Filles Sourires

Fragile girls. Singing In French. Making Me Sigh. Any questions?

vendredi, mai 23, 2008

Isabelle Boulay


Green-eyed redhead Isabelle Boulay falls in the same category as Lara Fabian and Natasha St.Pier - shifting way too much in the Celine Dion direction (see exhibit A). That's why I almost never posted about said women. That is, unless a certain mr. Biolay comes into play. Benjamin wrote for Boulay before, for her most recent album he contributed (and played almost every instrument, as I understand it) the grand Ne Me Dis Pas Qu'il Faut Sourire - a title that's perfect for this blog, ofcourse. On Nos Lendemains, Isa also sings songs by Maxime Le Forestier, J-L Murat and Ron Sexsmith. Her cover version of the wonderful L'Appuntamento by Ornella Vanoni (clip) is a big mistake.

Isabelle Boulay - Ne Me Dis Pas Qu'il Faut Sourire

mercredi, mai 21, 2008

Barbara Carlotti interviewed by Guuzbourg

Loane


I sang the praise of Loane before, now the hot-lipped singer released her first album, Jamais Seule. And it lives up to the expectations. If the Berry album was a tad too fragile for you, if you liked the recent Brisa Roché album but missed the French songs, if you're into Emily Loizeau and liked the Claudine Muno-mp3s, then Loane is your girl. The album has tender ballads and country-ish, catchy uptempo popsongs. Helping hands were lend by Fabrice Dumont (Télépopmusik) and Frédéric Fortuny (Brisa Roché, Autour de Lucie). Like frequent visiteur Maks once said: it looks like a good year for the filles.

Loane - Ce Que J'ai Connu
Loane - Jamais Seule (clip)

lundi, mai 19, 2008

Giveaway, Camille live

Like I said before, I have one copy of the Berry album to give away. Now I add a copy of the new Camille album. Want one? Just write a guestpost (100-200 wrds) on your favourite French song, sung by a girl. Old, new, known, unknown, don't matter. Mail to Guuzbourg@gmail.com. State which album you want.

A propos Camille, I attended her concert at the Royal Circus in Bruxelles last Friday. If you're a Camille-fan but think Music Hole is a so-so album, go see her live. It all falls into place. You will see no instruments on stage, bar a piano. You will groove to the phat phunky beatbox-grooves of Ezra and Saïan Supa Crew's Sly. You'll laugh at the four backgroundsingers, how they (tap)dance, swing, sway and make unearthly sounds. You'll be amazed at the concentration level of all singers - it looks so loosely knit, but they need to be very focussed for else it ends up a mess. And you will fall deeply in love with the orange-clad Camille. Her larynx is the organic equivalent of a guitar player's array of effect pedals. She removes her bra when challenged. She makes the public bark like a dog, or meow like a cat. When she says she's hungry because she only eats organic food, someone throws her a banana. She eats it (after making a beat on how long it will take), then tries to make one of her singers slip on the bananaskin.
All songs of Music Hole were played, you'll notice what a versatile, at times bone-chillingly beautiful album it is. She also plays Ta Douleur, Au Port and Pale Septembre, and if you're in a venue like the Royal Circus, you will notice how hard the public sings along. Camille is a star, that's for sure.
Two other great moments: the great Dead Kennedys cover (Camille sang Too Drunk to Fuck as part of Nouvelle Vague, as you know), and the third (!) encore: Paris. A song from her debut-album, sung with the whole ensemble on the front of the stage with no (!!) microphones.

Bobbejaan & Geike



Bobbejaan Schoepen is the Roy Rogers of the Lowlands. He has his own themepark, recorded a shitload of albums. made movies and at 83 he beat cancer and aneurysms in the brain. What a guy. This song is from his new album, that also features a duet with Axelle Red. Geike Arnaert's dayjob is singing with Hooverphonic.

Bobbejaan Schoepen & Geike Arnaert - Le Temps des Cerises
EXTRA:
Bobbejaan Schoepen & Axelle Red - Je me suis souvent demandé

jeudi, mai 15, 2008

Amoureux Solitaires (2)


As promised here, I got a few (ten) Amoureux Solitaires coverversions to share. Not including the version by Kaptiv, that I posted before. Thanks to Franss, who found the most reprises, I bring you mostly electronic versions, a few with hard rocking guitars and one with a fille fragile. You'll never love alone again!

Ludwig von 88 - Amoureux Solitaires
Les Breastfeeders - Amoureux Solitaires
Celluloide - Amoureux Solitaires
John Lenine Band - Amoureux Solitaires
MacDonald Duck Eclair - Amoureux Solitaires
La Prohibida - Amoureux Solitaires
Vacaciones - Amoureux Solitaires
The Electronic Tomato - Amoureux Solitaires
The Electronic Tomato - Amoureux Solitaires (remix)
Jenny Goes Dirty - Amoureux Solitaires

mercredi, mai 14, 2008

Leine vs Biolay


Finally, a real Dutch fille fragile. Leine (real name Marjoleine), a singer-songwriter who's heard comparisons like 'Ane Brun meets Feist meets Corinne Bailey Rae meets Emiliana Torrini meets Joni Mitchell meets Fay Lovsky meets Mathilde Santing'. She mostly sings in English, but on her debut-ep (from 2006, and I just heard about it, dammit!) she does a wonderful bossa-fied reprise of one of my favourite Biolay-songs, La Pénombre des Pays-Bas. She cut out a big chuck of the lyrics, but kept the sweet longing that's in the song.
Leine got to know Biolay via a friend, who pressed her to listen to the French prince of dark thoughts. At the time, she was working on a song that she felt needed French lyrics. When she heard Pénombre, all fell into place. She's not a big fan of BB, nowadays she's more into Camille. Wonder if Leine can bark like a dog the way Camille can. Or is she more like a pussycat?

Leine - La Pénombre des Pays-Bas
Benjamin Biolay - La Pénombre des Pays-Bas
By the way: Ben has a new single out, a remixed version of Rendez-vous Qui Sait. See video here.
Benjamin Biolay - Rendez-vous Qui Sait

mardi, mai 13, 2008

Amoureux Solitaires


Last year, we had Julien Doré covering Alizée's Moi...Lolita. 2008 brings us Arman Melies re-doing Lio's eighties-bubblegum classic Amoureux Solitaires. He gave the very danceable tune a gloomy, Depeche Mode-ish disguise. Love it! I've posted other versions before, including the original by Stinky Toys. But there are more. I will get to them later (contributions are welcomed), but first here's the original, and Arman's reprise.

Lio - Amoureux Solitaires (video)
Arman Melies - Amoureux Solitaires

In other news: I have one give-away copy of Berry's Mademoiselle-album. You want it? You know what to do: write a guestpost on your favourite French song (sung by a girl), email it to guuzbourg(a)gmail.com and the nicest contribution gets the freebee.

vendredi, mai 09, 2008

Nôze


Before we leave for a long weekend in the country, I leave you with a fabulous dancetune by hipster Parisian dance-twosome Nôze, featuring sexy vocal help by none other than Dani Siciliano - hope this tune will give her the idea to make a full album in French.

Nôze + Dani Siciliano - Danse Avec Moi

Sunchild



The weather outside is scorchio. So be like Anne Marie David, be a child of the sun!
Anne Marie David - Je suis l'enfant soleil
 
Guuzbourg's Last.fm Weekly Artists Chart