The (welcome) return of Feu! Chatterton

 Ready for the new world?

We've been waiting for something new from Feu! Chatterton for a while. It's not that they've been away for long, just we've been impatient.

With good reason. Their two albums, 2015's Ici le jour (a tout enseveli) and 2018's  L'Oiseleur are among our faviourites in recent years, each a heady mix. Rooted in French poetic lyricism, but inhabiting a jazz-informed indie rock landscape that few others dare venture into without falling face first into the swamp of pretentiousness or tumbling into the chasm of joyless self-indulgence.

Yes, it's a bit arty, but they walks that fine line with a swagger and don't take themselves too seriously. It's hard to imagine a band like this from any other country.

If anything makes us hopefuly for 2021, its that fine bands like this have started to re-emerge from isolation and hibernation. The world might be new, different and unfamiliar, but it's been waiting for them to make it a little bit better.

Christine and the Queens: People, I've been sad

An absolutely cracking performance from Christine and the Queens for US TV.

She performed People, I've Been Sad for the Late Late Show with James Corden filmed at La Chapelle des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

TV shows can do all sorts of amazing things for staging live acts in a studio, but a backdrop like this is quite something. It's also somehow an appropriate stage for the song, adding both mystery and beauty.

It is, of course, filmed and produced to absolute perfection. Just marvel at the lighting in the background illuminating the treasures of the chapel.

In some ways it reminds me of some of the great work that's been done by La Blogotheque over the years.

The song is the first track on her La Vita Nuova EP, released earlier this year,

While it will certainly further Christine's reputation in the USA,  I can't help but think it will also attract one or two more tourists to explore some of Paris's lesser-known attractions once Covid-19's grip is relaxed.

Grand Bland - Los Angeles

If there's one album I'm really looking forward to next month, it's the second album by Grand Blanc.

Grand Blanc are my go-to band when I'm asked to name an astonishingly good French act that aren't widely known in the UK.

Their Mémoires Vives debut, released in 2016, followed their self titles EP and the Montparnasse, both establishing Grand Blanc as one of France's finest modern electro rock acts.

They spent most of last year recording their second album, and have spent much of this year touring in support of Indochine, one of France's biggest acts. They'll have certainly got the full attention of the many Indochine fans that have seen them.

With the album emerging at the start of La Rentreé, France's post summer holiday period, my suspicion is that it will have an absolutely massive impact.

Image Au Mur is released on September 14, and Grand Blanc have tour dates from October. They play La Cigalle in Paris on November 26.

La Ferme Electrique

With festival season truly upon us, it's easy to focus on the big ticket events, where tens of thousands get to see dozens of big international acts somewhere in the distance.

There are sometimes even a few French acts thrown into the running order, all too often its the same few acts playing across France's summer festivals , promoting whatever they released a few months ago, before they do their headline tour across France in the autumn.

So I always like festivals that are a bit different, with their own distinct identity and a carefully curated line up of artists, especially when you can see them up close.

That's where events like La Ferme Electrique come in. LFE has been quietly running for several years now, 2018 is the ninth edition of the event, taking place in the countryside at Tournan-en-Brie, a short ride from Paris.

This year the two day event features Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, Sister Iodine, Snapped Ankles, The Monochrome Set and Hyperculte, to name just a few of the dozens of artists on the bill.

Maybe you know a few of them, maybe there are some you're not familiar with, but events like this give emerging artists a loyal following that a slot at the bottom of the bill in a tiny tent at a local enormofest never will. There's much to enjoy here, in the kind of setting you'll never experience even if you've paid hundreds of pounds to stay in your own private yurt with catering and a butler at some massively sponsored commercial event,

Over and above the live sets, there are art exhibitions and installations as well as screenings of music films

True, you won't get to see any of this summer's big names. But who needs to see them anyway? La Ferme Electrique is the kind of event that restores your faith in music and in festivals.

La Ferme Electrique runs on July 6 and 7  in Tournan-en-Brie.

Charlotte Gainsbourg: Runaway

A memorable performance by Charlotte Gainsbourg on French music show Taratata, with a cover of Kanye West's Runaway.

It's been a busy month for her, having scooped the Victoires de la Musique award for best female artist at the ceremony at La Seine Musicale on the outskirts of Paris earlier this month.

She was on the shortlist with Catherine Ringer and Louane. There's pretty much no doubt in my mind that she was the obvious victor.

She's also just begun her tour, promoting her Rest album, with a date in Geneva so far. Dates are scheduled for Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium next month.

She's also got a show in Paris at La Cigale on March 28 and a sold-out gig in London the following day when she plays the Village Underground on March 29 .

The Limiñanas: Shadow People on C à Vous

Lovely to see an appearance by The Limiñanas earlier tonight on French TV chat show C à Vous.

It's hard to imagine in the UK an early evening light entertainment show aimed at the widest teatime audience putting on such impressive musical acts.

The Limiñanas have recently released their latest album, Shadow People and while the kind of act that have a cult following and critical acclaim, they're a long way off from the mainstream.

That being said, their 60s psyche infused pop goes down a treat and there really is no reason whatsoever for them to have the widespread acclaim they deserve.

The performance sees a guest appearance by actress and singer Emmanuelle Seigner on vocals.

The Limiñanas are touring extensively, and play at Rough Trade in London tomorrow. They're back to France for dates around the country and play at Le Trianon in Paris on March 29.

Carla Bruni: Live in London

A chance to see that very sophisticated chanteuse Carla Bruni in London this weekend, with the former first lady playing at the Union Chapel on Saturday night.

With her husband no longer in office for the past few years, she's been able to resume her musical career and has released two albums since then, Little French Songs in 2013 and French Touch earlier this year.

