Yann Tiersen: Meteorites

A new video for the track Meteorites by Yann Tiersen, from his Infinity album that was released earlier this
year.

I could listen to this track all day, as indeed I could to the rest of the Infinity album. It really is one of the finest releases of the year.

Aidan Moffat is of course formerly of Arab Strap, and a solo artist in his own right.  He doesn't look much like Clémence Poésy, an actress who has featured in films like In Bruges, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and TV series like Gossip Girl and The Tunnel.

 Somehow hearing an unapologetically Scots accent on a French release is an added bonus, and having Clémence Poésy as the face of the narrator changes the perspective of the lyrics subtly but completely.

Yann Tiersen is touring extensively this autumn, and plays in Manchester and London in September.

We Were Evergreen: Walk on By

We Were Evergreen cover Burt Bacharach's classic Walk on By for The Mahogany Sessions, ahead of their
show at the Wilderness Festival next month.

The Wilderness festival takes place on Thursday August 7 to Sunday August 10 in Oxfordshire in England.

Walk on By was also memorably covered by the Stranglers, although I don't think they used a glockenspiel in their version.

The festival also features London Grammar, as well as Burt Bacharach himself and dozens of other acts.

We Were Evergreen's debut album came out in May this year and has been one of this year's key French releases.

They  also play at the Café de la Danse in Paris on September 19.

Sébastien Tellier: Red Bull Session

A session by the incomparable Sébastien Tellier, featuring two tracks L'Adulte and Cochon Ville.

L'Adulte comes from his recently-released L'Aventura album, Cochon Ville from his 2012 My God Is Blue collection.

The version of Cochon Ville on this session is really something worth hearing.

He has got live dates in France in October, as well as shows in Belgium, Switzerland and Germany.

Sébastien Tellier returns to the UK for a show in November at the Village Underground in London.

Edinburgh Festival 2014: Vive le Fringe

A quick look ahead to some of the events falling under the wide umbrella of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
this year, and once again the Institut français d’Ecosse is home to a number of shows.

They've got events on from August 1 to August 25, under the banner Vive le Fringe, from theatre to puppetry at a venue that's located just minutes from Edinburgh's main thoroughfare Princes Street.

The shows give a platform to Francophone theatre groups at one of the UK's most important international arts events. The shows are in English

There are four shows on the bill this year

Cie des Femmes à Barbe presents the show Antiquithon,a  spectacle based on carnival side-shows from August 1-23.

August 6 - 17 sees the show Binôme - Souris Chaos by Thibault Rossigneux & Cie les sens des mots.

L'enfant Qui...is a performance that is on from August 8 - 24 by  T1J, a circus styled show inspired by the early life of Belgian sculptor Jephan de Villiers.

Finally Cie Akselere presents Sleeping Beauty from August 1 - August 25.

There are more details on the Vive le Fringe website http://vivelefringe.org/

Tickets can be booked online at the Edinburgh Frince box office  www.edfringe.com

Emmanuelle Seigner: You think you're a man

Emmanuelle Seigner appears in a video for the track You think you're a man directed by Oscar-wining director Roman Polanski.

While other artists might only aspire to having a director like that behind the cameras, for Seigner it's a family business as she's been Polanski's wife since 1989.

Seigner is also an established actress , with roles in Place Vendôme in 1998 and La Vie En Rose in 2007 getting her nominations for César awards.

She's also starred in a number of Polanski's films, including Frantic in 1988, The Ninth Gate in 1999 and more recently in Venus in Fur.

Her music career has seen three solo albums, her first a soundtrack in 2005 to the film Backstage, her most recent Distant Lover, which was released earlier this year.

The song is a cover of the Divine song, although it is quite a different interpretation of the song.

The Lanskies: Fashion Week

 A session version of the track Fashion Week by The Lanskies, a very anglophile French act.

The band were formed in  Saint-Lô in 2006 and have released three albums so far, their debut Lords of the Mersey in 2008 and Bank Holiday in 2010.

Their most recent Hot Wave was released earlier this year and two singles, Move It and 48 Hours have been released.

The version of Fashion Week emerged at the end of last month and was recorded for Monte Le Son, a video for the track came out earlier that month.

