Tag: Paris France

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Afterlife Shares Atmospheric and Yearning “Lovers Maze”

Currently split between Paris and Copenhagen, Danish-born Olivia Danielsson is a multidisciplinary artist with a background that spans both music and fashion. Danielsson is also the creative mastermind behind the emerging indie pop solo recording project Afterlife.

With Afterlife, the Danish-born artist’s work reflects a cross-disciplinary approach in which visual and sonic elements are created in parallel. And as a result, her releases exist within a cohesive expanding universe that sees her exploring emotional and existential states unfolding through an intimate inner dialogue. Sonically, her work moves between ambient pop and experimental pop, rooted in an atmospheric, otherworldly quality.

Danielsson’s latest Afterlife single, The Bird-produced “Lovers Maze” is a hook-driven bit of electro pop featuring glistening synth arpeggios effortlessly gliding over a pulsing, Giorgio Moroder-like baseline paired with the Danish artist’s ethereal and yearning croon. The result is a song that evokes the sort of woozy, euphoric haze shared in the intimate moments between lovers with an uncanny, seemingly lived-in precision.

Shot on grainy VHS-styled analog film, the accompanying video follows the Danish artist in a long red dress wandering through a Danish forest. It’s one part music video, one-part fashion shoot.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Crocodiles Shares Noisy and Swaggering “Time Is Wasting Me”

Crocodiles‘ Brandon Welchez and Charles Rowell have had a nearly 30 year history together: After initially become acquainted at a local Anti-Racist Action meeting, Welchez and Rowell found their respective teenage bands booked on the same bill at a punk gig hosted by a local Mexican restaurant in their native San Diego.

As their mutual friend Russell Cash put it in a previous band bio, a young Welchez watched in awe as a teenage Rowell clambered up a confused family’s table and proceeded to bash the living hell out of his cheap guitar. When his set was through, Charlie melted into he crowd and found himself awestruck as the young Welchez took the stage and proceeded to shriek, croon, howl and spit his way through his own band’s allotted 20 minutes.

When the show ended, the pair found each other, expressed their mutual admiration, and over a shared Coke agreed to dissolve their respective bands and work together.

After a few false starts, the duo found their footing professionally with noise punk outfit The Plot To Blow Up The Eiffel Tower. They spent five years crisscrossing the country, playing every dump that would let them play, while building a cult following. They met and inspired other like-minded freaks — and occasionally, they’d get beaten up by feral rednecks. Eventually the band imploded in a crowd of poverty, frustration and addiction. But Welchez and Rowell kept their partnership going.

After several years experimenting with their songwriting and sound, and trying out various lineups and different names, they decided to kick out the half-assed, half-committed losers and jokers they ere working with at the time and replaced them with a beat-up, old drum machine. They then set out to work on the batch of songs that would become Crocodiles debut, 2009’s Summer of Hate.

18 years later, Welchez and Rowell have proven to be restlessly creative and endlessly shape-shifting bouncing between garage rock, psych punk, noise pop, art gaze and more. They’re relocated multiple times with stints residing in San Diego, New York, Paris, Mexico City, London, and Los Angeles. But a few a couple of things have remained: They’ve continued to tour incessantly, bringing their unique brand of rock to fans in almost every corner of the globe. And they’ve never wavered on their teenaged mission to help achieve other escape a life of drudgery, boredom and expectation through music, art, friendship, and of course, adventure.  

The duo’s forthcoming album ninth album, Greetings From Hell is slated for an April 24, 2026 release through Indianapolis and L.A.-based Invisible Hits. The album’s latest single, album opening track, the swaggering and noisy “Time Is Wasting Me” is pure, classic Crocodiles — forceful, crunchy riffs, the duo’s unerring knack for catchy, earworm-y hooks and choruses, thunderous drumming paired with Welchez’s punchy sneer. It’s a song meant to be played at ear drum shatteringly loud levels.

Directed by Sam Macon and edited by Eric Arsnow, the accompanying video is a deft mix of live concert photography, collage and animation that captures the swaggering and frenetic pulse at the core of the song.

The duo will be embarking on a short run of tour dates to support the new effort. Hopefully, they’ll be more dates soon. Perhaps an NYC date?

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Paris-Born, London-Based Allix Shares Slickly produced, Hook-Driven “Motion”

Alexandre Allix is a Paris-born, London-based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, whose work is rooted in retro-inspired textures paired with contemporary production. He is the creative mastermind behind the solo indie electro pop project Allix, which sees him creating music that explores urgency, emotion and intensity.

