Friday's French music break - Millers Daughter featuring Nicom, "Undeniable"

Friday's French music break this week isn't exactly French.

It's "Undeniable" from the British duo (twin sisters actually) of Louise and Christie Miller -better known as Millers Daughter.

Millers Daughter (screenshot from "Undeniable" official video)

The French angle is that for the release of the song in France, they've teamed up with Nicom (an interview here with him - in French) for a version that combines all the country pop feel of the original with an almost typical Jean-Jacques Goldman sound.

Not a bad way to break into the French market and "Undeniable" (taken from Millers Daughter's debut album "So Hollywood") has been receiving plenty of radio airplay.

Nicom (screenshot from "Undeniable" official video)

Millers Daughter and Nicom are all alumni of My Major Company, the crowdfunding platform started and co-owned incidentally by Goldman's son, Michel in France in 2007,  and responsible for the launch of (now established) acts such as Grégoire, Irma and Joyce Jonathan.

There's no denying that "Undeniable" has a US twang to it - almost Taylor Swift-ish (or Shania Twain?) - and that's not surprising perhaps as Milllers Daughter name the American singer-songwriter among the artists they like (along with "Snow Patrol, John Mayer, Lady Antebellum, Mumford & Sons and many many more.."

Their influences are also very pop, country, soft-rock inspired (Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, The Eagles, Shania Twain Dolly Parton..."and pretty much anything with great hooks and melodies! so..the list goes on...") so it's not really surprising that "Undeniable" contains exactly what they enjoy most...a great hook and a very catchy melody.

"Undeniable" is immensely sing-a-longable. The duo's voices are pleasant without causing any offence (it might be going just a little over the top, as one reviewer did, to describe the song as having "crystalline melodies, mountain-air pure harmonies and solid gold choruses that you thought they didn’t make anymore) and the addition of Nicom gives the song that Anglo-French touch so popular with many trending artists in this country.

"Undeniable" is no nonsense, pure pop music at its best (or worst for some people).

It is what it is - and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that frankly - unless you're a complete misery.

So, here are both the original and the more recent version with the addition of Nicom.

Happy listening et bon week-end!

Friday's French music break - Dumè, "Maman m'avait dit"

What happens when a Britney (Spears in  her "Oops I did it again" days) rip-off meets (failed) echoes of a wannabe Amy Winehouse "Back to black" melody with a smattering of Julian Perretta's 2012 hit "Wonder why"?

That's right. You get "a monkey at the keyboard mashup" of a song, and this week's Friday's French music break - blessed by its sheer awfulness and lack of musical originality.

It's "Maman m'avait dit", the latest single from Dominique Mattei, better known (really?) under his stage name Dumè.

Dumè (screenshot from "Les chansons d'abord", France 3 - September 2013)

For musical fans among you (as in the all-singing, all dancing comédie musicale of the theatre rather than the term in general) the name might ring a bell as Dumè has been part of the original troupe of "Robin des Bois - Ne renoncez jamais", the hit show (honestly) which opened in Paris in September 2013 and is now on a sellout tour of France.

Dumè plays (sings and dances) the part of Vaisey, the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Success hasn't been an overnight affair for the 32-year-old. Far from it.

His break came after being spotted by Pascal Obispo, one of France's most successful (domestic) singer-songerwriters.

Mattei (as he still was) was invited to be Obispo's opening act for a series of concerts and signed to his label Atletico Music, where he began composing for other artists.

Among those were Johnny Hallyday (well, let's face it, over the years just about everyone and anyone has written for "the biggest rock star you've never heard of", haven't they?) Faudel (anyone remember him?) Natasha St Pier and Louisy Joseph (don't ask, just follow the link)

The biggest rock star you've never heard of

Clearly feeling music listeners in France deserved more though, in 2009 Mattei joined the fan-funded label My Major Company (which has been responsible for launching the careers of artists such as Grégoire, Joyce Jonathan and Irma) changed his name and released his first single "Je ne sais rien faire".

That was back in 2010. It has taken a mere four years for the follow-up single "Maman m'avait dit" which received plenty of pre-release date (April 28) radio play and is the first track to be taken from his debut album "Le moitié du chemin" due out on June 16.

For all it's lack of authenticity, it's a reasonably well-crafted pop song with all the dreadful catchiness of a radio hit.

A short version - the extract which is currently

Just a short version though - the official extract - as that's probably more than enough on which to base your opinion as to what you think about it.

Happy Frrrrrrrrriday's Frrrrrrrrench Music break listening.

Roll on the weekend.

Friday's French music break - Grégoire, "Si tu me voyais"

You know how sometimes you hear a song that you initially start out disliking but gradually discover has grown on you?

Well sadly that's not the case with this week's Friday's French music break.

It's "Si tu me voyais" from Grégoire (Boissenot, to give him his full name) and frankly, it makes the task of convincing sceptics that the French music scene actually has something worth listening to harder than it is at the best of times.

Grégoire (screenshot from the official video for "Si tu me voyais"

The single is the first to be released from Grégoire's latest album  "Les roses de mon silence" and is a strange choice because it's far from being pleasant on the ear.

Ah fans - and there are plenty of them around as Grégoire was the first act to achieve his breakthrough thanks to My Major Company, the label which gives subscribers the possibility to become music producers by investing in up-and-coming artists - will be up in arms no doubt.

But take a listen to some of the other songs on the album, and you'll perhaps wonder why "Si tu me voyais" was chosen as the first single... or even a single at all.

There's the title track for example -  much more in the tradition of a French ballad, complete with piano, voice and accordion.

Or "L'enfance", which is full of emotion and musicality (and a violin)

Still, someone at the record label must know what they're up to and "Si tu me voyais" it is.