They are the kind of band that could be huge with an anglophone indie audience and it's easy to imagine them going down well in the UK. Hopefully we'll get a chance to see them live over here before too long.

Florent Pagny: Combien de gens

It's probably down to looking at the original versions of the songs on the recent Amandine Bourgeois album
that I was reminded of Florent Pagny.

On the collection she covers his song Savoir Aimer.

Florent Pagny has had a long career as both an actor and a musician, having begun his film career in 1980.

He released his first single in 1988, N'importe quoi, a song that reached number one in France.

He released his debut album in 1990.

Since then he has had number one singles with Savoir Aimer in 1997 and Ma liberté de penser in 2003.

Many of his albums have reached number one in France, and recently he's been known as a coach in the French edition of The Voice.

The track comes from his most recent album, his 12th, entitled Vieillir avec toi, which was released in
November last year.

That collection has been certified a diamond seller, his biggest seller in ten years.

 He is on tour in France in autumn, and plays in Paris on November 30 and December 1 at the Zénith.

Amandine Bourgeois: Au Masculin - Versions Originales

I though I'd take a look at the tracks on the recent Amandine Bourgeois album Au Masculin, just to see how
they looked and sounded in their 'Versions Originales'.

The album sees the singer take a collection of songs made popular originaly by male artists, and re-interprets them in her own style.

 It includes work made famous by some of France's most iconic male artists.

A look at the original versions gives a pretty good crash course into some of France's recent-ish  musical history.

It's the singer's third album, a release that came the year after she represented Franc ein the Eurovison Song contest with the song L'enfer et moi.  She's also featured in the two Génération Goldman compilations that were huge sellers in France.

She initially came to fame in the TV series  Nouvelle Star in 2007, winning the title. During the series she performed workd by Bob Dylan, Jacques Brel and Johnny Hallyday, among others.

The album Au Masculin was released in May this year.

La Ballade de Jim: Alain Souchon



Savoir Aimer: Florent Pagny



Ma Gueule: Johnny Hallyday



Il est cinq heures, Paris s'éveille: Jacques Dutronc



Love me, please love me: Michel Polnareff



Dansez sur moi: Claude Nougaro



Je t'aimais, je t'aime et je t'aimerai:  Francis Cabrel 



Alors on danse: Stromae



Madame rêve: Alain Bashung



La rua Madureira: Nino Ferrer



Utile: Julien Clerc



Parler d'amour: Art Mengo



L'eau à la bouche: Serge Gainsbourg



Mona Lisa Klaxon: Jacques Higelin



J'veux pas qu'tu t'en ailles: Michel Jonasz 

Festival: Woodkid at Lovebox

Another weekend of festival action, and the chance to see one of France's finest exports in London with
Woodkid on the bill for the Lovebox festival.

Lovebox is a two-day festival held in Victoria Park in Tower Hamlets, and it's been running since 2002.

Dance music dominates the bill every year, as you might expect from a festival that grew from a club residency by Grove Armada.

Previous yeas have seen Groove Armada perform along with acts like Norman Jay, Jamiroquai, Manu Chao, Grace Jones and Lana Del Rey.

Last year saw  Plan B, Azealia Banks, Goldfrapp, Jurassic 5, Kelis and many others, including Owlle, Miss Kittin and Charlie Wilson.

As well as Woodkid, the event this year includes Chase and Status, MIA , Katy B and The Horrors.

Festival: Vielles Charrues

Another festival weekend in France, and this week the spotlight falls in the Vielles Charrues festival in
Brittany.

The four day event sees dozens of acts, both French and international, play across three stages.

It's the 23rd time the event's been held and its grown to be a festival that attracts some of the biggest   musical names.

The first day sees Vanessa Paradis headline the Glenmor stage, The Black Keys and Indochine also play.

Other stages host Skip the use, Fauve, Francois and the Atlas Mountains, Christne and the Queens and others.

Friday sees Tinariwen headline the Glenmor stade, with Elton John, Stromae and Gesaffelstein also there.

The three other stages, the Kerouac, Grall and Gwernig see the likes of Miossec, Franz Ferdinand, Casseurs Flowters and others.

The Saturday sees Breton, Détroit, Arctic Monkeys and Shaka Ponk on the main stage, Julien Doré amongt those on the other stages.

