Tag: Paris France

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Israeli-French JOVM Mainstay MAGON Releases a trippy Visual for “Aerodynamic”

Throughout the course of this past year, I’ve written quite a bit about the Israeli-born, Paris-based psych rock singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer MAGON. And with the release of Out in the Dark, MAGON quickly established a unique sound, which he has described as urban rock on psychedelics, as you would have heard on album singles like the incredibly self-aware and introspective, The Strokes-like “My Reflection,” and the David Bowie and T. Rex-like “Same House.”

Since the release of Out in the Dark, the Israeli-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter, guitarist and producer has released a couple of one-off singles that included the dreamy meditation on the passing of time “Change.” The JOVM mainstay’s latest single, the jangling “Aerodynamic” is a decidedly glam rock-inspired take on psych rock with a brooding air.

Directed by the Israeli-born, Paris-based JOVM mainstay, the recently released video features MAGON and his backing band playing in the woods — and simultaneously, we followed a lizard man, who goes through a trippy and transcendent journey through space and time with a beautiful woman.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Romain Deceunnick is an emerging Corisa-born, Paris-based multikdisciplinary artist. When he turned 19., he left Corsica to study graphic design — and by the time, he turned 21, he landed at a job at Canal +. While at Canal +, Deceunnick built up a profile as a go-to director of photography, editor and sound designer.

Inspired by a desire to travel the world. the Corsica-born, Paris-based multidisciplinary artist joined Canal +’s TF1 Reporting decision. During his four year stint with TF1 Reporting, Deceunnick became increasingly fascinated by how images can make the viewer feel something that they’re not used to seeing. In 2018, Deceunnick created his multidisciplinary project Blonde.Engie, a project which draws from his mutual passions into photography and music.

2020 has been a busy and prolific year for Deceunnick, who has released a couple of one-off singles, his full-length debut Isolate — and his latest single, the brooding “Passenger..” Centered around layers of shimmering synth arpeggios and thumping beats, “Passenger” sounds as though it could be part of the soundtrack of a post apocalyptic, John Carpenter-like movie.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Paris’ EPHESE Releases a Sultry Visual for Defiant Pop Banger “Silver Lining”

Rising Paris-based electro pop act EPHESE — founding duo Geoffory and Guillaume along with Azalée (vocals) — features members of acts like Yuma Guma, Cannery Terror and others that have toured across the European Union and Mexico. Interestingly, the rising Parisian act can trace its origins back to 2017 when its founding duo met Azalée and felt an instant creative chemistry.

EPHESE’s debut single, 2017’s “La Plage,” which landed on several playlists, eventually amassed over 600,000 streams while establishing their sound : a melancholy take on the disco sound that draws from rock, pop and house music. Building upon a growing profile both nationally and internationally, the members of EPHESE followed up with “Crush,” while writing and recording their debut EP, Prémices.

In the meantime, the French trio’s latest single “Silver Lining” is a decidedly 80s dance pop inspired track centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, a two-step inducing groove, Azalée’s sultry vocals and a razor sharp hook. While sonically recalling Cherelle, Evelyn “Champagne” King, DRAMA, and Beverly Girl, “Silver Lining” is a dance floor friendly “fuck off” anthem that sees its narrator discovering and experiencing a newfound sense of self-confidence and awareness of the fact that if she could always do better by herself. And as a result, the song captures a modern woman, firmly and defiantly coming into her own.

Directed by Aurélien Grellier-Beker, the recently released video for “Silver Lining” follows a seemingly mousy woman at a job placement center. After getting rudely dismissed by a counselor, who only seems concerned with his next coffee break, the woman — perhaps out of frustration., desperation and or just having enough — gains a newfound confidence that both frightens and inspires those around her. It shouldn’t be surprising that the other women knowingly nod at our protagonist, as though to say “Yep, been there. I’ve felt the same way you do right now. Go get it, sister!” As the video concludes, it’s revealed that there’s a sexual tension between the counselor and our protagonist, which adds an extra layer to the video. “The music video illustrates the liberation that comes with letting go of our self-limiting beliefs. Somewhere between hysteria and euphoria, that’s where the state of freedom lies,” the members EPHESE explain in press notes.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Ligne Quatre is en emerging Paris-based hip-hop collective that derives its name from one of the French capital’s busiest lines — Ligne Quatre, which connects the Porte de Clignancourt section and the Mairie de Montrouge section, passing through the heart of the city. The emerging French hip-hop collective — Dr. Lulu, Pif Au Mic, Koco and Exil — live in a 18th century home together off the Chateau Rouge stop of the aforementioned Ligne Quatre.