She released her Comme si de rien n'était in 2008 while her husband was president, the collection reaching number one in France. She was already an established artist be then, her debut Quelqu'un m'a dit from 2003 reaching number one in the French charts, her second No Promises from 2007 doing the same.

French Touch sees her covering songs originally recorded in the English language. While some like Moon River or Crazy are standards, there are some interesting choices including a version of Highway to Hell and Enjoy the Silence.

Lamomali: Solidarité

An uplifting new video that features -M- and a cast of thousands is the latest release from the

Lamomali album, a collection that sees him accomplish his ambition of creating an album that celebrates the musical heritage of Mali.

M has been inspired by Mali since he was young, and for this collection that came out earlier this year he's working with some of the biggest names in that country's music, kora player Toumani Diabaté, Sidiki Diabaté and Fatoumata Diawara. 

The new video features contributions from Nekfeu, Santigold and Youssou N'Dour.

Lamomali are about to release a live album, Lamomali Airlines, in a few days time.

Lamomali have been playing at festivals over the summer, and are just about to undertake a series of live dates at Arenas around France. They've got two shows at the AccorHotels Arena on December 18 and 19.

Moodoïd: Au pays des merveilles de Juliet

Delighted to report a new release by Moodoïd, to these ears one of the most important acts in France's fertile psych scene.

Pablo Padovani from Moodoïd was previously guitarist with Melody's Echo Chamber, one of the acts that helped bring France's  new psychedelic acts to the world's critical attention.

I've been a fan of Moodoïd since before the release of their 2014 debut Le Monde Möö. Their work has consistently surprised, shot through with a playful strangeness that refuses to be easily constrained by genre conventions.

Their album had flavours of jazz, Bollywood, electro and funk, a widescreen and technicolour creation with more creativity and adventure in one album than many artists manage in their entire career.

The new track is a very disco informed cover of Au Pays des Merveilles de Juliet, the title track of a 1973 album by Yves Simon. While making an instantly approachable track, Moodoïd keep the strangeness of the track to the fore.

Padovani's continuing to release surprising work, and it bodes well for future Moodoïd material. fingers crossed we won't have to wait too long.

Moodoïd play La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris as part of Les Inrocks Festival on November 25.

Indochine: La vie est belle

A notification from Indochine HQ this week that one of France's biggest rock groups is back in action, with a single, new album and tour on the horizon.

Since the 90s, Indochine have been one of the country's biggest rock acts, with a commercial and artistic credibility that few can equal. It's hard to think of an Anglo equivalent to indochine, the closest would be someone like U2, a post-punk act who went on to fill stadiums, but unlike U2 they never became a parody of what once made them great.

Indochine's last studio album was 2013's Black City Parade, a number one album in France that included the track College Boy, a tarck that showed that even a band that had been around for a few decades was still capable of raising difficult and controversial questions.

Their subsequent tours supporting the album saw them play two shows at the Stade de France, as well as a gig in London. Two live albums, Black City Tour and Black City Concerts documented the dates, both collections reaching the top ten.

So some new materiais quite a big deal, and the band unveiled their new track on prime time French TV show Quotidien avec Yann Barthes.

Their new track La vie est belle come from their forthcoming 13th album, which is due to appear on September 8.

They've confirmed a tour of arenas in France in February 2018, with a show at the Zénith on Paris on February 16 and 17. Tickets go on sale on June 21.

Editorial: February 2017

If you're a regular here, and I hope that you are, you'll have noticed there's not been much on the blog for the last couple of weeks.

I can only apologise, but other things have unexpectedly taken up much of the time that I would normally give to Vive le Roq. The blog is very much a one-man operation and I'm afraid these things can sometimes happen.

It's been frustrating, but bear with us and we'll be back to normal as soon as we possibly can.

There have been a huge number of new releases I've not had time to write about, along with many other interesting developments in the French music world that I've not been able to reflect.

Fingers crossed I'll be able to catch up over the next few weeks and get things back on an even keel.

Thanks for your support.

John K

Editorial: November 2016

A new month begins, October being both a good month for traffic to the site and a month that saw us
begin to get more regular content again.

We again saw a great number of visitors this month, not far off our peak, which is always encouraging. Hopefully we've also turned a corner in terms of getting more articles on the site.

November continues the busy pace of releases and live date, with a sold out UK tour by Christine and the Queens on the agenda in the next couple of  days.

She plays shows in at the O2 Academy in London, O2 Apollo on Manchester and the O2 Academy in Glasgow on Monday.

Mick Harvey, meanwhile, speaks about his relationship with the work of Serge Gainsbourg at an event at the Institut Francais in London tonight.

Elsewhere, Caravan Palace play Dublin, Manchester, London and Birmingham this month.

La Femme play one night in London at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on November 17, and M83 play the O2 Academy on November 23.

Gojira, possibly France's most successful metal act ever support Alter Bridge on their tour of the UK this month, with arena gigs in Manchester, London,

Nouevelle Vague,  St Germain and Zombie Zombie are also playing around the UK.

As for major releases this month, the new album by Justice drops in a couple of weeks. Can't wait.

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.

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

Yann Tiersen: Roc’h Ar Vugale Live at Abbey Road

 An appropriately cinematic session by Yann Tiersen ahead of the release of his new album.

The clip features the track Roc’h Ar Vugale, recorded at Abbey Road studio in London.

Roc’h Ar Vugale fetures on Tiersen's most new album Eusa, a collection that was originally issed as piano music. The album, to be issued at the end of September, is his first ever collection of solo piano performances.

Tiersen's last album was 2014's Infinity album, which saw works in Breton, Icelandic, Faroese and English, but no works in French.
 
Yann Tiersen plays the Edinburgh International Festival on August 21 and 22.