The final day sees Ky-Mani Marley, Christophe, Lily Allen and Thirty SEconds to Mars on the Glenmor stage, and the likes  Yodelice, Girls in Hawaii, Etienne Daho, Kavinsky and Von Pariahs elsewhere.

All in all, an event that not only attracts some of the biggest names, but hasn't forgotten its local roots and culture.

Black M: Sur ma route

I've neglected to mention Black M until now, for no reason other than lack of time, but the Sexion d'Assaut
member has been making a significant mark in France with a track from his recent solo album.

He's been at number one in France for several weeks with the track Sur ma route for several weeks.

The track comes from his debut solo album Les yeux plus gros que le monde, which also featured the singles Mme Pavoshko, Spectateur and Ailleurs.

Black M, also known as Black Mesrimes (or to his family and friends as Alpha Diallo ) took his stage name from the legendary French criminal/folk hero Jacques Mesrine, who in the late 60s and early 70s led an audacious criminal life of bank robbery, murder, kidnap and prison escape.

 He was seen by many as an anti-establishment Robin Hood figure, and was France's most wanted criminal and Public Enemy Number One until he was shot dead by the police in Paris in 1979.

But Sur ma route is a very approachable song, the kind of rap that reaches beyond the usual fans of the genre.

Other than his Sexion d'Assaut work, Black M  appeared on fellow collecive member Maître Gims' solo album Subliminal, one of the biggest rap releases in recent years. It was the success of this release that inspired Black M to record a solo album, and the success it has met with suggests GIms might not be the only Sexion d'Assaut member to have a huge solo career.

Bernard Szajner: Visions of Dune

A very welcome re-issue of the album Visions of Dune by Zed a, very much a forgotten classic of French
electronic music of the late 1970s.

Zed was an alias used by  electronic music pioneer Bernard Szajner, who amongst other things was one of the inventors of the iconic laser harp instrument, popularised by Jean Michel Jarre.

Visions of Dune was released in 1979, a work inspired by the science fiction work of Frank Herbert. It remains a genuinely strange and richly other-worldly work,

It's a more abstract work that much contemporary electronic music, less aimed at the dance floor and more targetted at the darkened room and intense listening experience.

It's east to understand why the album is something of a holy grail for vintage analogue synth fans.

The new release of the album comes out on InFine Music next month, and features two bonus tracks that were recorded at the time of the original album.

Szajner wasn't the only French musician of that era fascinated by Frank Herbert's Dune, with Richard Pinhas, of Heldon a band that were very much at the intersection of science fiction and progressive rock, looked to it for his solo 1978 Chronolyse album.

The re-issue of Visions of Dune is a timely one, as it coincides with the release of the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune, a documentary about the poroposed film of the Dune book in the 1970s by visionary French/Chilean director Alexander Jodorowsky.

The unmade 18-hour long film  would have starred David Carradine, Orson Wells, Salvador Dali and Mick Jagger.

While much work was done in pre-production, it never made the screen. However, members of  the production team would later work on films like Star Wars and Alien where some of the ideas that were originally intended for Dune found a new home.

The music for the un-made Dune film would have been by Pink Floyd and Magma. That would certainly have been an interesting prospect.

Magma vocalist Klaus Blasquiz contributes some processed vocals to that track Ibad on Visions of Dune, as well as having designed the sleeve.

Perhaps this album should itself be seen along with the other better known artifacts created in the wake of one of cinema's most ambitious failed projects.

Live in London: Indochine

With France celebrating its national day, it's a good opportunity for those in London to experience one of the
country's top rock acts play live.

Indochine play at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, a rare UK date for the band who recently played two nights at the Stade de France in Paris.

The band's last performance at the Stade de France was recorded for their Putain de Stade DVD, they were the first rock act to play there, and I'd be surprised if a live recording from their current tour doesn't emerge at some point in the near future.

Indochine are the kind of band that know the value of a live show and the opportunity to catch them in London is one worth seizing.

A new video, for the track Taxi Girl from their  Black City Parade album was released earlier this month.

Indochine have been playing live extensively to support their most recent album release, Black City Parade, and also play the Vielles Charrues festival in Brittany on July 17.

July 14: Bastille Day

I've always thought that July 14 should be seen as a day where France's contribution to the world's cultural landscape should be recognised, and not just in France.

