This article was first published
on CLUAS in December 2006

French Letter: Best French Music of 2006

Aidan on France's most prestigious contemporary music honour...

Aidan Curran, a CLUAS writer since 2004, is now based in Paris from where he files the 'French Letter' column

In China (and our Beijing Beat colleague might check this for us) apparently they curse you with "may you live in interesting times". Here in France in 2006, times are very interesting - and you wouldn't miss it for the world. The country has been shaken by protests, adrenalised and then traumatised by the World Cup, smitten by Ségolène... and the soundtrack has been fantastic.

France music Back in March there were the (quintessentially French) street protests - universities were shut down, riot police were on every corner and genuine social upheaval seemed imminent or at least possible. It all eventually passed like a summer shower. The anthem of those turbulent days was "La Boulette" by a tomboyish rapper called Diam's, whose real legacy may not be social change but popularising the chav tracksuit in France.

The unlikely adventure of the French football team (at Ireland's expense) ended in ignominious defeat for Zinedine Zidane and his équipe, but Zizou may take consolation from having inspired two of the biggest chart/ringtone hits of the summer. Before the tournament, radios and cellphones both rang to the Carribean yé-yé sound of "Zidane, il va marquer" ("Zidane's gonna score"). After France's idol was outwitted by that Napoleon of crime Marco Materazzi (deviously using the old "Your ma!" trick the rest of us stopped falling for at age ten), the tune was reworked as "Zidane, il l'a frappé" ("Zidane hit him"). So France won after all, you see.

Steering away from music-as-sociology for a minute, there has been loads of brilliant French music this year. However, very few French people know about it. That is to say, alternative music is still a minority interest here, which means that your correspondent spends much of his time annoying his friends with "What? You haven't heard of Phoenix/Vanessa and the O's/Emily Loizeau...?" and so on. So, as much for them as for you, here's the French Letter 2006 Playlist - our ten recommended tunes of deux mille six for you to check out via internet, most in English but all brilliant and all très French:

1. Vanessa and the O's: 'Bagatelle' (from the album 'La Ballade d'O')

Dreamy Velvet Underground-style guitar pop from a Nico-esque French chanteuse who teamed up with none other than James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins. Warning: the ridiculously catchy chorus of 'Bagatelle' is the best kind of earworm - you'll be singing it for years to come. More info here.

2. Cassius: 'Toop Toop' (from the album '15 Again')

Cassius 'Toop toop' For their tardy follow-up to '1999' the erstwhile house duo went all R n' B-lite (even roping in Pharrell Williams for a guest spot) but the slashing guitars of this electrifying single sound like the Arctic Monkeys. Really!More info here.

3. Emily Loizeau: 'Je Suis Jalouse' (from the album 'L'Autre Bout Du Monde')

A playfully cynical ode to jealousy by this Anglo-French piano-playing singer, from a truly marvellous debut album of fearlessly simple, unashamedly melodic cabaret pop that Regina Spektor fans will appreciate. More info here.

4. Emilie Simon: 'Fleur De Saison' (from the album 'Végétal')

The 'French Bjork' she's called by some, but this arse-kicking rock-out gives that the lie. In fact, it's the first great French-language rock song your correspondent has ever heard. Strangely enough, it comes from a lovely electro-pop concept album about that old songwriting theme, plant life. More info here.

5. Plastiscine: 'Twist Around The Fire' (from the compilation 'Paris Calling')

Four photogenic French girls with a neat line in jangly US college pop, the pick of the self-styled 'Paris Calling' wave of new young English-singing guitar bands.
More info here.

6. Superbus: 'Butterfly' (from the album 'Wow')

Brilliant Blondie-esque disco-pop from an otherwise No Doubt-sounding band. Lead singer Jennifer Ayache even sounds like Gwen Stefani, and she's just as glamorous and sassy - a bona fide pop star waiting for the wider world to find her. More info here.

7. Phoenix: 'Long Distance Call' (from the album 'It's Never Been Like That')

Phoenix Okay, so they're probably not going to become world-famous, but their charmingly odd mix of melodic MOR and too-cool-for-school new wave is a perfect companion to the Peter Bjorn and John album. Go on, make 'em famous!
www.myspace.com/wearephoenix

8. Charlotte Gainsbourg: 'The Songs That We Sing' (from the album '5:55')

2006 was definitely Charlotte's year; only Madame Royal and Monsieur Zidane featured on more Paris posters and French magazine covers than Serge's girl. Outsourcing her album to Air and Jarvis (now a Paris resident too) was a masterstroke - the result, atmospheric nocturnal pop, sounds exactly how a Paris record should.
More info here.

