FME announces the venue showcase lineups for the 2025 edition.
Tag: Paris France
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.
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.
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.
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 . . .
New Video: Thaïs Shares a Club Friendly Bop
Rising Paris-born, Montréal-based singer/songwriter and JOVM mainstay Thaïs specializes in an atmospheric and delicate pop sound, which compliments her ethereal delivery. Thematically, her work typically focuses on melancholy, loneliness and dysfunctional, confusing, heartbreaking love.
Now, if you’ve been frequenting this site over the past handful of years, you may recall that 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.
Since then the French Canadian artist has had busy couple of years: She has expanded upon her growing profile, opening for KYO, M, Arianne Moffatt, Dumas and Suzane while working on her Blaise Borboën and Thaïs co-produced sophomore album Personne. The album also features contributions from La Faune’s multi-instrumentalist Jay Essiambre and bassist Émile Farley.
Slated for an April 4, 2025 release, the rising JOVM mainstay’s sophomore album will reportedly be “extroverted music for introverts” — energetic tracks that lead towards self-affirmation while allowing listeners to delve deeper into her universe.
Personne’s fourth single “Taxi” is a slickly produced, dance floor friendly bop that sounds as though it were inspired by Robyn. And while arguably being the most club ready songs of her growing catalog, the song is anchored by her penchant for pairing introspective lyrics with remarkably catchy hooks. The song’s narrator is on her way back from a night out, sitting in the backseat of the titular taxi, when she’s caught the ghost of a past relationship — through a favorite song or a passing by a place that reminds of her this past lover or something along those lines.
Directed by Alexis Boudrias, the accompanying video introduces us to a bruised and battered Thaïs waking up from some sort of accident and then performing the song in a bare studio. We also see the rising French-Canadian heading to a party and when she arrives, quickly realizes that she doesn’t belong. She makes an attempt to leave and winds up in the studio, where she presumably feels more like herself.
New Audio: Paris Duo La Punta Bianca Shares Eerily Dreamy Single
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. The EP saw the duo firmly cementing their sound: Diprima and Brown’s dreamy melodies are paired with equally dreamy synth-based soundscapes.
Initially released on cassette tape, the EP was then pressed on vinyl twice. The EP’s success in the synthwave scene enabled the duo to tour across France and the European Union.
The Parisian duo’s highly-anticipated and long-awaited full-length debut, Disquiet is slated for a March 18, 2025 release through Detriti Records. The album, which continues a run of material rooted in absurdist romanticism and Lynchian strangeness, sees the pair 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.
Disquiet‘s first single “Extanimal,” is a dream-like song featuring twinkling synth arpeggios, Casio synthesizer-like beats as a lush yet atmospheric bed for Diprima and Brown’s eerily uncanny boy-girl harmonies. The result is a song that reminds me quite a bit of Young Narrator from the Breakers-era Pavo Pavo — but with a nouveau vague sensibility.
New Audio: Gabriella Lima Shares a Quiet Storm-like Bit of Samba
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. Back in 2022, I wrote about album closing track, “Samba de l’amour,” a breezy song featuring twinkling keys, fluttering synths, strummed acoustic guitar and gently swaying samba rhythms paired with Lima’s gorgeous vocal singing bittersweet lyrics in French and Brazilian Portuguese detailing love gained and quickly lost.
Lima’s latest single “Meu Lugar” is 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.
She explains that the song’s lyrics talk about a deep emotional delivery and the transformation of an intense and true relationship.
New Audio: Dabinski Shares Summery “Umama”
Sacha Dabinski is a Paris-based DJ and producer, best known as Dabinski. Inspired by Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Pablo Fierro, Sparrow & Barbossa and more, the Parisian DJ and producer’s work transports listeners to sun-drenched locales that feature bright, soulful vocals, rhythmic percussion and a blend of organic and electronic instruments to create a rich, immersive experience. His work is meant to evoke the sensation of being on a vacation, of experiencing a delightful respite from the mundanity of the everyday, filled with sunshine and joy.