Of course, a day of national celebration could not go without a version of the national anthem.

Probably the most famous recent version of  the Marseillaise was Serge Gainsbourg's reggae cover of the song on his 1979 Aux Armes Et Caetera album.

His version, recorded with Jamaican musician, led to anger from those upset at what they saw as an insult to the national anthem. Of course, many of those complaints were little other than thinly-veiled racism.

Faced with threats from right wing factions claiming they would do harm to him and his musicians for performing the song, Gainsbourg took to  the stage in Strasbourg in 1980 and performed it unaccompanied.

Gainsbourg reclaimed the Marseillaise and re-established it's rebel origins. Those who wanted trouble were left having to stand to attention and salute, defeated by Gainsbourg outmanoeuvring them with a coup de theatre.

Gainsbourg would later buy a manuscript of the song at auction. While he was far from a politically active artist, Gainsbourg didn't shy away from an opportunity to change society, albeit in a small way, to his way of thinking.

I wrote a couple of years ago: "While there were those offended by his version of La Marseillaise, it was more than just a gratuitous gesture of provocation, marking as it did the possibility of an ethnically diverse and inclusive France, confident and international in its outlook while retaining all its positive qualities.

I don't know if France is there yet, but Serge certainly made it more possible."

There are many artists who aim to change society in some way, outsiders who want the establishment to move in favour of those disconnected from the mechanisms of power. Gainsbourg played his part more than most in making this happen.

France remains a country with a revolutionary attitude at its core, and its artists are part of this heritage.

Renaud: La Bande à Renaud Versions Originales

A recent tribute album La Bande à Renaud takes songs by French singer Renaud and sees them re-
interpreted by other artists.

These kind of collections have proved hugely popular in France in recent years, with the Génération Goldmancollections selling thousands of copies. Of course, while evidently a worthwhile commercial proposition, they also serve to introduce a new audience to the work of one of France's finest songwriters and performers.

I thought the release merited a look at the Vesions Originales of the songs, as they were performed by Renaud Séchan himself.

Manu: A track from Renaud's 1981 Le Retour de Gérard Lambert album. The version on the album is sung by Jean-Louis Aubert



Mistral gagnant: The title track from his 1985 album. It's proved to be one of his most durable songs, with several artist covering it over the years since. The La Bande à Renaud version is performed by Cœur de Pirate, and made it into the top 20 as a single.



La pêche à la ligne: Another track from the 1985 Mistral gagnant collection. On La Bande à Renaud it is sung by Bénabar.



Laisse béton: The title track from his 1977 album. The new version is by rapper Disiz.



Il pleut: A track from his 1988 Putain de camion album. Élodie Frégé performs a version on the Bande à Renaud album.



Chanson pour Pierrot: A track from his 1979 Ma gonzesse album.  The  Bande à Renaud album features a cover by Raphaël.



Hexagone: One of the songs that made Renaud famous, a track from his 1975 debut album Amoureux de Paname. Nicola Sirkis, the singer with Indochine, performs the version that appears on  La Bande à Renaud.



Deuxième génération: A song from his 1983 Morgane de Toi album The new compilation features a version by Benjamin Biolay.



La ballade nord-irlandaise: A track that featured on his Marchand de cailloux album from 1991, and also appeared on his 2009 Molly Malone – Balade irlandaise album, his most recent release. La Bande à Renaud features a version by Nolwenn Leroy



En cloque: Another track from the 1983 Morgane de toi album. The cover on the Bande à Renaud album is by Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine.



C'est quand qu’on va où: A song that comes from his À la Belle de Mai album from 1994. A new version recorded by Carla Bruni features on La  Bande à Renaud .



Je suis une bande de jeunes: Another track from 1977's Laisse béton. The  La  Bande à Renaud  version is performed by Renan Luce, Alexis HK & Benoît Dorémus.



La médaille: An anti-military song from his 1994 À la Belle de Mai collection. The new album features a cover by Grand Corps Malade.



Dès que le vent soufflera: The final track of the La  Bande à Renaud  album, a version by all the artists on the collection. The original fetured on his 1983 Morgane de toi album.

Festival: Francofolies La Rochelle

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Francofolies La Rochelle festival, an event that sees dozens of  the finest acts in the French music scene playing numerous venues at the French seaside town.