Inspired by Nepal, Sopico, NTM, Saian Supa Crew, Pablo Servigne and the films of Wong Kar-wai and Jim Jarmusch, the individual members of Ligne Quatre can trace the origins of their careers and of their collective back to a over a decade ago: Koco and Dr. Lulu started rapping ten years ago in Rouen. And around the same time, Pif Au Mic and Exil started rapping in Brittany. The act’s debut effort, the recently released Arret Demande EP thematically finds the act’s material touching upon global warming, lost loves, failure and more.

“Trop de temps,” Arret Demande’s latest single is centered around a slow-burning and brooding production featuring twinkling keys and stuttering, tweeter and woofer rocking beats. The production is roomy enough for each emcee to spit some incredibly self-assured verses in a rapid-fire French. Sonically while the track may remind some listeners of J. Dilla and of Jurassic 5, let it be a reminder that hip-hop is the lingua franca of the hip and youthful. And because of that it may help lead us all out of the tremendous mess we’ve made of everything.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Ballaké Sissoko Teams Up with Oxmo Puccino on a Gorgeous and Meditative New Single

Acclaimed Malian-born, Paris-based kora player Ballaké Sissoko is the son of Djelimady Sissoko, a master kora player, best known for playing with the Ensemble Instrumental Du Mali. Drawn to the instrument at a very young age, the younger Sissoko was taught by his father. Tragically, Djelmady died while his children was very young — and Ballaké stepped up to take on the role of the family breadwinner and took his father’s place in the Ensemble Instrumental Du Mali.

A long-held fascination with genres and sounds outside of the scope of the Mandinka people’s scope – – i.e., flamenco guitar and sitar — inspired a series of critically applauded collaborations with a diverse and eclectic array of musicians across the globe, including a acclaimed French cellist Vincent Segal, Toumani Diabaté, legendary bluesman Taj Mahal and Ludovic Einaudi.

Slated for a February 19, 2021 release through Nø Førmat Records, Sissoko’s 11th full-length album Djourou will feature solo compositions and a number of thoughtful collaborations with diverse and unexpected artists outside of Mandinka musical genre for which his griot caste is celebrated — and the list of collaborators include Nouvelle Vague’s Camille, African legend Salif Keita, leading female kora player Sona Jobareth, the aforementioned Vincent Segal and Malian-born, French emcee Oxmo Puccino among others.

Djourou, which derives its name from the Bambara word for string, can trace its origins to when Sissoko approached Nø Førmat label head Laurent BIzot with the proposition of blending solo kora pieces with unexpected collaborations. With a mutual emphasis between the artist and the label, that they take he time to confirm enriching and challenging partnerships with artists, who were also fans of Sissoko’s work, Djourou has been a slow-burn album in the making since 2018.

Djourou’s first single is the mediative “Frotter Les Mains,” featuring acclaimed French emcee Oxmo Puccino. Deriving its name from the French term for “rub hands.” the track mirrors some of the song’s percussive elements that Sissoko created in the studio. Centered around Sissoko’s gorgeously cascading kora chords and Puccino’s dexterous flow, “Frotter Les Mains” is a much-needed bit of peace, thoughtless and kindness in a world gone absolutely batshit. Additionally, the song — in my mind, at least — serves as a vital connection between the ancient and the modern, between the West and Africa, and as a reminder that hip-hop is the lingua franca that binds us all.