The Parisian DJ and producer closes out 2024 with “Umama,” a collaboration with Nadrums and Neyl continues a run of ebullient and summery, Afrobeats-inspired house music featuring glistening synth arpeggios, skittering Caribbean-like drumming, a bluesy guitar solo, and a soulful vocal paired with wildly catchy hooks. It’s a fun, summery tune that’s simultaneously club and lounge friendly.
New Video: Plumes Shares Broodingly Cinematic “Jeanne’s Visions”
Veronica Charnley is an acclaimed Montréal-born Paris-based singer/songwriter and guitarist, who is best known as the creative mastermind behind Plumes, her solo recording project that sees her drawing from contemporary pop and classical music.
Charnley’s fourth Plumes album, Many Moons Away is slated for a Friday release. The soon-to-be released album’s second and latest single “Jeanne’s Visions” is a broodingly cinematic track featuring strummed and plucked guitar, a soaring string arrangement paired with the Montréal-born, Paris-based artist’s ethereal delivery. While sonically nodding at Dark Side of the Moon-era Pink Floyd and country, the song is inspired by the story of Joan of Arc, who one afternoon while in her garden, first perceived voices, intertwined with church bells, guiding her to her calling, Charnley explains. She adds that “the arrangement uses harmonics in the guitar and viola, giving that otherworldly sound and the rhythm in the guitar during the verses is reminiscent of Jeanne’s trotting horse as she heads for battle.”
The accompanying video for “Jeanne’s Visions” features the acclaimed artist in a garden on a sun-dappled day, much like one Joan of Arc had her vision.
New Audio: Pythies Return with PJ Harvey-like “I Pythie You”
Emerging Paris-based punk outfit Pythies — founding member Lise L. (vocals) with Thérèse La Garce (guitar) and Anna B. Void (drums) — was formed by Lise L. in late 2022 with the intent of starting an all-woman band. In early 2023, Lise L. met Thérèse La Garce and Anna B. Void through social media. The trio felt a very strong simpatico, rooted in the meshing of three distinct and strong personalities, and from that point on, the band’s lineup was solidified.
The trio’s debut EP Disillusion was released last month. The EP featured “Toy,” a track that saw the French outfit further cementing a sound indebted to riot grrl-era punk and grunge, featuring fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming and enormous hooks and choruses placed within the classic grunge song structure.
Disillusion’s second and latest single “I Pythie You” is a grunge and riot grrl-inspired ripper that reminds me a bit of early PJ Harvey, The Breeders and Hole anchored around Lise L. feral delivery. “I Pythie You” is the sort of song I can picture a crowd of sweaty young people bouncing around to in a dark and dank little club somewhere. As the band explains, the song is about a place in Paris, where people rot and become shadows of themselves.
New Audio: A.K.A. Returns with a Wide-Screen, Club Friendly Banger
Paris-based sibling production and DJ duo Audio Key Architects (A.K.A) is driven by a deep and abiding passion for electronic music and techno. The siblings’ collaborative project is guided by a shared vision of sharing what they love to create and listen to with the rest of the world.
Clocking in at seven-and-half-minutes, the French sibling duo’s latest single, “Star Lord” manages to be simultaneously cinematic and club friendly, with the song being anchored around dense layers of glistening and arpeggiated synths, tweeter and woofer rattling thump and some mind-bending melodicism. Sonically bringing Magic Sword, Giorgio Moroder, The Chemical Brothers and a lengthy list of others to mind, “Star Lord” reveals a duo that’s boldly pushing their sound in dynamic, new directions.
New Audio: Paris’ Dabinski Shares Ebullient and Summery “Meyeh”
Sacha Dabinski is a Paris-based DJ and producer, best known as Dabinski. Inspired by Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez, Pablo Fierro, Sparrow & Barbossa and more, the Parisian DJ and producer’s work transports listeners to sun-drenched locales that feature bright, soulful vocals, rhythmic percussion and a blend of organic and electronic instruments to create a rich, immersive experience. His work is meant to evoke the sensation of being on a vacation, of experiencing a delightful respite from the mundanity of the everyday, filled with sunshine and joy.
