French Music Releases: Summer 2014
It’s officially Summer which means it’s time to find the tunes that will carry you through those mid-year heat waves
Here’s a cross-genre sampling of the hottest French releases for Summer 2014:
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO: COMET, COME TO ME
June 2nd, 2014 on Naïve
Genre: Soul | Rock | Funk | R&B
Featured as a “First Listen” on NPR, Meshell Ndegeocello’s 11th album is “gravitationally irrestible”, with tight yet sophisticated musical layers, deep behind-the-beat grooves, and hard-biting direct lyrics.
Audience’s for two recent New York shows of the amazing, chameleonic Jef Barbara were pleasantly surprised to find none other than Meshell Ndegeocello on bass.
Have a listen above to “Conviction” one of our favorite tracks from another great Ndegeocello release!
TOXIC AVENGER: ROMANCE & CIGARETTES
June 10th, 2014 on Ultra Records | Roy Music
Genre: Electro | Synth Pop
NOISEY puts it well when they write, Toxic Avenger “needs no disguise to make you feel like you are driving through an 80s dance-pop nightmare.”
Toxic Avenger, who just released Romance and Cigarettes via ULTRA records in the US, seamlessly blends heavy synth-pop influences & disco-inspired syncopation, making an album that balances classic rhythm & futurism in a way that few others are able to capture.
MELISSA LAVEAUX: DYING IS A WILD NIGHT
June 16th, 2014 on Nø Format
Genre: Folk | Creole | Hybrid Pop
A Haitian-Canadian singer-songwriter who has since settled artistically in France, Melissa Laveaux brings an unparalleled energy and rhythm to her songs.
In Laveaux’s sound is modern – readily evoking the hybrid pop of Goldfrapp and Santigold alongside the latest movements of Fiona Apple – and yet the pulse of her music and the imagery of her videos seem are equally enigmatic, sort of existing outside of time.Watch the video above and see what we mean…and see why we expect you’ll be hearing lots more from this incredibly talented, dynamic young artist.
JULIETTE GRÉCO CHANTE BREL
July 8th, 2014 on Sunnyside Records
Genre: Chanson Française
One of France’s all-time-great chanteuses, Juliette Gréco is, above all, a devotee of lyrics. It seems fitting that Gréco upcoming release, years in planning, pays tribute to Jacques Brel, a Belgian songwriter, whose lyrics are among some of the most beloved in the Francophone world and beyond.
Watch the video above (in French) for a preview to the highly-anticipated July 8th release.
SÉBASTIEN TELLIER L’AVVENTURA
July 14, 2014 on Record Makers
Genre: Synth Pop | Rock
Tellier, whose sexy, shimmering, and synthy pop music like the artist, inhabits a world of its own, will show audiences his own vision of Brazil with L’Avventura.
As Tellier describes on RED BULL, in making the album, he was “more interested in fantasy than fact”. Take the chance to immerse yourself in Tellier’s fantasy – it’s an unmatched indie synth pop dream.
ANDREA BALENCY WALLS EP
June 24th, 2014 on Bataille
Genre: Electro Pop
Balency’s mix of pop and electro music is simply stunning.
We’ll let the press do the talking:
“SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SEXY!” – VICE
“New Andrea Balency single sounds incredible” – RED BULL MUSIC
“Emotive productions which ride the line between alt R&B and pop-lined electronics” – XL8R
“Andrea Balency takes an unconventional tact when it comes to making electronic music” – NEW YORK TIMES
IBRAHIM MAALOUF: YVES SAINT LAURENT (ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK)
January 13th, 2014 on IDOL | Film opened in US Theaters on June 25th
Genre: Soundtrack | Jazz
Following the life from 1958 of one the 20th century’s most captivating figures, Yves Saint Laurent, directed by Jalil Lespert and debuting in the US on June 25th, 2014 features a score composed by French-produced trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf.
Viewers and listeners will find the score every bit as ravishing and evocative as the time and figure the film sets out to represent – Yves Saint Laurent. In the tradition of Miles Davis’ Ascenseur pour l’échafaud (a classic Louis Maille film), Ibrahim Maalouf’s work is every bit as powerful and artful as the film itself.
Listen above.
ISAAC DELUSION: ISAAC DELUSION
Genre: Electro Pop
August 26th, 2014
What does it look like to reverse the process of making a music video and have video score the music?
“Pandora’s Box” an ever-changing online video in support of the bright and catchy French electro indie pop outfit Isaac Delusion’s debut self-titled album—out now in France, and hitting the states August 26th —may have the answer.
Make your own music video here
Expect this debut album to break big in the states this fall – Isaac Delusion may just be the new sound in French pop.