Puccino was among the first artists to be recruited for the album. And interestingly, the studio sessions was a personal and professional highlight: he recalls that, he was introduced to Sissoko by Vincent Segal “as an uncle.” Puccino continues, “Life never leaves me alone: it either makes fun of me or it makes me feel so small. This time the staging was perfect. Vincent Segal helped me to take my art to the next level. This day he presented me to Ballaké, who my parents used to listen to when he was playing in Mali’s National Orchestra. I used to dream when Vincent was speaking to me about Bamako and their recording session. I have been waiting for this opportunity and to meet together. When I was invited to take part in the album, I only thought for 2 minutes before finding an obvious theme; the voice of our body, or rather its subtitle: our hands. I’m coming from a lineage of Blacksmiths and Ballaké is descended from a long line of kora players.”

Directed by Julien Borel and Vladimir Cagnolari, the recently released video for “Frotter Les Mains” features intimately and gorgeously shot footage of the duo in the studio.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

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Born to an English father and Italian mother,  Paris-born and-based composer, multi-instrumentalist, electronic music producer and electronic music artist, Frank Woodbridge grew up in a passionate, musical household: at an early age, the Woodbridge family spent their evening listening to their vinyl record collection in front of their huge stereo. “My father loved The Kinks, The Beatles, The Bee Gees and Al Jarreau. My mother introduced me to Stan Getz, Carole King and the romantic refrains of the crooners that reminded her of her childhood,” Woodbridge recalls fondly in press notes. “From the age of ten, I was already deep into The Cure, Depeche Mode, U2. My teenage neighbor had decided to perfect my musical education. And then, Bernard Lenoir on Inter, the many weekends in London . . . I was an indie kid, that was my life.”

After spending many years in rock and electro pop groups as a singer/songwriter and self-taught multi-instrumentalist, Woodbridge has spent the past few years focusing on composing for films, the web, TV, as well as  sound design for events and stage music for theater. Currently, Woodbridge works with Andre Manoukian on his daily chronicle for the Daphne Burki-hosted TV show, Je T’aime, ETC — and he wrote a comic book Inversion, which follows its composer protagonist.

2020 has been a busy year for the French artist: companies like Kenzo Parfums and Oris Watches commissioned him to compose music for web campaigns and for a series of 10 films. He also composed the soundtrack for Florie Martin and Melissa Theuriau’s documentary  Seine Saint Denis Style, which aired on French station C8 earlier this year. Woodbridge also released an album of original compositions LOLA LIFE DEATH ETC earlier this year.  

I’ve written about two of LOLA LIFE DEATH ETC’s singles so far:

  • “Lola dans le bus” a melancholic and cinematic M83-like track specially composed to drive to or daydream along with, inspired by personal experience: Woodbridge ran into an ex-girlfriend he had lost contact with. He saw her on a bus and waved at her but unfortunately, she didn’t see her. And as a result, the song is punctuated with a profound sadness over a missed connection, as well as nostalgia for something you can’t ever really get back.
  • “To The End” is an optimistic, motorik-groove driven track, reminiscent of  New Order and From Here to Eternity and From Here to Eternity . . . and Back-era Giorgio Moroder As Woodbridge said at the time “It is music driven with an urge, a dream for something else, a lot of energy and yet peacefulness coming from inner strength and will, I composed it thinking of movies I love, where people are at a turning point of their lives knowing it or not, and heading for their future. Although slightly melancholic, it has a positive light and effect.”

LOLA LIFE DEATH ETC‘s lats single “Je me souviens de tout,” (which translates into English as I remember it all)” is a dreamy, downtempo track centered around shimmering synth arpeggios and thumping beats paired with a a heartfelt mantra as its main lyric, a lyric that simply says ” Love, in the end, is just love.” Interestingly, the track is one of the few off the album with lyrics — and was specifically written as a way to “escape gravy and access an inner light” as Woodbridge explains in press notes.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Rising Afro Pop Artist Poundo Releases a Swaggering, Global Club Banger

Poundo Gomis is an emerging Guinea-Bissauan-French singer/songwriter, dancer, writer producer, , blogger and fashionista who currently splits her time between her hometown of Paris and New York, who performs under the mononymic moniker Poundo. Exposed to and influenced by the best of Africa and the West, Gomis immersed herself in the performing arts as a dancer and vocalist — and in fashion.

