Coronavirus confinement means artists having to find new ways to present themselves, so respect to Aloïse Sauvage for taking to the rooftop for a special video for Mega Down.
Locked down in a house with friends, she was determined to make a video for one of the tracks on her Dévorantes debut album using the means she had at hand - a drone and the house she was staying in.
A visit to the rooftop at sundown and some gravity-defying moves later it makes for an engaging clip, and one that's a little different from the usual home studio/playing at home videos that have emerged in the light of the pandemic.
Well, I suppose parkour was invented in France and health and safety issues are no hindrance to the bold Aloïse.
Fortunately, she's got good footwear, a pretty photogenic building under her feet and a nice location. The roof looks in good nick too, perhaps she removed some moss and cleared the gutters while she was up there.
Previously established as an actress, she's appeared in amongst other films 120 battements par minute, she released her debut EP Jimy in 2019 ahead of Dévorantes. Her performance of À l'horizontale at this year's Les Victoires de la Musique televised award ceremony was a highlight of the event and an unforgettable introduction to her work for a huge audience across France.
Many of her scheduled live dates have fallen due to lockdown in France but she's goy=t some scheduled for later in the year which may yet happen.
A new musical project - Paz - emerges from Bertrand Cantat.
It comes three years after Amor Fati, his first proper solo album following the termination of Noir Désir in 2010.
Cantat's personal history with regard his public career remains an unresolved and very public moral debate. Found guilty of killing his partner Marie Tritignant in 2003 and sentenced to eight years in jail, he was released in 2007.
His subsequent decision to resume his public musical career led to widespread condemnation and protest, some seeing him as a symbol of societal acceptance of violence against women, others maintaining that despite what he did, he has the same right as any former convict who has served their sentence - even a public figure - to pursue their career without continued punishment.
It's a question that's unlikely to be resolved to the satisfaction of either party. The irony of the situation being that in the debate, Cantat and Noir Désir having previously been politically aware and involved, would probably have sided with those opposing Cantat today.
The work had been intended for a stage show to be performed in a theatre near Bordeaux in March, which was cancelled following multiple objections. Cantats's not performed live since his 2018 tour which saw tour dates and festival appearances cancelled in light of demonstrations and objections.
This release is quite different from his Amor Fati album or his Détroit collaboration with Pascal Humbert, Paz instead being a work that combines poetic spoken word with musical backing, at times ambient, at other times more rock influenced.
Férey's work, while in the French Policier tradition, reflect on larger political themes such as political repressions, apartheid and colonialism. Paz, released last year, is set in Colombia and tells of family tragedy amidst the backdrop of the Colombian guerilla war against the FARC.
It's a dark work, reflected in the Paz album which sees entirely new pieces of text rather than passages from the book used in the seven tracks
It's available in digital formats at the moment, with a physical release expected later in the year.
A bit of vintage-styled positivity from Maxwell Farrington and Le SuperHomard with a cover of The Good Times Are Coming.
The John Barry/Hal David song was originally recorded by 'Mama' Cass Elliot and released on an album in 1970. It also featured in the Western film Monte Walsh the same year, a movie which starred Jeanne Moreau as well as Lee Marvin and Jack Palance.
Last year's Meadow Park Lane album by Le SuperHomard was one of 2019's highlights, a sophisticated and smart serving of melodic indie pop. It's something that their label Elefant Records specialises in.
The new track's a welcome slice of Californian sunshine that's much needed these days. When it's easy to dwell on the negative news that hits us every day, the need for optimism is greater than ever and it's worth remembering that better times will come.
A lockdown re-styling for Yelle by the looks of things in the video for the new song Je t'aime encore.
It's been six years since Julie Budet, Grand Marnier and Tepr dropped an album, 2014's Complètement Fou and since then there has been a slow and steady stream of singles, most recently 2018's OMG!!!
Directed by Loïc Prigent, a French director noted for his documentaries about fashion, the video features Haute Coiffure hairdresser Charlie Le Mindu. If you're going for the lockdown haircut, you might as well call in the best.
The song's a lot less frenetic than their usual technicolor technopop, and could easily be interpreted as a song about Julie's relationship with France, where the band have not perhaps enjoyed the success that they should have. Yelle have, after all, made some significant inroads in the USA including a tour supporting Katy Perry, while in France they still remain better known for their debut single Je veux te voir, released back in 2006.
As well as a new album, They've got live dates ahead, fortunately much later in the year, with a sold-out show at Paris La Cigale on October 29 and a second date now added on the 30th.
A new track from Emilie Simon, Cette Ombre, wrapped in a sinister Science Fiction package emerges just as the US Department of Defense releases video footage of 'unexplained aerial phenomena'.
Coincidence? You think so? I want to believe, as they used to say on the X Files...
Writing on her Facebook page she fills in some of the song's back story: "Planet Earth, 2020. Our planet is under threat. Enormous spaceships approach, and in their wake a Shadow grows, sowing the seeds of fear, terror and pain."
Cette Ombre is the first track from her forthcoming EP Mars on Earth 2020, written and produced in her home studio during the lockdown.
For the forthcoming EP, she elaborates: "2020. Planet Earth is under attack. Faced with an unknown invader, Humanity is experiencing an unprecedented shift. What will remain of it ?"
Her last release was the soundtrack to the movie The Jesus Rolls, a film that was both a remake of the French 70s film Les Valseuses and a spin-off from Coen Brothers cult comedy The Big Lebowski.
It's easy to see the 80s apocalyptic science fiction references in Emilie Simon's new work, but the reflection of the strangeness of our present times shines through. Whether it's alien invaders or a virus, there's a recognition that change is afoot and things are going to be very different in the very near future.
Lockdown getting you down? Don't worry, because Sébastien Tellier is here to take care of your Domestic Tasks.
There are few things that can be relied on these days, but Tellier can be counted on to deliver something unique and strange. This one manages to be otherworldly even when his focus is on every day minutiae.
The press release for his new album suggests it's a concept album, but one that's very different from the lofty works from artists in the 1970s.
"Its topic, domestication, will speak to anybody delightfully familiar with the everyday domestic ballet of a household.
"Mostly written at home, Sébastien allowed himself to be inspired by what he had in front of him: piles of plates stacked in the sink, dirty socks spread out on the scratched floor, two beautiful children he has yet to domesticate… or is it him now who is being domesticated?"
The new track has emerged following the release of the song A Ballet at the end of January, ahead of his forthcoming album Domesticated. His last full album, the Brazilian flavoured L'Aventura was released in 2016 and since then he's been busy with projects including soundtracks and collaborating with Dita Von Teese on her debut album.
As for this release, his record company makes clear: "In his mind, he had only one ambition: gathering a fresh new guard of producers with the aim of crafting a new lush, futuristic pop sound, although still infused by his eternal and oh so special melodies."
Plans for live shows are currently - unsurprisingly - suspended, but Domesticated is released on May 29.
If there's a festival that usually signals the start of festival season in France, it's Le Printemps de Bourges. But like so many events this year, COVID-19 has meant its inevitable cancellation this year.
It's a key event as it gives many developing acts a significant showcase where they can present new work that's coming later in the year, building reputations and a following in the run-up to a release.
Given the situation, organisers wanted some form of event to take place, obviously in an online environment.
But rather than simply relying on live performances at home, acts were given free rein to create what they wanted for Un Printemps Imaginaire from April 21 to 26.
They ended up with a pretty unique event, with memorable performances from some outstanding artists. No small achievement during the current situation.
Hopefully, other festival organisers are considering their next moves as while there is no playing down the crisis that affects everything at the moment, there are opportunities to create some luminous moments and these are certainly needed more than ever.
Le Printemps de Bourges will hopefully be back to normal next year, but until then here are a few of the acts and performances that we enjoyed:
La Grande Sophie
Mauvais Oeil
Marie-Flore
Aloise Sauvage
Jeanne Added performs Prince's Take Me With U
Renan Luce performs a cover of a Barbara song
The finale of the event was -M-, performing a new version of Mojo with Deluxe
A new single and a new album on the horizon from Comett, an act that's been a favourite of this blog for quite a while.
Comett is the work of Alexandre Canola, and they've been producing great work since their first EP in 2005. They first came to the attention of this blog with their 2011 Once upon a Time/ The city of Lights single.
The new trackLove is what you make it comes from the forthcoming album - their fourth - The ghost inside me and follows last year's Reset collection. That album was their first in French, the new track sees a return to performing again in English.
Comett walks a magical path between indie pop, rock and electronic music, at times dream-like and fragile, at others epic and full of wonder. Their back catalogue deserves your full attention if you're not familiar with it yet, and you really should be.
The cover artwork was created by the Parisian artist Julie Jup who will be behind the graphics for next album.
It's a tough time for emerging acts and the recent situation has only made things more difficult. There's no opportunity to play live, no reaching new ears, no introducing new material to an existing audience and crucially a massive hit to already slender incomes.
We've always enjoyed featuring new music here, and hopefully, in a small way, we can help make things that little bit better.
A very welcome return for Woodkid with a new video for the track Goliath.
The artist known to friends and family as Yoann Lemoine was responsible for 2013's The Golden Age, one of this blog's favourite albums in recent years.
Originally a graphic designer, he'd directed music videos before then for the likes of Yelle and Nolwenn Leroy as well as international acts like Katy Perry, Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey.
By the time his early singles - Iron, and Run Boy Run - were released ahead of his album, he was already a respected figure and his visual style added significantly to the music.
Seven years is a long time in music, and Goliath comes ahead of Woodkid's second album. Since his debut, there have been a handful of releases including the 2016 Ellis EP and the soundtrack for Mexican film Desierto. To say this new album is 'anticipated' is a bit of an understatement.
During the time between albums, he's hardly been idle having directed the iconic video for the Harry Styles single Sign of the Times, a number one single in the UK, a top five in the USA and a top three in France. The video has had over 500 million views on YouTube and was the winner of the British Artist Video of the Year at the 2018 Brit Awards.
Needless to say, the new track is an epic, but with an understated and introspective vocal. There are obviously echos of his earlier work, but it's far from a simple continuation of his earlier work.
The video, shot in the Czech Republic, was shown as a premier on YouTube following a live chat. Asked what inspired him for the new album, he replied: "The industrial scale of things, and the smallness of humans."
He added that other inspiration included: "Many more other inspirations, Akira, Japanese breakcore..."
You can see something of this aesthetic reflected on the adaptiveminerals.com website and on the video. There's something of the style of photographer Sebastião Salgado in the vision here.
Asked about who worked with him on the album, he said: "A lot of people collaborated on this record, including Tepr Son Lux, Esser, Phazz, Sally Herbert and many more!!"
I'm sure remixes and soundtrack opportunities are already being planned, but I can't help but be excited by this release itself and the prospect of more to come.
When you've been away for a while it can be tough to decide when to return. Especially given the immensity of the events that have been going on over the past couple of months.
We return to a very different music scene in France. Festivals cancelled, tours postponed with a dystopian backdrop of deserted cities, a population in lockdown and the spectre of the pandemic hovering over everything with its henchmen Death, Illness and Fear at large.
While we're seeing some of the worst of times, we're also seeing the best of people. Our health providers are showing they are the cornerstones of society that our politicians and military can only aspire to be.
While our celebrities have not all covered themselves in glory during this time, our artists have been crucial to our well being, perhaps differently and more significantly than before. What was once regarded simply as entertainment is now acknowledged as essential for our mental well-being.
As we stay indoors, we turn to our TVs, our books and music to connect and engage with each other and while our conversations may be online, we are still talking about and sharing the things we love.
It's easy to dwell on the negatives of the current situation. We're all affected personally and we're all feeling it to a lesser or greater extent. But there are good things happening and this blog with its focus on French music wants to reflect this.
While events are cancelled or postponed and projects have been sidelined, there's a strong amount of remarkable material emerging even now. Whether scheduled new releases or unique special performances, there's much that demands our attention. We'll be across it.
