Friday's French music break - Christine and the queens, "Nuit 17 à 52"

Friday's French music break this week is something a little special.

It's "Nuit 17 à 52" from a real all-round talent, Héloïse Letissier, who has chosen another of those daft English names as her professional "alias" - Christine and the queens.

But that's all there is that's "daft" about  Letissier who is not just a singer-songwriter.

Christine and the queens (Héloïse Letissier) screenshot from "Nuit 17 à 52" official video

The 25-year-old has a Masters in theatre studies  (Nanterre) obtained while she was also studying in Lyon at the Ecole Normale Supérieure and taking acting classes at the city's Conservatoire.

She cites among her musical influences artists such as Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Andy Kaufman, Klaus Nomi, Michael Jackson and "Gainsbarre" - a mixed bunch much which inevitably manifests itself in her music which is "pop" without being inane (yes it's possible)

In other words eclectic and focused on the presentation.

There's also the visual side to her live performances, described as "ambitious" and those highly polished androgynous videos to accompany her songs.

Christine and the queens is Letissier's project to, in her own words, put a whole package together and not just about making music.

"I like music that's accompanied by videos, drawings, photographs," she said in a 2011 interview.

"I could not just write songs and put them on MySpace. Christine (whom Letissier sees almost as her alter ego and capable of doing everything she cannot do) is a bit narcissistic, and as soon as she puts her mind to something, she does it."

Yes. Maybe Letissier takes herself and her "act" too seriously - or perhaps not seriously enough.

Talent she has - and it has been recognised.

In 2011 she was a finalist at the Inrocks Lab, an annual showcase for new French music talent and a year later won the Best Discovered Act at the prestigious annual music festival Le Printemps de Bourges in 2012.

And at the recent Les Victoires de la musique, along with winners Woodkid, Letissier was one of the four acts nominated in the category "Group or artist stage révélation of the year". The other two acts were Albin De La Simone and 1995.


So far, as Christine and the queens,  Letissier has released three EPs including most recently "Nuit 17 à 52" which includes apart from the title track, "The loving cup", "Starshipper", "Wandering lovers" and her cover version of William Sheller's "Photos souvenirs"

Christine and the queens (Héloïse Letissier) screenshot Les Victoires de la musique

 An album - her first - is promised for release at the end of April.

Anyway, here's "Nuit 17 à 52", both the live performance during Les Victoires de la musique and the official video.

Take a listen to both - a good musical start to the weekend.

Have a good one!

Friday's French music break - Cats on trees, "Sirens call"

Following previous Friday's French music breaks which featured songs from the likes of Yucca Velux and As Animals, this week's choice comes from another group with an improbable name singing in English.

It's Cats on trees with the song "Sirens call"

The duo of Nina Goern (piano and vocals) and Yohan Hennequin (percussion) are far from being an overnight sensation.

The pair, who both come from Toulouse, have been together since 2007, building up a loyal following over the years, releasing an EP and working on songs for their debut self-titled album - "Cats on trees" - due for release on October 21.

(screenshot from album cover)

"Sirens call" has been described as a gentle but distinctive "pop ballad with a haunting melody", including shades of Snow Patrol's "Chasing cars" perhaps in the opening bars before Goern's almost "ethereal" voice takes over.

In fact there's something about her voice. It's not the strongest around but it certainly has that delicate and fragile feel to it that suits the group's repertoire (check out their cover Tears for Fears 1982 hit "Mad World")

Maybe their website is a little exaggerated in suggesting that in their "virtuosity and energy" the group has "found the perfect osmosis, the mixture of sounds and rhythms that speak to the body and the soul."

But hey, that's what you would expect from the blurb.

Perhaps an indication of the direction they wish to take can be found in the acts the duo says have been their musical influence: among them are Tori Amos, Bjork and Radiohead.

And then there are the "performance" artists they also like (ones you know will never be mainstream) with sometimes even more preposterous names including Akira and the airbones particles, My own private alaska and Psykup

And that album? Well it isn't bad either.

It's full of alternative pop music, if you like, with 11 original tracks - all sung in English - some more upbeat pop than others but on the whole a pretty mellow sound.

Well worth a listen. You can check out excerpts here.

If you feel like seeing them live, they have a number of dates lined up including one at le Café de la Danse in November. For a full listing, take a look at their website.

For the moment though, here's that single "Sirens calling".

Mélanie Laurent - France's latest singing actress

Mélanie Laurent has released her debut album, En t'attendant.

So what? You might be thinking. Well the fact of the matter is that she's not really a singer - well at least not until now.

And some are not sure that Laurent really is, even after the release of her debut album on May 2.

Mélanie Laurent (screenshot from clip En t'attendant)

The 28-year-old is an accomplished actress and already has one César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) under her belt as most promising actress in the excellent 2006 film Je vais bien, ne t'en fais pas.

Since then Hollywood has sat up and taken notice and she secured the role of Shosanna Dreyfus in Quentin Tarantino's 2009 film Inglourious Basterds.

Laurent has also written and directed films; one of them, De moins en moins, was nominated for Best short film at the 2008 Cannes film festival, which brings us full circle as she'll be maîtresse de cérémonie at both the opening and closing of this year's cinematographic extravaganza on the French Riviera.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, Laurent has also managed to pack in recording her debut album En t'attendant.

The two-year project with the Irish musician Damien Rice resulted in what Laurent calls, "The fulfilment of a childhood dream."

"I didn't wake up one morning and think 'Hey I think I could be a singer'," she says.

And that's probably just as well because the impression you could have of some French actresses throughout the years is that they have had exactly that thought.

The list of those who've had a stab at treating the rest of us to their vocal cords includes (among many, many others) Catherine Deneuve, Brigitte Bardot, Isabelle Adjani, Jeanne Moreau, Sandrine Kiberlain, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Vanessa Paradis.

Some, such as Gainsbourg and Paradis, have made the transition back and forth without any problem.

Others - well perhaps it would have been better had they stuck to their day job.

So which camp does Laurent belong to?

Well reviews for her album have been mixed.

There has been praise for Rice's arrangements and the strength of his voice (on two duets) but doubts cast on the quality of Laurent's and her ability to deliver.

"The album is beautifully made...and often seductive," says Radio France Internationale.

"But Laurent needs to impose her personality more in her voice."

And that's a point of view picked up by Frederic Le Rouzo writing for the French website Le Post.

He applauds Laurent's approach describing it as "simple and modest" but at the same time the impression the listener has, "is of a flat voice, banal...one which does not transmit emotion or make us dream."

"One can only wish her a continued acting career in which she will easily find success," he concludes.

Ouch!

Laurent hasn't taken such criticism well and reacted angrily in an interview with the regional daily Le Berry républicain during Le Printemps de Bourges.

She was appearing at the music festival shortly before the release of her album..

Laurent lashed out at journalists saying that they seemed only too willing to criticise and that it didn't seem to matter someone in the public eye said or did, there were those only too willing to find something disparaging to say.



You can judge for yourselves by listening to the title track of the album.

And cast an eye over the comments from those who really count - potential fans.

Some are enthusiastic but other are far from being gentle with the suggestion that the last thing France needs is "another Carla Bruni-Sarkozy" soundalike.

Ooh. That's a little below the belt.