Over the past few years, Gomis has been incredibly busy. She has worked with some of the world’s top directors and choreographers — including Opéra de Paris’ Marie-Claude Pietragalia, Jérôme Savary, Georges Momboye, and Anne Fontaine. She was a featured danced in the Broadway musical Fela! — and since then, she has worked with Alicia Keys, Bill T. Jones, Spike Lee, The Roots and Cirque du Soleil, Aya Nakamura, Gims, Dadju, Vitaa, Amir, Hyphen Hyphen, Sting and a growing list of others.

As a recording artist Gomis has crafted a global, genre-defying take on pop music. Drawing from trap. pop, hip-hop and Mandingue music, the Paris-born artist’s work draws from her own personal experiences paired with political statements — while being accessible and club friendly. Slated for a November 27, 2020 release, the Guinea-Bissauan-French artist’s debut EP features a collection of touch upon her love of fantasy while bravely exploring her vulnerability.

The rising Guinea-Bissauan-French artist’s latest single “O Wassa Waru,” which means “A Beautiful Soul” in Mandjak is a slickly produced, club banger with a cinematic quality. Centered around looping twinkling kora lines. African polyrhythm, staccato handclaps, stuttering trap beats, staccato handclaps, wobbling low end and an infectious hook paired with Gomis’ self-assured delivery in English and Mandjak. Switching between swaggering rhymed versions and sultrily sung vocals, the track suggests that Gomis may have been influenced by Lauryn Hill and others — but with a brash, global bent and a righteous message. “It’s an ode for girls and women,” Gomis says. “I wrote and produced the track between New York, Paris and Conakry. I sing in English and Mandjak because I couldn’t do it a different way. 🙂 I grew up speaking Mandjak, French, Wolof and later learned English & Spanish at school. That’s why this song shows how international I am.”

Directed by LDITCH, the recently released video for “O Wassa Waru” is a gorgeous and cinematically shot visual featuring some serious black girl magic: beautiful and talented black women being badass in equally gorgeous settings,

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Plumes Releases an Earthy and Sensual Visual for “Golden Gourmande”

Veronica Charnley is an acclaimed Montreal-born Paris-based singer/songwriter and guitarist, and the creative mastermind behind Plumes, a solo recording project that draws from contemporary pop and classical music techniques. And while most of her work is centered around her own original lyrics, she has also set poems by Emily Dickinson, Goethe and Marina Tsvetaeva to music.

\Her third album Oh Orwell was released earlier this year — and the long awaited album finds Charnley reinventing the project after her breakup with romantic partner and colllaborator, multi-instrumentalist and arranger, Goef Holbrook. The album’s latest single “Golden Gourmande” is centered around a hauntingly sparse arrangement: Charnley’s gorgeous and expressive vocals, shimmering, strummed guitar and gently droning feedback. The end result is a song that simultaneously manages to evoke the sensation of being roused from a pleasant dream — and savoring it deeply with a euphoric sigh. “‘Golden Gourmande’ is a song about returning to love after having almost lost it and savoring it like a creme brulee,” Charnley explains.

Directed by Pixie Cram, the recently released video for “Golden Gourmande” is an earthy and sensual visual that splits between someone foraging for mushrooms, plucking them from the forests and the Montreal-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter performing the song in an intimate studio.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Mathieu Cetta is an emerging Southern France-based producer and DJ. Cetta has developed a reputation for crafting DJ sets centered around melodious, sensual and joyful deep house in clubs across the Montpelier region, Paris and luxury hotels in the country’s 3 Valleys region.

