Festival: La Route du Rock

The first ten names have been unveiled for this summer's La Route du Rock festival, the major music
event in Saint-Malo that takes place twice a year.

It's usually a well-chosen bill, and this year looks no exception. La Femme are at the top of the bill,  having just released the first track from their long-awaited second album.

Tindersticks, that most classy and Franco friendly act are also there.

Minor Victories, the band featuring Mogwai's Stuart Braithwaite,Justin Lockey from  Editors and Rachel Goswell from Slowdive are playing.

Meanwhile,  indie veterans Lush appear after a 20 year absence. Their  forthcoming EP Blind Spot, due out next month, will be their first release in 20 years  since they announced their reformation last year.

Suuns, Kevin Morby, Julian Holter , Haelos and Rival Consoles are also on the bill, while more acts will be announced in coming months.

Brittany Ferries is offering UK music fans a package deal on transport and a three day pass with a camping pitch for the event at a very reasonable £155

2016's  La Route du Rock festival event on August 11 to August 14.

Johnny Hallyday - Live in Brussels

This weekend saw France's biggest star pay tribute to the victims of last week's terrorist atrocity in Belgium with Johnny Hallyday playing concerts in the country.

The shows in Brussels on March 26 and 27 were scheduled as part of his current Rester Vivant tour, and while some artists chose to cancel events in the light of what had happened, Hallyday's shows went on, albeit amid tighter security.

The March 26 show was screened live at cinemas across France, allowing a massive audience beyond the 11,000 in the hall to share the event.

Although born in France, Johnny's family's roots are of course Belgian.

Hallyday performed Jacques Brel's Quand on n'a que l'amour at the close of the concert, a track he's performed many times before. The song was of course performed at the official memorial event for the victims of the Paris attacks at the end of last year by singers Nolwenn Leroy, Yael Naïm and Camélia Jordana.

To these ears anyway it was perhaps a more appropriate choice of song to mark the occasion than La Marseillaise.

Johnny's concert is being screened again in 300 cinemas across France on April 8.

Le Vasco: Easy Online

A new video by Le Vasco, with a clip for the track Easy Online.

The song features on their new EP entitled We're Not Natural Anymore.

The video follows the track Neon Blue that emerged in February this year. It's a similar nod to the early days of online culture and the strange dated futurism of 90s tech.

Their website is a similar flashback to the old days of website styles, when things were a bit more homespun and concepts like taste and professional design hadn't yet emerged.

No iTunes or YouTube no Facebook or Twitter. The internet was a very different place back then, things were much stranger and much of today's digital landscape simply wasn't there.

Le Vasco's Passion Things debut album was released in 2013, their six track self-titled EP the year before that.

Festival: Rock en Seine 2016

Details of the first names on the bill for this year's Rock en Seine festival have emerged, with some exciting names confirmed so far.

This year's event features the theme Let's Dance, organisers saying that it's time to warm up and prepare your best dance moves. Perhaps it's a nod to the late David Bowie, perhaps also a reminder of the city's party spirit that cannot ever be exxtinguished.

The three-day event at the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud near Paris is held at the end of August, attracting an audience of 120,000.

Iggy Pop, The Last Shadow Puppets, Massive Attack and Foals are at the top of the bill. Sigur Ros, Sum 41 and Bring me the Horizon are also there, as are CHVRCHES, Clutch, Wolfmother and Damien Marley.

Significantly, Eagles of Death Metal are playing in what will no doubt be an emotional appearance. Josh Homme of the Eagles of Death Metal collaborated with Iggy Pop on his recently released Post Pop Depression album.

Plenty of other acts on the bill, and more still to be added.

The festival features some top international acts, but there are also a well-curated collection of French acts. Cassius, Casseurs Flowters, Caravan Palace and Grand Blanc are among the home-grown talent

Rock en Seine 2016 is held on August 26, 27 and 28.

Bruxelles, capitale de l'Europe

Another terrorist atrocity at the heart of Europe, again we stand in solidarity with the victims, their families and friends.

If there's one lesson from the recent attacks,  it is that the world is a smaller place than it ever has been, and what happens in any city affects us all.

La Femme: Sphynx

A new track by La Femme, with the track Spyhnx emerging ahead of the release of their second album.

La Femme's debut, 2013's Psycho Tropical Berlin made a massive impression both artistically and commercially, earning them the breakthrough album award at the Victoires de la Musique Award in 2014.

The album was a berath of fresh air, the Biarritz-based act's take on psychedelic-informed electro rock a bold stand against musical blandness and a reminder, if we needed one, that cutting-edge French  music was by no means just the preserve of artists working in the field of dance music.

La Femme promise their new album will be "More everything", meaning "More guitar, more rock, more electro, more madness." I doubt they'll disappoint.

The date of the new album's release hasn't been confirmed, but they've got a few dates for their diaries already.

La Femme play a sold-out show at L'Olympia in Paris on March 23 and are in the UK in July to play the Secret Garden Party festival before playing the O2 in Shepherd's Bush in London on November 17.

They've announced a date at the Zénith in Paris on January 27 net year.

Pain-Noir: Sterne

A new clip by Pain-Noir, with a video for the song Sterne.

The song features on his self-titled debut album which was released in October last year on Tomboy Lab.

Pain-Noir centres around François-Régis Croisier, the video for the new song is he says is a declaration of love for his family and his Auvergne roots.

It's a lovely piece of work, complimenting the hand-made feel of the music, shot through with nostalgic rustic charm.

I featured Pain-Noir last year shortly before the release of the album, it's been a joy to see him get the critical acclaim he deserves.

Pain-Noir plays at the Café de la Danse in Paris on March 26 and at La Defense as part of the Chorus festival on April 1.