Editorial: January 2017

A new year, with a time to reflect on a memorable 12 months in French music and no doubt another busy twelve months ahead of us.

2016 saw Christine and the Queens achieve the kind of success they've enjoyed in France in the UK,  no small achievement for an artist as uncompromising and as unique as Helioise Letissier.

2017 already sees some fine releases scheduled, and a diary full of festivals and events beginning to fill up. Meanwhile, other French acts are getting a great deal of visibility beyond the hexagon, with Jainngetting some serious promotion in the UK and PNL getting a  showcase gig at Coachella in the US over the summer.

While the shadow of atrocities hung over much of 2016, from Charlie Hebdo to the Bataclan to Nice, 2017 has its own set of challenges ahead with an election and the inevitable consequences of that. While this is by no means a political blog, the music world does not operate in a vacuum, and events on the wider stage have repercussions on our small corner of French culture.

New year resolutions? More posts in 2017, that's for sure. Things have made it more difficult than usual to post as regularly as we would have liked towards the end of last year. But we're more than optimistic that we're back at full strength.

The last 12 months have seen a massive upturn in the number of visitors to the blog, so this year our aim is to give our visitors the kind of content that they deserve.

You can get a hold of me at 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. I'm always keen to hear new things, and relay information about acts I already know and love.

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