Earlier this year, the Southern France-based producer and DJ signed to Electric Friends Music, who released his latest single, the sensual yet ebullient “Obsession.” Centered around shimmering synth arpeggios, thumping beats, an enormous, anthemic hook and plaintive vocals. “Obsession” captures the swooning and euphoric pangs of new love, when you want to spend every single moment just around your love interest. It’s a certifiable banger that features elements of classic house but with a slick modern production sheen.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Born to Welsh and Polish parents in Stoke-On-Trent, the rising British singer/songwriter and guitarist Benjamin Belinska relocated to Newcastle when he turned 17. He didn’t settle in Newcastle for very long; eventually he drifted around Europe, spending stints in Glasgow, Berlin, and Paris, supporting himself through a series of menial jobs, ranging from museum cleaner to estate gardener. During that period. he wrote music on borrowed guitars and stolen notebooks, garnering praise from the French press and the BBC along the way.

While in Paris, Belinska met E.A.R. and the duo started the band Paris, Texas, which released two Kramer-produced albums before deciding to relocate to Newcastle together. Two things happened to Belinksa, which may have altered the course of his life:

“Rushing to get a connection, I left a suitcase in York station. It was never recovered. Most of the early songs disappeared,” Belinska says in press notes. “Some months later, I was walking from home work and was randomly assaulted by a gang of four in broad daylight. During the recovery, I decided to stop drifting once and for all. As a first gesture, I would record a new album.”

The new album Belinska recorded, his solo, full-length debut Lost Illusions was released earlier this year, and the album’s first single, the Palace Winter-like “Young in Baltimore” reveals a songwriter, who can pair breezy and shimmering radio friendly soft rock, earnest, lived-in songwriting and an unerring knack for crafting an infectious, pop-leaning hook. But underneath the song’s breezy radio friendliness, is an achingly bittersweet lament evoking the inevitable and unstoppable passage of time, of nostalgia for seemingly simpler times, the uneasy compromises that every adult has to make and live with, the forced upon conformity to make a living and survive.

“The song is about regret, nostalgia and conformity,” Belinska said in an email. “It was inspired by Robert Frank’s photo-book The Americans and The Magnetic Fields. I played and recorded it myself and it was mixed and mastered by Giles Barrett and Simon Trought at Soup Studio, London.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Flem Teams Up with Vieux Farka Touré and Amy D on an Urgent and Empathetic Look at the Plight of Refugees

Earlier this year, I wrote about Flem, a rising French emcee, who has developed a reputation for his fluid flows and conscious themes. And as a result, the rising French emcee has become a go-to collaborator, working with an eclectic array of artists including Sages Poètes de la Rue’s DanyDan, Assassin‘s DJ Duke, La MC Malcriado‘s Izé Bosineau and Aethority‘s Mattias Mimoun and a growing list of others.

His latest album Nomades, which was released digitally last month and sees a physical release this month finds the rising French artist collaborating with internationally acclaimed Malian singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Vieux Farka Touré. The duo can trace their friendship and this collaboration back over a decade to repeatedly crossing paths at a series of festivals in Paris and Timbuktu.

Some time ago, the pair were performing in Niafunké, Mali, a stronghold of the Touré family,. when Flem along with a small group of Westerners were quickly evacuated to Bamako, Mail, narrowly escaping an attack. This strengthened the pair’s friendship and reinforced the need for them to create a new project that was much more urgent, conscious and militant than they had done individually.

Over the better part of the past decade, Mali has been split apart by a bloody civil war between different warring religious and ethnic factions, undermined by unbalanced international relationships, rampant corruption and terrorism. Nomades touches upon the historical and cultural link between Europe and Africa, the ethnic conflicts that have been used and exploited by foreign countries, who have economic interests across the continent, the emigration of African youth for a better way of life anywhere they can, monetary independence, freedom, love and hope and so on.

Album single “Mali,” was a love song to the country and its people, centered around a longing for much simpler days — while being one of the best examples of the album’s overall sound and approach: Touré’s looping, shimmering and expressive guitar, gently padded percussion and Touré’s lilting voice are paired with an infectious hook and Flem’s fiery lyrics, which touch upon his love of Mali, its food and its people, while praying for an end to war, racism, colonial oppression and more.

