This article was first published
on CLUAS in March 2007

French Letter: Irish Music in France this St. Patrick's Day

Aidan on St. Patick's day and Irish music in France...

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

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!

Some Irish artists will this month still be smarting from the recent revelation that the Choice Music Prize was in fact for Lifetime Achievement and not Best Album of the Year. Never mind. Duke Special (our favourite from the shortlist) can at least console himself with the positive reviews he's been getting in France for his fantastic "Songs From The Deep Forest".

Yes, Jacques le Frenchman is well smitten by Peter Wilson's woozy blend of soaring melodies and Belfast vowels (like a Broadway musical adaptation of "Eureka Street"). Les Inrockuptibles, the slightly pretentious yet high-selling music and culture magazine, recently raved about the record in a full-page review - favourable comparisons to Rufus Wainwright, Badly Drawn Boy and The Magnetic Fields leaving no doubt as to the reviewer's high appreciation of Wilson's way with a tune.

Unfortunately, both reviewer and sub-editor spent a bit too much time pointing like peasants at Wilson's dreadlocks - as if extreme hair was ever a bar to making great pop (have they forgotten The Cure already?). Notwithstanding such un-Parisian gaucheness, French music fans are now well aware of this brilliant Irish album, and record shops here are well-stocked with copies - it's enough to gladden any Irish heart.

Good reviews also for Bangor singer-songer Iain Archer, whose second album "Magnetic North" also got the thumbs-up from Les Inrocks... or so we think. French dictionary at hand, we eventually worked out that Archer was being slightly chided for sharing the 'dramaturgie factice' (contrived dramatics) and 'combines larmoyantes' (tearful manipulation) of Blunt, Nutini and friends - a bit unfair, you feel. However, the final verdict fell in favour of Archer's 'poign? de chansons assez bouleversantes' (handful of rather overwhelming songs). Back of the net!

As well as Archer and Duke Special, French fans are still consuming plenty of Snow Patrol and Divine Comedy. Speaking of the latter, Neil Hannon is currently featuring on 'Pocket Symphony', the new album from Air, whom he met while collaborating on Charlotte Gainsbourg's indie-allstars album last year.

Fair play to the Nordies, then - but what about the Free Staters? Well, Damien Rice's international success includes great popularity here in France, where he's currently promoting the rather likeable '9'. He's playing shows in several major French cities during March and April, and his album is selling quite well here.

He recently appeared on the live music show 'Taratata' (similar in vibe and concept to 'Later With Jools Holland'), where he performed a lovely version of 'Rootless Tree' that was quiet and piano-led in comparison to the explosive album track. He also duetted with Ray Lamontagne for a sweet version of "To Love Somebody". And yes, the presenter asked for a bit of hush before Damo started.

But, contrary to the general perception of the man as being precious and over-serious, Rice came across as genuinely relaxed and good-humoured. He spoke about how he spends quite a bit of time in France, which explains how he was able to speak in fairly good French for the interview. He was quite chatty about how writing the second album wasn't easy, how he isn't comfortable with fame, and even how he likes sailing his boat. And given that French people generally like their artists to be, well, artistic, the odd flash of precocity will only make them love him all the more.

By contrast, there's the unwelcome news of an upcoming Paris concert and new album by Dolores O'Riordan. Recently, with parliamentary elections in Northern Ireland and "God Save The Queen" respectfully applauded at Croke Park, it must be galling for Dolores to find all her witless, excruciating songs about "deir tanks and deir bombs and deir bombs and deir guns" now completely redundant. For the rest of us, that's one more reason to celebrate a ?bonne Saint-Patrick!?

Aidan Curran

Damien Rice performing "Rootless Tree"
Damien Rice and Ray Lamontagne performing 'To Love Somebody"
Damien Rice interview (in French)
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 S?ol?e... 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 Rentr? 2006: what's stirring in the French music scene...*	Dateline: September 2006
'september in France means ?la rentr?? (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 caf?allong?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...

-> sitemap <-

? 1999-2007 www.CLUAS.com & individual writers as indicated per byline.
Website created & maintained by Eoghan O'Neill

French Letter: Irish Music in France this St. Patrick's Day

Aidan on St. Patick's day and Irish music in France...

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

Subscribe to the CLUAS email newsletter:

Search the CLUAS website: