boogaerts for his song Pourquoi pas.

The video was directed by Pablo Padovani, who as leader of Moodoid is certainly no stranger to this blog.

Pourquoi pas features on Boogaerts' Promeneur album, released earlier this month.

It marks 20 years of releases by Boogaerts since his Super album was released in 1996.

Vive le Roq @5 - Five 'new' acts

OK, not strictly speaking 'new' acts, but a list of five acts that were new to me and I only came across
as a direct result of having my ears open for this blog. Some of these acts have gone on to be pretty big, but I first came across them while on the look out for interesting francophone material, taking me way out of what would be my normal musical comfort zone.

Since launching the blog, I've had a tremendous opportunity to hear acts that I might not have otherwise had the opportunity to discover. There are few opportunities for French acts in the traditional media in the UK, whether on radio or TV, but since organising this blog I've heard more interesting acts,  perhaps due to the greater availability of music and information being easier to come by.

There have obviously been many acts I've heard for the first time, but here is a quick top five

Moodoid

Francophone psyche, smart and fun with an understanding of the greats of the past but with a forward looking attitude.




Woodkid 

To be fair, I may have come across this act as they went on to soundtrack adverts, films and more, but I first heard of them through this blog, and they impressed me hugely. This is also one of my favourite videos I came across in my viewing for this blog.



Fat supper 

Now firm favourites here, a French indie act that have consistently delivered interesting sounds. First encountered thanks to the Transmusicales de Rennes festival in 2012.



Grand Blanc

A band that ticked so many boxes of my musical like list. A flavour of the 80s, whether New Order or Depeche Mode, but with a very modern outlook. They've yet to even release their debut album.





Sudden death of stars

I never thought that a year after I first heard them I'd be seeing them play in a small bar in Rennes in front of a home crowd alongside Orval Carlos Sibelius. One of the absolute musical highlights since starting the vive le roq blog.

Moodoïd: Le Lac D'Or

It's no secret that this blog are big fans of Moodoïd, so we're delighted to see  a new track emerge.

Le Lac D'Or (featuring Melody's Echo Chamber) has Melody Prochet on vocals.

Moodoïd’s Pablo Padovani is of course also a member of Melody's Echo Chamber.

Melody's Echo Chamber are currently working on a new album, a follow up to their 2012 debut and have dates in the USA in May.

Moodoïd’s debut album, Le Monde Möö is according to the Brooklyn vegan website 
 getting a vinyl re-press with some extra tracks.

Moodoïd have got some live dates in France and Belgium, with shows at the Festival Chorus La Défense and at the Art Rock festival in May.

Turzi: Condor (Moodoid remix)

A tasteful new remix by Moodoid of the track Condor by Turzi.

Romain Turzi from Versailles is behind Turzi, and like Moodoid they cross the borders between electronica, psychedelia and the likes of Krautrock with ease.

They've released two albums so far, their debut album in 2007 entitled A , its 2009 follow-up B featuring an appearance by Bobby Gillespie.

Along the way they've remixed the likes of Kavinsky, Phoenix and Sebastien Tellier.

The Moodoid remix is one of several versions of the track that appear on a new EP that is released today.

Their new album, C, is expected to be released on March 16.

 

Moodoïd: Blogotheque session

This blog's always got time for a spot of Moodoïd, so a new Blogotheque session by the band makes for essential viewing ,

Moodoïd were of course winners of the much-coveted viveleroq.com French album of the year lasty year for their Le monde moo collection.

I love the way that the video shows the band relaxing around the pool, they're still in full make up.

The video was shot at the  Heart of Glass, Heart of Gold festival which was held in the Ardèche area of France in Septembre last year.

Moodoïd play in Paris at the Gaité Lyrique on January 28.

Playlist: Disques Enterprise #CoolRaoul

The return of our regular/occasional interesting playlist feature, where I endevour to embed a playlist from an interesting source into the blog.

I had intended to do this every week, but asd I predicted, I've not been as regular as I could/should be.

So in an effort to make amends, here's one that was put together by the good people at Enterprise Records, the label that's home to the likes of Moodoid, Superets and Grand Blanc.

A tasteful and eclectic selection that certainly merits some of your listening time.

Vive le Roq French relase of the year - Moodoïd: Le monde Möö

Time for the grand unveiling.

I've thought long and hard over what release this year should be the album of the year from Vive le Roq. It's a big trophy, a big honour, and the decision is one that can make careers or ruin reputations. It's not a decision that can be taken lightly.

Ok, maybe not. It's not exactly the  Victoires de la Musique, Academy Awards, or the Brits.

But this year, the honour falls on Moodoïd for their debut album Le monde Möö.

I had hopes that their album would be something special having seen them live and enjoyed their earlier releases, as well as Padovani's work with Melody's Echo Chamber. But the album not only surpassed my expectations but has been a work I've returned to repeatedly since, with no loss of its initial charm.

I said in my initial review: "They take one of music's more experimental and fertile times as their starting ground and apply the open-minded musical attitudes of that scene to create something very much their own."

It's a scenic and surprising ride through a strange an interesting place, with detours and excursions but without losing their direction.

Where we go next I don't know. Does the destination matter so much when the journey's been so good?

Moodoïd: Les chemins de traverse

A new video for Moodoïd's Les chemins de traverse, a track from their recently-released debut Le
Monde Möö.

More suitably strange imagery, with a definite flavour of Chilean-French filmmaker, Alejandro Jodorowsky.

The video was directed by Moodoïd's Pablo Padovani.

Moodoïd are playing in the UK later this month at the Liverpool International estival of PSychedelia and next month at the Sebright Arms in London.

I'll have a review of the album here on the blog next weekend.