Centered around a looping and shimmering guitar line, brief blasts of soaring organ, Toure’s lilting vocals and Amy D.’s ethereal vocals singing lyrics in their regional dialects paired with Flem’s rhyming in a dexterous and tongue twisting French, Nomades’ latests single, album title track “Nomades” is a loving and empathetic look at those brave and desperate souls, who are forced to pick up their belongings and their lives are cross international borders however they can. Yes, the song is a call for all of us to be more empathetic to the plight of others, especially refugees — but it’s also an equally urgent call for peace across Mali and elsewhere.

Directed by Mike Jan, the recently released, cinematically shot video for “Nomades” follows a teenaged boy as he makes his way across Mail — first by boat and then by a mule. As we follow this boy, we get an intimate view of daily life in the country: yes, many are poor but they have their dignity, their small joys and pleasures. And from what we can tell through the boy’s journey and his various transactions, the people he encounters are kind and helpful.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Psymon Spine Teams Up with MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden on a Glittery Club Banger

Rapidly rising Brooklyn-based psych pop/dance pop act Psymon Spine can trace its origins to when founding duo Noah Prebish and Peter Spears met while attending college. Bonding over mutual influences and common artistic aims, the duo went off to tour Europe with Prebish’s electronic act Karate. While in Paris, Spears and Prebish wrote their first song together and when they got to London, they were offered a record deal.

Upon returning to the states, Spears recruited Micheal “Brother Micheal” Rudinski and their Karate bandmates Devon Kilbern, Nathaniel Coffey to the band — and with that lineup they fleshed out the demos, which would eventually become their full-length debut, 2017’s You Are Coming to My Birthday. The members of the rising Brooklyn-based act then supported the album with immersive art and dance parties through their Secret Friend series across Brooklyn, as well as relentless touring.

Simultaneously, Prebish’s work with rising Brooklyn-based dream pop act Barrie began to receive quite a bit of attention across the blogosphere and elsewhere with a handful of buzz-worthy singles and their critically applauded full-length debut, last year’s Happy to Be Here. Interestingly, this led Prebish to meet his Barrie bandmate, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sabine Holler, who then joined Psymon Spine.

“Milk,” a collaboration with their former bandmate Barrie was the first bit of new material by the Brooklyn-based act inn three years — and it’s the first recorded output with their newest member Sabine Holler. Since the single’s release, it has received airplay on BBC Radio 6 and earned praise from a number of media outlets including Vanyaland, High Clouds, Echowave Magazine, The Revue, Hype Machine and a list of others. The track also landed on a number of YouTube channels including David Dean Burkhart‘s. Nice Guys‘ and Birp.fm, as well as Spotify playlists like Undercurrents, All New Indie and Fresh Finds. Additionally, Apple Music’s Matt Wilkinson featured the track. None of this should be surprising: the track sonically recalls In Ghost Colours-era Cut Copy and Soft Metals‘ Lenses –but with a mischievously coquettish air that makes it a club friendly banger.

The Andrew VanWyngarden-produced and cowritten “Modmed” is a glittering and strutting disco-tinged track, centered around wobbling low end, glistening synth arpeggios and a sinuous bass line and a soaring hook. While drawing from 80s New Wave and classic house music, the track interestingly enough, is deceptively and ironically upbeat: the track actually captures the ambivalent and confusing mix of frustration, doubt and relief of a relationship that’s finally come to a conclusion. In particular, the song actually describes Prebish’s and Holler’s decision to leave Barrie and focus on Psymon Spine full-time.

“Psymon Spine invited me into the studio one winter’s day and we had a fun and funky time ripping Juno basslines and dialing in lush tones,” Andrew VanWyngarden recalls in press notes. “I like that their dj and record digging knowledge comes through distinctly on this track.”