Unlike other festivals in France, Les Francofolies de La Rochelle puts the focus firmly on French acts.

Each year it attracts over 150,000 to the town and the success of the event in La Rochelle over the years led to the establishment of a parallel festival in Montreal and in Spa in Belgium.

The festival takes place over five nights, with the opening night on Thursday featuring a celebration show entitled "Les Copains d'abord", marking the 30th anniversary of the event with a cast including Jacques Higelin, Alain Souchon, , Yannick Noah, Benebar, Catherine Ringer, Zaz, Nolwenn Leroy and many more.

The festival itself gets under way today, and there are opportunities to see on the main stage Tal, Ben l'oncle Soul, Zaz and Christophe Mae, and elsewhere there are other shows including Julien Doré and Owlle.

The second night sees Plaza Fancia, Détroit and Shaka Ponk take to the Grand Scene stage, and at other venues there are the likes of Miossec and Feu! Chatterton.

Sunday night sees Cats on Trees, Casseurs Flowters, IAM and Fauve  at the Grand Scene stage, and elsewhere there are Grand Corps Malade and Natas Loves You.

The final night features Francois and the Atlas Mountains, Gaetan Roussel and Stromae take to the  Grand Scene stage, and other shows elsewhere including Christine and the Queens and Jean-Lous Murat.

In short, a pretty good snapshot of everything that's good in the French music scene at the moment.

Camélia Jordana: Ma Geule

A suitably atmospheric  video for the song Ma Geule by singer Camélia Jordana.

The singer from Toulon came to the public's attention when she came third in Nouvelle Star in 2009. Her debut album came out in 2010, the collection reaching the top ten in France.

Her debut single Non Non Non (Écouter Barbara) reached the top three in France.

Ma Geule is an interesting track, a soulful trip hop affair that perhaps expresses some of her experience as a French person of Algerian origin.

The track comes from her second album, Dans la peau, which is out on September 15.

La Femme: Acoustic

Another strong edition of Acoustic, the weekly music programme on the TV5Monde channel, this week
featuring La Femme.

I've features La Femme before, their sound a sophisticated and colourful blend of electro, punk, psychedelic and pop. The influence of French post-punk icon Jacno can be seen clearly in their work. No a bad thing as far as I reckon.

Their debut album Psycho Tropical Berlin was released last year and the band won the 2014  Victoires de la musique award for best breakthrough album. It also made number two in Les Inrocks list of best albums of the year in 2013.

Tracks include on this session are Sur La Planche, Noe étions deux, Antitaxi and Packshot.

The Pixies live at les Eurockéennes de Belfort

Among the festivals this weekend was the  les Eurockéennes de Belfort event, one of France's biggest annual events.

Around 150,000 attended the three-day event, that saw Stromae and the Pixies on the Friday night, Skrillex, Franz Ferdinand and Shaka Ponk on the Saturday, and the Black Keys, Robert Plant and Fauve on the Sunday.

Of course, there were dozens of other acts on the bill, among them Détroit, Biffy Clyro and Gaetan Roussel.

This year's event was completely sold out, and given the difficult economic background these days and the long shadows that have been hanging over the music industry for years, it's no small achievement.

Ticket prices are kept down to make the event as accessible as possible, fine principles which also seem to be a sound economic policy.

Also pretty positive to make some fine music recorded at the event available to listen to online, including a great set by The Pixies from Friday.

Indochine: Traffic Girl

A new video for the track Traffic Girl by Indochine, the French rock veterans who recently played two
nights at the Stade de France.

It's another track from their Black City Parade album, a release that showed clearly that Indochine, France's most successful rock band, remain a force to be reckoned with both commercially and artistically.

While the album may be over a year old, their subsequent touring has kept their profile high.
Meanwhile, videos like the College Boy  - a previous single form the album - generated some controversy and also added to the debate over equal marriage in France.

 Indochine play in London on July 14 and the Vielles Charrues festival in Brittany on July 17.

Main Square Festival

The town of Arras plays host to the Main Square festival from today, with bands playing the town in the
north of France over a four day period.

This year the event marks its tenth anniversary, and there's a strong line-up on the bill.

