Fauve ≠ Blizzard (150.900 live version)

A new live collection is on the cards from Fauve,with an album chronicling their last three years of live appearances due out this spring.

150.900 takes its title from the number of kilometers they travelled in the course of their live appearances over three years, a period that saw them progress from the critically tipped act that released their Blizzard EP to the widely acclaimed act with two albums under their belt, masive sales and sell-out live shows.

While managing to maintain a level of anonymity, they've also paradoxically become an iconic act, articulating the discontent, bleakness as well as the hope for something better experienced by all too many these days.

The Paris-based collective have released a live version of the track Blizzard as a preview of the new album.

Fauve announced in the autumn of last year their plans to take a well-deserved break, to restore their sanity and to avoid falling into a new routine. Hopefully it will not be too long until they're refreshed and ready to release new material.

In the meantime, 150.900 is released on April 1.

Rone "(oo)"

A new video from Rone, this time for the track (oo), the opening track to his most recent album.

Creatures was one of 2015's key releases and a favourite as far as this blog is concerned.

If this track might have been overlooked as a piece in its own right, the video gives it a whole new dimension. Like the best music videos, it's a simple and imaginative idea, perfectly done.

It also showcases Rone's music as potential soundtrack, and given the success that other French acts have enjoyed in recent years producing soundtrack works for critically acclaimed films it would be no surprise at all to see Rone follow this path.


Rone has been playing some dates recently in North America and has show this month in Bordeaux and La Rochelle before heading to New Zealand and Australia for festival dates.

Festival: We Love Green

Details of another French summer music festival have emerged, with some of the first names on the bill confirmed for the We Love Green event in Paris.

We Love Green is held this year on June 4 and 5, in the Bois de Vincennes, with PJ harvey and LCD Soundsystem at the top of the bill.

LCD Soundsystem are making a return this year after an absence of five years, their influence if anything growing during their time off. They confirmed in January their intention to play this year's Coachella festival in the USA and their plans for a new album.

PJ Harvey has a new album due out in April entitled The Hope Six Demolition Project, and released the single The Wheel at the end of last month.

Two very credible acts for We Love Green, which this year marks its sixth anniversary with a move to a larger location, but one that remains accessible to the Paris audience. Last year saw Christine and the Queens and Django Django amongst the acts on the bill.

Also on the bill for 2016 are Air, as well as the likes of Hudson Mohawk and Hot Chip.

It will, like previous years, be an event with an ecological focus, with workshops, talks and other events that go beyond music and embarce activism and sustainability.

Taratata 503

A new edition of French music show Taratata, another edition that saw some inspiring choices of acts and memorable performances.

This edition saw performances by Sylvie Vartan, performing solo and duetting with Axelle Red for a version of Elvis's Suspicios Minds.

Minuit performed a version of the depeche Mode track personal Jesus, as well as their own track Flash.

Other highlights Hyphen Hyphen performed with Charlie Winston, with a version of the Queen and David Bowie track Under Pressure.

Skunk Anansie performed with Shaka Ponk, with a mash up of and Motorhead's The Ace of Spades.

All the performances are available to watch on the Taratata website

Christophe - Dangereuse

A new track from the legendary Christophe, with the song Dangereuse giving us the first look at his
long-awaited new album.

It's the first extract from his forthcoming new Les vestiges du chaos collection.

Christophe's last studio release was 2013's  Paradis retrouvé, an acoustic live album Intime followed the year after.

Christophe's earlier work has been getting more attention recently thanks to the cover of Paradis Perdus by Christine and the Queens, the song - written by Jean Michel Jarre - found a new audience due to Christine's cover that saw the song combined with Kanye West's Heartless.

Last month saw Christophe appear on a new collection of songs by Daniel Balavoine entitled Balavoine(s) alongside the likes of Cats on Trees, Nolwenn Leroy, Zaz and Jenifer. He performed the song Lucie.

Les vestiges du chaosis released on April the eighth.

Synapson: Fireball ( C à vous )

An appearance on French chat show C à vous by French electro house duo Synapson with the track Fireball.

The duo of Alexandre Chiere and Paul Cucuron are best know for the track Djon maya maï, a remake of a song originally by Victor Démé which reached just outside the top ten in France in 2014.

Their Convergence album was released in October 2015, with the track Fireball released as a single in January.

Synapson released their debut album Stendahl Syndrome in 2012.

Synapson play a sold-out show at La Cigale in Paris on April 7 as part of their current series of live dates.

Editorial: February 2016

Another month of French music passes, and while January is traditionally a quieter month there has been no shortage of interesting releases in the past few weeks.

This looks set to continue this month, with plenty of interesting things coming out, and more events of note in the diary over the next few weeks.

February sees Johnny Hallyday play shows in Paris, elsewhere we are fully in awards season, with the Oscars, the Césars and most significantly the Victoures de la Musique on February 12. I'll take a look at what's on the shortlist and details of my predictions ahead of the event.

Meanwhile I've got a few interesting things coming up, with the fist big interview of the year appearing here on the site in the next couple of  days.

As always, I can be contacted on johnkilbrideAThotmailDOTcom, with the appropriate punctuation where you'd expect it to be. I'm always pleased to hear from record companies, PR companies and promoters, so do get in touch.

The blog is also on Twitter as @viveleroq or you can find me at @karnag

If you're around Facebook, remember to like the French Music Podcast UK page, where you can get regular updates with both fresh and vintage French music.

Thanks as always to the French Music Office in London and to the Institut francais in London for their help and encouragement.

Merci et à bientôt

John K