Directed by the band and edited by Noah Prebish, the recently released video for “Modmed” is a delirious and playful lo-fi visual in which we see the members of the band goofing off and rocking out to the song in a variety of situations. This is split with footage of the members of the band actually performing the song. It’s all run through trippy filters and VHS-styled graininess, which also helps enhance the track’s retro-futuristic vibe.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of Out in the Dark, the Israeli-born, Paris-based psych rock singer/songwriter and producer MAGON quickly established a unique sound, which he has described as urban rock on psychedelics. Over the course of this past year, I wrote about two of the album’s released singles — the incredibly self-aware and introspective,  The Strokes-like “My Reflection” and the David Bowie and T. Rex-like “Same House.”

The Israeli-born, Paris-based singer/songwriter and producer’s latest single “Change” is the first bit of new material since the release of Out in the Dark, and the track is a shimmering and lo-fi bit of psych pop with a subtle nod at glam rock — with the song being centered around shimmering strummed guitar, narcotic drumming, MAGON’s droll, ironically detached vocals and trippy reverb and other fluttering percussion. But at its core, the song is a dreamy meditation on the passing of time, inspired by a year, which saw a number of sea changes in his personal life.

Video by William Ruben Helms

Live Footage: Juana Molina Performs “Eras” at NRML Festival

Throughout the course of this site’s 10-plus year history, I’ve managed to spill quite a bit of virtual ink covering the Buenos Aires-born and based singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, actress and JOVM mainstay Juana Molina. Molina, who is the daughter of acclaimed of tango vocalist Horacio Molina and beloved actress Chunchuna Villafane, has led a rather interesting couple of lives. Much of her music career can be traced back to growing up in a intensely musical home: when she was five, her father taught her guitar and her mother introduced a young Molina to the family’s extensive record collection.

After the military coup of 1976, Molina’s family fled Argentina and lived in exile in Paris for several years. During her time in France, Molina’s musical tastes were vastly expanded by regularly listening to a number of French radio stations known for programs that spun music from all over the globe. Her family returned to Argentina, when she was in her early 20s. Much like countless young women across the globe, Molina was determined to be financially independent. Her initial aspirations were to earn some decent money for a few hours of work a day,. while allowing her enough time to write songs, record them and even play live shows.

Molina had a talent for imitations and impressions and while looking for a gig, she auditioned for a local TV program. She impressed the casting director with her talent, and she got hired on the spot. The Buenos Aires-born and-based JOVM mainstay quickly became one of Argentina’s most popular comedic actors. Within a few years of that early addiction, Molina starred in her own smash-hit show, Juana y sus hermanas, a Carol Burnett-like variety show, in which she created a number of beloved characters. (The show was so successful that it was syndicated across the region.) When Molina was pregnant, her show was on hiatus and with a lot of free time on her hands, she found herself reflecting on her life and her rapid rise to stardom. Despite the success she attained, Molina had the nagging thought that she really wasn’t doing what she really wanted to do. So she quit acting and started to focus on music.

Her decision to quit her successful and wildly popular show was one that many Argentines bitterly held against her for a number of years. True story here: her full-length debut 1996’s Rara was critically panned by a number of journalists, who openly resented her career change. Initially fans of Juana y sus hermanas would show up to her gigs, expecting her to pay homage to the show but they couldn’t quite understand her new “folk singer character” that sung very strange songs without obvious jokes. Feeling dejected and misunderstood by the criticism and demands on her, but still wanting to continue with music, Molina relocated to Los Angeles. Not only was her work much better received, while in L.A., she began experimenting and familiarizing herself with electronics and electronic sounds. 2002’s Tres Cosas was the Argentine artist’s international breakthrough: the album was championed by David Byrne, Will Oldham, and others and landed on The New York Times‘ Top Ten Records list.

2017’s Halo continued Molina’s long-held reputation for restless experimentation — and for being one of South America’s most innovative and uncompromising artists. But interestingly enough, last year’s Forfun EP was an exuberant and decided sonic change in direction, inspired by desperate necessity: the JOVM mainstay and her backing band were forced to play a set at a major festival without most of their electronic gear — because their airline lost their luggage. The EP’s material is centered around a wild, punk rock-like ethos and spirit.

