This article was first published on CLUAS in April 2006

French Letter: Perry Blake

Blake's Heaven in France? Aidan on the French success of Irishman Perry Blake...

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

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.

"The Crying Room" is the sixth studio album by Perry Blake, a Sligo-born singer who has built a solid following around Europe from his base here in France. Before you start racking your brains as to whether he's one of the Tubbercurry Blakes or maybe something to Mossie and Noreen Blake out the Ballyshannon road, his real name is Kieran Gorman. The future P. Blake Esq. spent part of his formative years in London before releasing his eponymous debut album in 1998. Though concentrating on the continental market, he returns to Ireland regularly for recording and shows.

Anecdotal evidence has it that Blake is more famous in France than in Ireland. I recall a Sunday Times interview in 2004 where he told how he was unable to walk down the street in France without being stopped by fans. Now, my French friends in Dublin hadn't heard of him, nor have my friends here in Paris. Perhaps I haven't been hanging around the right boulevards. Nonetheless, the French music press are generally enthusiastic about Blake; "The Crying Room" has received excellent reviews in widely-read magazines like Les Inrockuptibles, Télérama and the French edition of Rolling Stone.

Far from the Jack L/Neil Hannon 'romantic dandy' suggested by his album's blurb, Blake cuts a serious figure. His music calls for descriptions like melancholic', 'ethereal' and 'atmospheric' - all immaculately-crafted synth soundscapes and breathy vocals similar to David Sylvian's solo records. Lyrically he tends towards the Met Eireann school of writing about stars and skies and days and nights, a bit like the TV3 weather forecast presented by Keats and Shelley. In general, think of Damien Rice crossed with Tindersticks (the latter's Dickon Hinchcliffe is a regular Blake collaborator), with the emphasis on the former's artistic pretensions.

Blake's hand-to-the-brow sensibility is mother's milk to a certain constituency of thirtysomething French music fans who gush about 'serious artists' and sniff at commercial 'pop'. The 'Télérama' review was particularly flowery, gently chiding Blake for his previous 'prétensions radiophonique' ('radio-friendly efforts') before lauding his new record as 'une ode à l'espace nu, au temps suspendu, aux ciels de traîne' ('an ode to unadorned space, to suspended time, to skies of vapour trails') - a fellow weather-forecaster, by the looks of it.

In this, of course, there are plenty of fellow travellers in Ireland. So how come Blake remains low-profile in the Shangri-la of serious singer-songers? Well, as Blake told the American webzine 'Chaos Control' in 2003: "Most Irish bands/songwriters seem to treat me as some kind of outsider who doesn't play by their rather insular rules. To be popular in Ireland first is usually a sign that one is doing something wrong. There are exceptions, of course, Damien Rice being one [...] I think generally the French like more melancholic music [...] but mainland Europe has always been quick to champion less mainstream artforms than, perhaps, the UK."

There you are - if you're Irish, put down that Perry Blake record and just back away from the counter!

Aidan Curran

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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