The Paris-born, London-based artist’s latest single “Motion” is a slick and deftly produced, hook-driven bop that — to my ears, at least — channels the likes of The Weeknd and 80s synth funk while showcasing a seemingly effortless, swaggering pop star delivery.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Tiwayo Shares a Soulful and Contented Sigh of Appreciation

Tiwayo is a Paris-born singer/songwriter, who released two critically applauded albums, 2019’s The Gypsy Soul of Tiwayo and 2023’s Desert Dream, which he supported with opening slots for Curtis Harding, Cody ChesnuTT and Marcus Miller among others. Adding to a growing international profile, the Parisian-born artist was celebrated by the likes of Norah Jones, Tony Visconti and Don Was.

As the story goes, Tiwayo, who has been nicknamed “The Young Old” for his timeless vocal, had nearly vanished before the scene when he crossed paths with Grammy Award-winning producer, songwriter and Black Pumas founder Adrian Quesada at Les Eurorockéennes Festival. Quesada heard Tiwayo’s demos and knew he must work with the acclaimed French artist.

Tiwayo’s third album, the Adrian Quesada-produced Outsider, which is slated for an April 10, 2026 release through Record Kicks Records was recorded at Quesada’s Austin-based Electric Deluxe Recorders.

Throughout his career, Tiwayo has refused to play by the genre’s rules. In fact, he stands uniquely apart as a Frenchman in Texas, as a soul singer with a bluesman heart, and a traveler, who is constantly an outsider. And while embracing being an outsider, he eschews the polish and shine of the contemporary soul revival scene for a raw, unvarnished take on the sound that to hm carries the deepest power.

Sonically, Outsider is a genre-bending take on soul that features contributions from Quesada’s Black Pumas bandmates, as well as guest spots from Eric Clapton‘s Doyle Bramhall II and JOVM mainstay Kendra Morris.

Outsider will include the previously released “I’ve Got To Travel Alone,” and “Up For Soul,” which received airplay from KCRW, KEXP, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6, Jazz FM, Radio Eins, Jazz Radio, RAI Radio 1 and others, as well as its third and latest single, “Sunshine Lady.”

Arguably one of the brighter, more buoyant tracks of the album to date, “Sunshine Lady” is a crafted bit of Memphis and Muscle Shoals-inspired soul featuring Jay Mumford (drums) and Terin Moswen Ector (bass) that showcases the French artist’s catchy hooks, a soulful groove and Quesada’s unerring knack for gritty and timeless sounding production with earnest, lived-in lyrics and an effortlessly soulful delivery. At its core “Sunshine Lady” is a contented sigh and an expression of gratefulness for having a romantic partner, who completely and patiently understands you and what makes you tick. This is anchored by the understanding that finding that sort of partner can seem both extraordinarily lucky and rare, which fittingly adds to overall sense of thankfulness within the song.

“Sunshine Lady” was sparked by a comment from a close friendly, who told the French-born artist, “You always write sad songs, why don’t you write something happy to change a little?” Taking that suggestion to heart, Tiwayo wrote the song as a tribute to his partner, a constant source of patience and comfort during intense periods of home studio work.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Paris’ OOMA Shares Mesmerizing and Meditative “A Timeless Echo”

Paris-based outfit OOMA — Irish-born singer/songwriter Tansy Greenlee (vocals), Nicolas Bauer (bass), Hélios Mikhaïl (drums), and Florian Berret (piano, synths) — have developed a sound that meshes elements of soul, jazz and trip-hop, featuring ethereal synth laters and intricate grooves paired with mesmerizing moments of improvisation.

Each member of the band leaves their own imprint on the project’s constantly evolving sound, while blurring the lines between structured composition and songwriting and open-ended exploration and improvisation. At the core of their creative process, is the Parisian quartet’s fluid and ever-shifting chemistry, which helps their work be collaborative — and seemingly in perpetual motion.

Lyrically, the band’s material is informed by Greenlee’s existential crises with the music as a refuge, and as an intimate space where she could try to make sense of a world that’s crumbling apart. And in that refuge, raw emotion outweighs certainty.

OOMA’s latest single “A Timeless Echo” is a gorgeous yet meditative track that features Greenlee’s expressive, jazz-like vocal effortlessly dance over a mesmerizing arrangement that blends elements of jazz, trip-hop and pop.

Inspired by a striking image of a bird’s song echoed by others until it outlives the bird that originated it, “A Timeless Echo” thematically explores the passage of time, our own impermanence and mortality. The new single reflects Greenlee’s deep-seated belief in music as a way to leave a trace of one’s existence.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: La Femme Co-Founder Marlon Magnée Returns with Broodingly Cinematic “People Are Afraid”

Marlon Magnée, the co-founder of the acclaimed, French psych outfit and JOVM mainstay act La Femme is stepping out in the spotlight as a solo artist with his debut solo album, the Renaud Letang co-produced Dark Star, which is slated for a March 6, 2026 release through Disque Pointu.

As a member of La Femme, Magnée has earned numerous accolades including Album Révélation of the Year at the Victories de la Musique Awards and multiple RIAA Certified Gold records. He has played sets on some of the world’s biggest and most important stages, including Accor Hotel Arena, Zénith, Glastonbury, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and Osheaga. 

After 15 years recording, releasing music and touring the world as a member of La Femme, Magnée’s solo debut reportedly sees the La Femme co-founder reconnecting to his earliest passions. The album reflects his long-held taste for unusual blends and singular styles — with lyrics sung in both French and English.

The result is a breakneck, restless, sometimes radical music, conceived “for those with blood in their hearts and the urge to fight back.” 

Recorded at Paris‘ legendary Ferber Studios, Dark Star is an oddball, frenzied collision of shadow and light with songs that wrestle with one’s darkest impulses, bad mushroom trips, ayahuasca-fueled revelations, limerence, overwhelming romantic love, family love and self-sabotage. Sonically, the album draws from 60s guitars, an “orgy of synths” from the 80s, pounding drum machines, analog delays and a deliberately raw energy, that sees the La Femme co-founder blending punk rockabilly, punk and coldwave. 

Late last year, I wrote about album single “Plus Fort Que Toi.” which featured a  J.F. Julian-directed accompanying video that playfully drew from 50s rockabilly and rock tropes shot in sunny California.

Dark Star‘s third and latest single “People Are Afraid” is a broodingly cinematic take on 80s darkwave, anchored around an eerily atmospheric motorik pulse and skittering goth-inspired beats, a scorching guitar solo and Magnèe’s long-held, unerring knack for catchy hooks. According to the La Femme co-founder, “People Are Afraid” was inspired by The Stranglers, although I hear a bit of Pleasure Principle-era Gary Numan and Trans Europe Express-era Kraftwerk.

Directed by Magnée and filmed in Tokyo by Sam Quealy, the accompanying video for “People Are Afraid” follows a Dick Tracy/spy-like Magnée strutting down the quiet and lonely late night streets and in a phone booth. But there’s more than meets the eye here. The La Femme co-founder has some secret super powers.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Aure Shares Meditative “L’orage”

Music has always been a vital form of expression for Paris-based Aure, who found her path as a professional musician after a career in architecture. The Paris-based artist specializes in a minimalist, stripped back folk sound inspired by the likes of Sibylle Baier, Jessica Pratt and Nico with multilingual lyrics.

Her debut EP, 2023’s a few notes was released to praise from Télérama, France Inter, RFI, Les inRocks, and more. She supported the album with touring across Europe, opening for Andy Shauf and Tom McRae.

Building upon a growing profile, Aure’s full-length debut, printemps is slated for a March 20, 2026 release through Belgian label MayWay Records. Informed by the poetic minimalism of artists like Atahulpa Yupanqui, Facundo Cabral, Lhasa, Jessica Pratt and Nico, the album sees the French artist drawing from a wide range of musical influences and languages, while allowing them to intertwine as different facets of her own identity. The album’s songs unfold in a visual world informed by the photography of Graciela Iturbidem and Katrien De Blower and Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire.

Thematically, printemps is an album of thresholds, written in that liminal, in-between space where one chapter has just ended and another one is about to begin. And as a result, the album thematically evokes new beginnings, shifting bearings, turbulent crossings towards safer harbors.

printemps‘ third and latest single “L’orange,” which features arrangements by Aure and her collaborator Corentin Oliver is a meditative song built around a gorgeous arrangement of plucked and twinkling guitar and gently padded drumming serving as a lush bed for the Parisian artist’s hauntingly ethereal yet yearning delivery in French and English. Sonically, the track subtly recalls a synthesis of the psych folk of Nick Drake and of contemporaries like French-born, Montréal-based artist Lonny, evoking an impressionistic painting.

“Two people are looking for shelter, and the storm is still close. This song evokes a flight and tries to capture the fleeting moment of a break in the clouds – uncertain how long it will last, yet filled with a particular kind of grace. English and French answer each other throughout, leaving us unsure whether we’re hearing two voices or just one, inviting the other to join in their escape,” the French singer/songwriter explains.

The accompanying visualizer features the French singer/songwriter flying a kite on the beach, split in a way to look like a collage.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: La Femme Co-Founder, Marlon Magnée Shares Breakneck and Punchy “Plus Fort Que Toi”

Marlon Magnée, the co-founder of the acclaimed, French psych outfit and JOVM mainstay act La Femme is stepping out in the spotlight as a solo artist with his debut solo album, the Renaud Letang co-produced Dark Star, which is slated for a March 6, 2026 release through Disque Pointu.

As a member of La Femme, Magnée has earned numerous accolades including Album Révélation of the Year at the Victories de la Musique Awards and multiple RIAA Certified Gold records. He has played sets on some of the world’s biggest and most important stages, including Accor Hotel Arena, Zénith, Glastonbury, Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and Osheaga.

 After 15 years recording, releasing music and touring the world as a member of La Femme, Magnée’s solo debut reportedly sees the La Femme co-founder reconnecting to his earliest passions. The album reflects his long-held taste for unusual blends and singular styles — with lyrics sung in both French and English.

The result is a breakneck, restless, sometimes radical music, conceived “for those with blood in their hearts and the urge to fight back.”

Recorded at Paris‘ legendary Ferber Studios, Dark Star is an oddball, frenzied collision of shadow and light with songs that wrestle with one’s darkest impulses, bad mushroom trips, ayahuasca-fueled revelations, limerence, overwhelming romantic love, family love and self-sabotage. Sonically, the album draws from 60s guitars, an “orgy of synths” from the 80s, pounding drum machines, analog delays and a deliberately raw energy, that sees the La Femme co-founder blending punk rockabilly, punk and coldwave.

Dark Matter‘s latest single “Plus Fort Que Toi” is a perfect example of what to expect from the new album: It’s a seamless and breakneck blend of rockabilly, krautrock and coldwave pulse and punchy punk rock choruses with lyrics delivered in French. Channeling his mind-bending, genre blurring work with La Femme, “Plus Fort Que Toi,” as the La Femme co-founder explains is “about familial love, affirming that when you love, you protect.”

Directed by J.F. Julian, the accompanying video for “Plus Fort Que Toi,” playfully draws from 50s rockabilly and rock tropes, and fittingly is shot in sunny California — while also proudly featuring synths.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: JOVM Mainstay Thaïs Shares Bold, Uptempo Rework of “MTL-Paris”

Rising Paris-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay Thaïs has received attention across the Francophone music world and elsewhere for an atmospheric and delicate pop sound, which perfectly compliments her ethereal delivery.

2022 was a breakthrough year for the JOVM mainstay: She signed with Bravo Musique, who released her highly anticipated full-length debut, Tout est parfait. The following years have been busy for the rising French Canadian artist: She has opened for KYO, M, Arianne Moffatt, Dumas and Suzane while working on her Blaise Borboën and Thaïs co-produced sophomore album Personne, which was released earlier this year.

Described by the JOVM mainstay as “extroverted music for introverts,” Personne‘s material are energetic tracks that are meant to lead towards self-affirmation while allowing listeners to delve deeper into her universe. The album features “Taxi,” a slickly produced, dance floor friendly bop that to my years, sounds as though it were inspired by the likes of Robyn.

The Paris-born, Montréal-based JOVM mainstay recently reworked album single “MTL-Paris.” The album version is simultaneously atmospheric and introspective before slowly morphing into much more dance floor territory, seemingly reflecting a narrator, who’s growing in self-assuredness and confidence. “MTL-Paris V2” is a much more upbeat, dance floor friendly bop from the jump, turning the song from a tale of growing confidence, to one of boldly liberating oneself — with the realization that you’ve only got one life to live.

For the JOVM mainstay, reworking her own work is a creative exercise that allows her to reveal other possible, sometimes even latent facets to her material — all while retaining the “extroverted music for introverts” concept of the album.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms
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News/Announcements: FME Announces 2025 Venue Showcase Lineups

FME announces the venue showcase lineups for the 2025 edition.

singer/songwriters by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Paris’ Bliss My Heart and Cliff Estatof Team Up on Anthemic “Sinner Sinner”

With the release of their debut EP, 2020’s Morningstar, the Paris-based artist Bliss My Heart quickly developed a sound that draws from Bauhaus, Depeche Mode and Lana Del Rey. Thematically, the EP’s material touched upon love, travel, childhood and life.

The Parisian’s latest single, the Cliff Estatoff co-written and co-produced “Sinner Sinner” continues a run of material that channels Bauhaus and Depeche Mode while showcasing an artist with an uncanny knack for a catchy hook and a rousingly anthemic chorus.