Much like countless artists around the world, Molina was actually in the middle of a tour, playing festival dates when the pandemic stopped everything in its tracks. Interestingly enough, one of Molina’s last tour dates was festival set at Mexico’s NRML Festival. That set, which featured rearranged and re-imagined renditions of material off Halo, Wed 21, Un día and Forfun EP was recorded — and will be released as a live album ANRML, which Crammed Discs will put out on October 23, 2020.

Obviously, the live album will serve as a powerful reminder of what life was before the pandemic — but there’s also the hope of what will come out on the other side. We must continue to have hope that we’ll be able to enjoy each other like we once were; that we’ll be able to go to concerts to sing, dance, sweat and escape our worlds for a little bit; that we’ll have the bliss and freedom of strobe light and dance floors; of welcoming smiles from locals when you’re a stranger in a strange land; of new love and of so much more. We must continue to have hope that on the other side of this, we’ll make a better world for all of us.

The live album’s first single is a kicking and stomping version of one of my favorite Juana Molina songs “Eras.” And from the live recording, you can envision yourself dancing and howling with joy with a bunch of newfound friends. There are few things in our morally bankrupt world as transcendent as seeing someone’s face light up when their favorite artist in the entire universe plays their favorite song. I miss that in ways that I can’t even begin to describe. One day, I hope. One day.

World Music by William Ruben Helms

Lyric Video: Paris’ MiM Teams Up with Selma and Jaw on a SLick and Modern Take on Samba

Emilien Bernaux, a.k.a. MiM is a Paris-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer and founder of Lafayette Street Studio. Berneaux can trace the origins of his music career back to his childhood: at a young age, he had classical training in guitar and piano. The Parisian multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer and producer’s first foray into electronic music was he joined drum ‘n’ bass collective UNC Audio.

Back in 2011, Bernaux made his national debut on Canal+ when he sang several songs including the credits for the TV series Bref. That same year, he co-foundend Pour Ma Paire De Jordans (PMPDJ) alongside Entek and Gress. And continuing on a productive period, Bernaux started ongoing collaborations with a diverse array of artists including Disiz, Tito Prince, Set&Match, Fils du calvaire’s and DOP’s Jaw and Laetitia Dana among others. Additionally, he has collaborated with his PMPDJ bandmate Entek in the side project MiM & Entek, which released their debut EP through Château Brouillard.

In 2013, the Parisian multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer founded Lafayette Street Studio, his creative home base. The year after founding the studio, he cofounded the Première Fois party, an event which mixed comedy and music — and this was done while taking on production duties for Mister V’s 2018 platinum selling album Double V.

Further cementing his growing reputation for being incredibly prolific, Bernaux released his solo debut EP 2015’s Saṃsāra while production Anna Kova’s EP diptych Pigments and Pixels. And by 2017, he had started composing movie for motion pictures, beginning with Benoit Forgead’s Yves, which earned the Directors’ Fortnight selection at Cannes Film Festival. Since then, he has continued to work in film, TV and commercials working on the scores for several Valentin Petit films, including Anthophobia, Portrait of Rafael Delande, Forests of symbols and The noise of light, as well for ad campaigns and TV shows.

Last year, he collaborated with Disiz la Peste, Fianso, Tito Prince, Youssoupha, Alina Pash, Kader Diaby 4REAL and Charles-Baptiste. Interestingly, throughout his career, Bernaux has developed a reputation for being both eclectic and versatile, with his work drawing from hip-hop, dubstep, grime, trap and trip-hop.

Earlier this year, MiM began working on his latest effort Cycle, which features collaborations with Nathan Daisy, José Reis Fontāo and actor Alice David. The effort’s latest single “Samba Do Gringo” is a breezy and modern take on Bossa nova and samba.. Centered around looped shimmering guitar samples and trap-like beats, the track features JAW’s mournful, mostly English versus focusing on a cold-blooded woman, who has done him and his heart incredibly dirty paired with Selma’s ethereal and plaintive vocals effortlessly switching between Portuguese and English. And under the slick production is an age-old tale of a meet-cute that has turned embittering and heartbreaking — with an infectious hook.