Melody's Echo Chamber: Desert Horse

Another track has emerged from the forthcoming - and long awaited - new album from Melody's Echo Chamber.

The video for Desert Horse follows the release of Breathe in, breathe out in April.

The release of the album had been postponed after Melody suffered a serious accident in June 2017 that resulted in her being in hospital for several months.

Her debut album was one of the landmarks of France's recent psychedelic rock scene, the involvement of Kevin Parker from Tame Impala no doubt turning a few sympathetic ears towards the release.

The retro 70s style video for Desert Horse is a lovely and very appropriate accompaniment for the track.

The album Bon Voyage is released on June 15. A special edition on violet coloured vinyl with a colour-in poster and a special phénakisticope (!) insert sounds like the appropriate medium to listen to it on.

Christine and The Queens: Damn, dis-moi / Girlfriend

Finally, some new material from Christine and the Queens ahead of the release of her second album later this year.

If 2014's Chaleur Humaine established her as one of the biggest stars in modern French music, making significant inroads to the UK and US markets too, her follow up collection should cement her position as one of the world's top artists.

It seems that the artist formerly known as Heloïse Letissier has taken a more masculine persona for this release, her stage name shortened to the more androgynous "Chris."

The track features a collaboration with Dâm Funk, who has given it a retro 80s US funk sheen.

There are two versions of the track available, one in French and an English language version. Perhaps this suggests two versions of the album later in the year, who knows.

Take your pick as to which version you prefer...


En Francais:



And the Version Anglaise:

Editorial: May 2018

"Don't call it a comeback", to quote LL Cool J.

I know the VLR blog's been off the air for the best part of a month, and I can only apologise for this. One of the hassles of being a one-man operation is that if I'm ill I don't have any cover to work on the blog.

But now that I'm back on my feet, we can get back to business.

And there's plenty for us to cover. Hopefully we can make up for some of the lost time as well, and mention some of the things that have been going on in our absence too.

Other news? We've got some plans afoot. VLR has been going for a matter of years, and we're keen to take things to a new level and to branch out into other areas. I'll say more as things come together and hopefully this will be quite soon.

As always, you can contact us 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 drop me an email. I'm always keen to hear new things, as well as passing on the latest about acts I already know and love.

The blog is also on Twitter as @viveleroq, although that's pretty much just an autofeed when we update with a new article. You can usually find me on my personal Twitter account quicker, @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 good folks at Oui Love Music From France for all their hard work introducing French acts to the international audience.

John K