All of the comments on Grégoire"s Facebook page are suitable adoring - as you would expect. But there's the odd voice of dissent over at YouTube .

Without doubt the song will please those same fans who first discovered Grégoire with his debut hit  "Toi + Moi" in 2008, but it might leave those who float in an out of his music wondering what the heck and why?

Talent, the 34-year-old has - in abundance - and a voice that distinguishes him (in a positive way) from many other French singers around at the moment.

But this song is simply not his best - far from it.

It begins inoffensively enough; gently upbeat, leading you to believe that it's going to be just another one of those French songs that's pleasant enough to listen to and nothing more.

And then halfway through Grégoire squawks into action, his voice belting out the lyrics in what becomes an assault on the ears (it can't be good for his vocal cords either).

Still, take a listen for yourself - and maybe turn the volume down at a touch at 1 minute and 52 seconds.

Friday's French music break - Irma, "I know"

Friday's French music break this week is from a young woman whose voice you might recognise but perhaps cannot immediately place.

It's Irma with the single "I know", a song that has had massive exposure by being featured in a Google Chrome commercial in Europe.

Who says advertising can't serve a purpose, especially when it helps promote such a talent?

Irma (screenshot from Google Chrome commercial)

Strictly speaking, of course, Irma's not French.

Born and brought up Cameroon, Irma Pany, moved to France in 2003 at the age of 15 to study at the private Catholic secondary school lycée Stanislas de Paris.

In 2007 she began posting homemade videos of both songs she had written and cover versions on YouTube and it didn't take long for the buzz to build.

So much so, that when the fan-funded music label My Major Company showed an interest in August 2008, it took just 48 hours for the site to gather the €75,000 necessary to finance the recording of her debut album.

What perhaps sets the Irma aside from other My Major Company finds such as Grégoire and Joyce Jonathan is the fact that she not only sings in English but has an appeal which has quickly attracted other established artists both French and international.

Tété ("Hey ya"), Matthieu Chédid, M ("Rolling in the deep") and will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas ("I want you back") have all joined Irma to make simple acoustic cover versions of songs on her YouTube channel.

Her first album, "Letter to the Lord", released in February 2011, was enthusiastically greeted by most critics who praised her for the maturity of her approach and the refreshingly smooth, simple and effective piano-guitar voice arrangement of what was obviously a multi-talented singer-songwriter.

Before the album's release she had apparently worked in New York with Lenny Kravitz's producer but on returning to Paris decided she wasn't happy with the result and reworked the self-penned songs to make them more folksy.

The result, as far as Radio France Internationale was concerned was an album "full of promise with sensual melodies and a glimpse into Irma's own intimate universe," but one which also "lacked that little extra something to set her aside from other Rhythm and Blues or Soul singers."

There's some truth in that because although Irma has a distinctive and exquisite voice, the one track that really stands out is "I know".

The rest are good - indeed very good for a debut album - but far from having quite the same "I want to know who's singing that right now " allure of "I know" when you first hear it on the radio.

Irma (screenshot from official clip)

Its success, and the fact that it has been used in the Google commercial has given the 23-year-old tremendous exposure and the pace looks set to pick up.

She'll be stepping out of the proverbial shadows of being a warm-up act for other artists or appearing at small venues with two concerts in Paris this year.

The first at La Cigale in Paris in June is already sold out but you can still get tickets for the date at Olympia in November.

In between she'll be appearing at several of the many summer music festivals in France such as Brive Plage or Albi's Pause Guitar.

And then there's the aim - as far as Universal Republic Records, the record label to which she has signed, is concerned: to conquer the States.

Not beyond the realms of possibility perhaps.

For now though here's that single which, in the words of the blurb, illustrates her "immediate charisma and authenticity" and is an example of her songs which are "little gems of melody, a subtle mix of soul and folk music found in texts that tell a story."

In other words - it's a ruddy good listen.

Here's both the one-minute Google Chrome commercial version and, if that has left you wanting more, the longer official single version.

Have a great weekend.

Friday's French music break - Joyce Jonathan, "Les souvenirs"

Friday's French music break this week is from a young singer with the sweetest of voices.

Joyce Jonathan (screenshot from official clip for "Je ne sais pas")

Joyce Jonathan's "Les souvenirs" is from her debut platinum album released last year "Sur mes gardes" and although it has never been released as a single, has recently received quite a bit of media attention.

That's largely down to a television reality show, L'amour est dans le pré - the French equivalent of Farmer wants a wife.

In the last series one of the farmers "looking for love" played Jonathan's song in the hopes of wooing his heart's desire.

It didn't work, but the moment was magic and touching (well soppy would perhaps be more appropriate) and Jonathan herself was surprised the track had made such an impact with viewers.

"I didn't see the programme when it was first broadcast because I was performing. But my sister called me and to be quite honest I was thrilled that the song had been used in the show," she said.

"I had no idea Jean-Michel (the farmer) listened to my music," Jonathan continued, giving the game away perhaps that although coming to the end of a 100-date tour, she, like many French, had tuned in regularly to see the latest ups and downs of those lonely hearts looking for love on the farm.

"It's also obvious that he must have listened to the whole album as the track has never been released as a single," she added.

"I don't know whether the song helped him in his attempts to court Nathalie (it didn't) but I'm happy it was part of his story.

The 21-year-old is one of those acts that owes her rising popularity to, first Myspace, and later the fan-funded music label My Major Company, which gives everyone the chance to invest in up-and-coming artists.

Her voice is clear and delightful. Her style is folk-pop, so very much up-to-the-minute in what's popular.

And "Les souvenirs"?

Well it's pretty enough, but perhaps the lyrics were a little too slushy and lovey-dovey for Nathalie (remember the woman who rejected Jean-Michel's advances).

Take a listen.

What do you think?