The Parisian DJ and producer’s latest single “Meyeh” is an ebullient, Afro-Caribbean take on house music that features a looping guitar line, shuffling riddims, a strutting bass line, a bright horn line and a soulful call-and-response-like vocal paired with an incredibly catchy hook. With the nights getting cooler, it’s a reminder of sultry summer afternoons and nights at block parties, rooftop parties, barbecues and parades.
New Video: Paris’ Pythies Return with Furious “Toy”
Emerging Paris-based punk outfit Pythies — founding member Lise L. (vocals) with Thérèse La Garce (guitar) and Anna B. Void (drums) — was formed by Lise L. in late 2022 with the intent of starting an all-woman band, inspired and informed by riot grrl and grunge bands like L7, 7 Year Bitch, Babes in Toyland, Hole and her interest in witchcraft. In early 2023, Lise L. met Thérèse La Garce and Anna B. Void through social media. The trio felt a very strong simpatico, rooted in the meshing of three distinct and strong personalities, and from that point on, the band’s lineup was solidified.
Their work frequently references Delphi oracles and resistance against the patriarchy while sonically being indebted to riot grrl grunge and punk.
Now if you were frequenting this site earlier this year, you might remember that I wrote about the French punks third single “Eclipse,” a swaggering, remarkably self-assured and polished ripper with rousingly anthemic choruses and hooks. The result sonically feels like a slick and very modern take on a familiar and beloved sound. Written around the lunar eclipse last October, “Eclipse” reveals a young band that already possesses an uncanny knack for catchy hooks.
The French trio’s fourth single “Toy” is also the first single off their forthcoming EP Disillusion, which is slated for a September release. “Toy” sees the band further cementing a sound and approach inspired and indebted to riot grrl punk and grunge, anchored around fuzzy power chords, thunderous drumming, enormous hooks and choruses placed in the classic, alternating quiet, loud, quiet grunge song structure.
Written by the band’s Lise L, “Toy” ix about a friendship that has been ruined by constant objectification and sexualization — typically by a male friend. And fittingly, the song is written from the perspective of frustration, disgust and confusion.
Written, directed and edited by Éric Parois, the accompanying video for “Toy” is a Reservoir Dogs-era Tarantino-inspired visual that sees the trio, drugging and kidnapping a man they met at a pool.
New Video: Remy Bond Shares Lush, Mesmerizing “Summer Song”
Remy Bond is a 19 year-old, New York-based singer/songwriter, who spent much of her childhood living out her own version of Just Kids: She grew up at the renowned Chelsea Hotel, surrounded by music. Her obsession with the silver screen, and the washed up beauty of places like Atlantic City and Las Vegas add a nostalgic undertone to her lyrics.
Bond’s work sees her combing modern elements with her deep rooted love of the past — specifically Golden Age Hollywood — where she often retreats to write, which creates an anachronistic nostalgia, while exploring what it’s like to be a young woman — right now.
The rising young singer/songwriter’s latest single, the Jules Apollinaire co-produced, Air co-written “Summer Song” is a lush and narcoleptic bit of nostalgia-inducing bit of dream pop anchored by Bond’s silky delivery, glistening keys, twinkling synths. Written in Paris, recorded in London and finished in Los Angeles, the song specifically evokes the long bygone era of 60s glamor — but with decidedly modern sensibility that reminds me of Pavo Pavo.
“It’s very much an American song lyrically, reminiscing on the essence of the late 60s and early 70s,” Bond explains. “I have endless love for Sharon Tate & the American sweethearts of the time, but I didn’t want it to be so super apple pie, so I reached out to AIR, which bought in rich new elements and sounds, as well as my British producers, who really brought a seasoned perspective to the project.”
Directed by 16 year-old Jagger Blue, produced by Olivia Violet, and a cast of high schoolers recruited by Bond, the video is spot-on ode to the imagery and vibe of Valley of the Dolls, The Virgin Suicides and Hairspray that opens with Bond leaving her fiancé at the altar for another man.