Record Store Day 2013

While there's obvious and justified excitement about some of the big name releases from the likes of Dylan, Pink Floyd  and Bowie, there are some great French related releases being issued to celebrate the record shop.

There is a collection of remixes of Benjamin Biolay, an EP Terre Brûlée by Team Ghost and a seven inch by Stranded Horse featuring a cover of the Joy Division song Transmission.

There's also a 12' mix by Miss Kittin featuring material from her new album that's due out next week.

The occasion is also being marked in independent record stored in France today.

Among the releases that are likely to be snapped up in France, Miossec releases a Seven inch entitled Planter des primevere and there's a Mylène Farmer seven inch picture disc Je te dis tout. Skip the Use also releases a 12' of remixes.

Le Disquaire Day, as Record Store Day is know in France, is organised by CALIF (Club Action des Labels Indépendants Français) in partmership with the US organisation of independent record stores Coalition Of Independent Music Stores and the UK organisation the Entertainment Retailers Association. CALIF was founded in 2002 with the support of the ministry of culture and communications to maintain and develop a network of independent record shops offering a diverse range.

I'm sure in the UK struggling record stores could only dream of something like that

Whether in France or in the UK or elsewhere, stocks of the special items are limited,in some cases very limited indeed. There are only 900 copies of the Mylène Farmer single for instance, so you'll be exceptionally lucky to find exactly what you set out to purchase. But you might get something else instead that surprises.

T
here are also plenty of events, with bands DJs and appearances.

Good luck and enjoy the music!

M83 - Hurry Up We're Dreaming

M83 are getting quite a lot of attention in the UK at the moment, on account of a gig in London and a session on BBC 6 music, bringing their classy electro pop sound to a far wider audience than normally gets the chance to hear one of France's finest acts.

M83 have been active since 2001, when their eponymous debut album came out. Nicolas Fromageau left the band after their 2003 second album Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts, Anthony Gonzalez continuing under the M83 name.

Fromageau would go on to form the rather wonderful Team Ghost, who I featured earlier this year with their Record Store Day release split 7' with Anoraak.

M83's first post-Fromageau release was the album Before The Dawn Heals Us, which came out in 2005. Gonzalez became established as a remixer, working with Bloc Party, Placebo, Goldfrapp and Depeche Mode.

Other albums that followed included Digital Shades Volume 1, an ambient work that came out in 2007 and Saturdays=Youth, released the following year.

In 2008 M83 supported the Kings of Leon in their UK tour, and the Killers in the US. Spring 2010 saw the release of the soundtrack album for the film Black Heaven

M83's most recent album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming - a double album - was released in October 2011 with the track Midnight City being released as the first track.

The album got to number 15 in the US Billboard charts and Number 1 in the US Dance/Electronic album chart.

An appearance on the Jimmy Fallon show in November in the US gave them a huge profile boost, and they're due back in the US in early January.

The next single from the album will be the track Reunion, due to be released in Feb 2012.

M83 are touring in the UK in January, and have dates in Australia the following month, followed by more shows across mainland Europe.

Live: Team Ghost and Anoraak - Oui Love tour

A reminder that the Oui Love tour gets under way this weekend, with French bands Team Ghost and Anoraak playing some dates across the UK.

Last month's Record Store Day saw the release of a split single by Team Ghost and Anoraak on the Sonic Cathedral label, with each band remixing the other's work.

More details here > http://viveleroq.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-record-store-day-team-ghost.html

Team Ghost have finished recording their debut album in France and Anoraak's Wherever the Sun Sets album is available now on Grand Blanc records.

The tour dates are:

Saturday, May 14 - Brighton - The Great Escape
Monday, May 16 - Bristol - Louisiana
Tuesday, May 17 - Birmingham - Hare & Hounds
Wednesday, May 18 - Manchester - The Castle
Thursday, May 19 - Liverpool - Liverpool Sound City
Friday, May 20 - London - CAMP Basement

New: Record Store Day - Team Ghost

This weekend's Record Store Day saw a couple of French acts releases a split single, Team Ghost and Anoraak, with each band remixing the other's work.

The single was a limited release of just 250 copies on blue vinyl, and if you managed to get one you were luckier than I was!

Team Ghost was formed by Nicolas Fromageau, originally in the duo M83, who released two albums, M83 (2002) and Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts (2003), before Fromageau left the band.

Relocating to Paris, he teamed up with Christophe Guérin and producer/manager Jean-Philippe Talaga and began working as Team Ghost.

They released their debut EP You Never Did Anything Wrong to Me on the UK label Sonic Cathedral in April 2010, a second EP Celebrate what You Can't See released in November 2010.

Team Ghost has just started work on their debut album, recording it in Carpentras in Vaucluse, in south east France.

The band are being brought over to the UK for the Oui Love Tour to play some dates co-headlining with Anoraak.

Sat 14/05 Brighton, The Great Escape
Mon 16/05 Bristol, The Louisiana
Tues 17/05 Birmingham, Hare and Hounds
Wed 18/05 Manchester, The Castle
Thu 19/05 Liverpool, Liverpool Sound City
Fri 20/05 London, CAMP

News: Record Store Day - Charlotte Gainsbourg

Saturday April 16 is International Record Store Day, where in an effort to encourage you to shop in your local independent record shop there are a whole host of special limited edition goodies up for sale.

With decent record shops becoming very much an endangered species, it's a welcome and worthy endeavour, and well worth supporting.

It originally started in the US in 2007, and has since spread internationally to both the UK and France. The UK sees 180 shops involved, and over 250 special releases marking the day.

This year there are some french acts involved in the special releases being made available in the UK.

Probably the most interesting is a special seven inch by Charlotte Gainsbourg, a split release with Irish band Villagers. The Charlotte Gainsbourg track is one called Memoir, written by Conor O'Brien from Villagers after Charlotte approached him to write a song for her to perform.

They recorded the song together in Paris with Feist producer Renaud Letang.

It comes two years after her Beck produced album IRM, and ahead of the planned release later this year of a compilation called Live and Unreleased, a double album which will include Memoir.

Also for Record store day is a limited release (250 copies on a blue vinyl seven inch single on Sonic cathedral Recordings) by Anoraak and Team Ghost where each act remixes each other's track ( Dolphins & Highways / A Glorious Time) to mark their Oui Love tour of the UK.

Meanwhile, Ed Banger Records releases a limited box set of 7 inch vinyl, featuring a demo version of Justice's Civilisation.

For more information on Record Store Day in the UK, go here >