Thematically, “Sinner Sinner” focuses on how you can take control of your life back through your choices and emotions — if you trust in yourself, your own energy and in your energy. “Everything is possible, just see it and believe it,” the Parisian artist says.

The accompanying video is shot in a cinematic yet subtly glitchy black and white, and features the Parisian artist and her collaborator, Cliff Estatoff singing and performing the song in a stylish series of closeups.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: La Punta Bianca Shares Propulsive and Uneasy “Rito Marziano”

Paris-based synth pop/synthwave duo La Punta Bianca — Francesca Diprima (vocals) and Phillipe Brown (vocals, synths, drum machines) — made a name for themselves in the Parisian alternative and indie scenes with their debut EP, 2019’s Demian. Demain saw the duo quickly and firmly cementing their sound: Diprima and Brown’s dreamy melodies paired with equally dreamy synth-based soundscapes.

Initially released on cassette tape, the EP was so popular that it was then pressed on vinyl twice. The EP’s success across the European synthwave scene enabled the duo to tour across both France and the European Union.

The Parisian duo’s full-length debut, Disquiet continued a run of material rooted in absurdist romanticism and Lynchian strangeness, while drawing from Angelo Badalamenti, John Barry and  Leonard Cohen with songs being sometimes dancey, sometimes melodramatic. Lyrics were written and are sung in French, Italian and English throughout. All of this is paired with carefully programmed synth and drum machine-driven arrangements. 

Their latest single “RIto Marizano” is a propulsive bit of goth-influenced synthwave/post-punk that’s an unhinged and absurdist anthem, meant to conjure pagan fire rites and celestial gods. Recorded during a residency at Parisian underground club Mains d’Ouevers, the track features Diprima’s feverish Italian falsetto dances and spins around Brown’s supple synth punk bass lines and propulsive polyrhythm. The result is a song that feels a bit like a nightmarish and uneasy flop sweat.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Gabriella Lima Shares a Breezy, Genre-Defying Bop

São Paulo-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter Gabriella Lima relocated to Paris back in 2014. And since locating to The City of Light, Lima has been busy crafting material that pushes genre and cultural boundaries. 

Lima’s 2021 full-length debut, the nine-song Bálsamo found the Brazilian-born, French-based artist writing material that drew from soul, pop, samba, chanson and several other styles.

Her recently released sophomore album Sabor Solaire sees the Brazilian-born, French-based artist further cementing a genre and style-defying sound. The album features “Meu Lugar,” a Sade/Quiet Storm-like touch on samba and Bossa nova featuring an atmospheric yet percussive arrangement with strummed acoustic guitar that serves as a lush bed for the Brazilian-French artist’s achingly tender delivery. The song as she explained talked about a the transformation of an intense and true relationship.

Sabor Solaire‘s latest single “Couleur Bonheur (Frisson)” sees the São Paulo-born, Paris-based artist’s achingly tender Bossa nova-like delivery floating over a slick synthesis of samba soul, Afrobeats, hip-hop and funk. But its core, “Couleur Bonheur (Frisson)” reveals an artist, who pairs earnest, lived-in lyrics with an uncanny knack for catchy hooks.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Creange Shares a Neurotic, Club Friendly Bop

Creange is a an intentionally recognized Paris-based DJ and producer, who has developed a reputation for creating high energy, positive and downright fun songs. And as a result, the French DJ and producer has spent the past decade or so, playing some of Europe’s renowned clubs, including Ibiza‘s Pacha, London‘s Ministry of Sound and Amsterdam‘s Escape. He has also been a resident DJ at one of Paris’ most beloved and groundbreaking clubs, Chez Raspoutine for eight years.

Adding to a growing profile in the electronic music scene, Black Coffee, Whomadewho, Faithless, Joris Delacroix, Jamie Jones, Âme, Gorgon City and a list of others have spun his work in their sets.

The Parisian producer and DJ’s latest single “Mad” is an LCD Soundsystem-like bop featuring an angular, post-punk-meets-disco-influenced bass line, angular and squiggling bursts of guitar, oscillating synths, cowbell punctuated four-on-the-floor serving as an nervous yet dance floor friendly bed for a neurotic James Murphy and David Byrne-inspired sing-songy delivery.

While showcasing a producer with an uncanny knack for incredibly catchy hooks, “Mad” captures the zeitgeist of our moment: Everything has been upended. Left is right. Right is left. War is peace. Fascism and economic ruin is everywhere. It’s a mad, mad, and world — and it’s on fire. Might as well have fun and dance until the flames engulf everything we care about . . .