Previous yeas have seen the likes of Metallica, Prince and Coldplay at the event, as well as French acts like BB Brunes, The Dø, Justice and David Guetta.

Last year saw international acts like Green Day, Biffy Clyro, the Prodigy  and Bloc Party, along with Indochine, Lou Douillon and Saez.

This year sees Iron Maiden, the Black Keys, Franz Ferdinand, Imagine Dragons and The 1975, along with French acts like Stromae, Girls in Hawaii , Woodkid, -M-  and David Guetta.



Some of the acts playing this year are being streamed live, and you can watch them in the player below.

Tal: Marcher au soleil

A new video has been released by French pop star Tal for the song Marcher au soleil, just in time for the
summer.

It's the fourth track from her A l'infini album, which was originally released last year, with a new edition of the collection just having been released.

It's the second special edition of the album since it came out, a previous special edition coming out at the end of the year.

The album features collaborations with Flo Rida and Little Mix, so it seems obvious she's got an anglophone audience in mind for the future.

It's her second album, following er triple platinum Le droit de rêver from 2011. Since then she's been one of France's most high profile young female stars, starring in  Danse avec les stars on French TV in 2013 and featuring on the Génération Goldman collection, her duet with M. Pokora reaching the top five in France in 2012.

She's playing at a number of festivals across France over the summer, and plays at the Zénith in Paris in November.

Têtes Raides: Acoustic

A new edition of Acoustic, the music show on TV5Monde, this time featuring veteran rock act Têtes Raides.

Despite being around since the 1980s,  Têtes Raides are a band that have developed into something quite unique and remain a vital and invigorating act.

From their punk beginnings they've matured into an act that embrace a style that perhaps has more in common with the classic French chanson, with work that's intelligent, musically astute but accessible at the same time.

Their most recent release is their Terriens album, which came out in February this year.

Songs they played in the Acoustic session include Alice, Moderato, Des Silences, Les Terrienes and Oublie-moi .

Although all the songs feature on their most recent collection, it's the kind of session that would inspire you to check out that band's back catalogue immediately.

Yelle: Bouquet final

French electro pop favourites Yelle have returned, with the track Bouquet final.

The track comes three years after 2011's  Safari Disco Club album, which saw them tour supporting Katy Perry.

Safari Disco Club was their second album, a follow up to their 2007 debut Pop Up. The band, a trio of GrandMarinier (Jean-Francois Perrier), Tepr (Tanguy Destable) and Yelle (Julie Budet) initially found success with songs like Je Veux Te Voir and A cause des garçons.

Safari Disco Club established them as more than just a pop act, with their songs displaying a maturity and a wider musical palette, but retaining the sense of playfulness.

Last year saw the tracks A + B = C, a cover of a song by new wave act Mathématiques Modernes, and L'Amour Parfait emerge.

The name of their new album hasn't been confirmed yet, nor has the release date, although it's expected some time in the autumn.

Tour dates  have, however, been confirmed. October sees then play in North America, and in Europe in November and December, with shows in Hungary, Poland, Denmark, Norway, UK and France and Spain. They play London on December 2 and Paris on December 16.

Editorial: July 2014

Another month passes, with a great number of visitors to the site and a good number of stories.

I'm always happy when I have a month that sees as many posts as I managed in the forst year of this blog. Of course, I'm happier when there are even more.

We're well into summer festival season, with events like Glastonbury, Solidays and Hellfest last month, and more ahead in coming weeks.

It's easy to criticise festivals as large corporate events, but they do a fantastic job introducing audiences to acts they might not have been previously familiar with, and the communal celebration of music  reinforces the value of this art form that we love.

Thanks to the Institut français du Royaume-Uni for a mention in their latest programme.  I'm proud to be associated with them.

July sees me taking a couple of weeks away, so I'll be working on a few pre-written articles to keep things ticking over nicely.

As always, I can be contacted on johnkilbrideAThotmailDOTcom, with the appropriate punctuation where you'd expect it to be.

We're also on Twitter as @viveleroq or you can find me at @karnag

Thanks again to the French Music Office in London and to the Institut francais in London for their help and encouragement  and also to the various record companies and promoters who have been in touch with suggestions for inclusion on the site. Always a pleasure to hear from you.

Merci et à bientôt

John K