9. One-Two: 'Pretty-Pretty' (from the album 'Love Again')

one-two Eccentric electro-pop duos are something of a Parisian speciality. These two guys and their catchy club-friendly tunes will comfortably see you through the wait for new material from Daft Punk and Air. Speaking of whom...
www.myspace.com/powerpopuptothetop

10. Darkel: (from the album 'Darkel')

Darkel ...it was a busy 2006 of side-projects for the Air-heads. Jean-Benoit Dunckel's likeable Kraftwerk-leaning solo album wasn't as dark as his nom de rock suggests - breathy romanticism set to bleeps and swooshes. Business as usual for Air, then, ahead of their new record in March 2007.
www.myspace.com/misterdarkel

Aidan Curran

Contact this column by email via frenchletter(at)cluas(dot)com

Other French Letter columns (from 2006 through to March 2007)

*St. Patrick's day 2007 & Irish music in France...*	Dateline: March 2007
March and Saint Patrick's Day, when the expat's thoughts turn home. But don't fear that the lavish CLUAS Foreign Correspondent Expense Account is being wasted on homesick yearning for Tayto Crisps, Barry's Tea and TG4 weathergirls. Not at all! Instead, we're taking the opportunity to see how Irish acts are getting on in France these days. And hurrah! They're getting on very well! Read the full article...
*Best French Music of 2006...*	Dateline: December 2006
In China apparently they curse you with "may you live in interesting times". Here in France in 2006, times are very interesting - and you wouldn't miss it for the world. The country has been shaken by protests, adrenalised and then traumatised by the World Cup, smitten by Ségolène... and the soundtrack has been fantastic. Read the full article...
*Prix Constantine: France's most prestigious contemporary music honour...*	Dateline: November 2006
France's most prestigious contemporary music honour, the Prix Constantin, was presented at a ceremony in the Olympia theatre in Paris on 15 November last. The prize, named in memory of a late French music industry talent-spotter, is awarded annually to an artist or group who has come to prominence during the year. The ceremony consisted of a concert featuring ten short-listed acts, before the announcement of the winner and successor to Camille, last year's laureate. Read the full article...
*La Rentrée 2006: what's stirring in the French music scene...*	Dateline: September 2006
‘September in France means ‘la rentrée’ (literally, ‘the return’), when everybody goes back to school, work and normal life after the whole country was practically shut down for the month of August. France’s pop stars are also packing away their beach towels and getting back to the studio and stage. Autumn 2006 will see a flurry of activity on the French music scene. Read the full article...
*The latest Parisian bands angling for indie stardom...*	Dateline: August 2006
‘Paris Calling’ is the name of a 2006 compilation album and a subsequent showcase gig in the French capital. As the Clash-alluding title suggests, the half-dozen or so bands involved see themselves as parishioners in the broad church of punk and new wave – and mass is in English. Photos are black-and-white, blurry and taken either in a crowded venue or against a blank wall. Read the full article...
*Phoenix ready to make it big?*	Dateline: July 2006
It's hard to concentrate on music at the moment when football, wonderful football, is demanding all your love and attention. The French rock scene, however, could soon have its own international champions before the end of the summer. Phoenix, from Versailles, have just released their third album "It's Never Been Like That" and big things are expected of them. Read the full article...
*Rap and its constructive role in French society.*	Dateline: May 2006
So far this year there have been high-profile clashes on the streets of Paris lately between police and students protesting at the centre-right government's controversial labour laws aimed at the 18-25 age bracket. Following weeks of strikes, protests, student sit-ins, streetfighting, burning cars and omnipresent riot-police, the proposed laws were eventually scrapped. Read the full article...
*The French success of Irishman Perry Blake.*	Dateline: April 2006
I braved the paddywagons around the Sorbonne last week to head to my favourite Parisian book- and record-store, Gibert Joseph halfway up the boulevard Saint Michel. There, I found a display for the new release by an Irish singer described on his album's promo sticker as 'le dernier dandy romantique' ('the last romantic dandy'). This wasn't the new Van Morrison record, then. Read the full article...
*Irish music, as understood by the French...*	Dateline: March 2006
So it's March again, the month when a certain green-tinted festival will be celebrated around the world by ex-pats and non-Pats alike. France too will join in the fun. Last year, posters plastered across every metro station in Paris were promoting a huge St Patrick's night concert at Bercy, the equivalent of The Point. The advertising featured a young red-haired dancer, Book-of-Kells typeface and a list of Celtic regions - Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, the Isle of Man... but not Ireland! Surely some mistake? Read the full article...
*Hallyday & Gainsbourg back in the news?*	Dateline: January 2006
Not to be confused with the Dublin-based cabaret singer of the same name, Camille and her album 'Le Fil' won the prestigious Prix Constantine for the most promising new act to emerge onto the French scene in 2005. Sounding both petulant and warm at once, this single is idiosyncratic and likeable. An approximate transcription of the backing vocal is 'splutter-groan-squeal-belch-fart'. Read the full article...
*Voulez-Vous Rocker Avec Moi? The French rock scene.*	Dateline: January 2006
As I sit on a terrasse sipping my café allongé and watching Parisian commuters scowl at tourists, I reflect on the many wonderful things about life in France – excellent food; streets alive with history and art; Juliette Binoche. Unfortunately, being the CLUAS correspondent in Paris involves listening to a lot of French alternative music – and French alternative music is quite dire. Read the full article...

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