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FRANCO CHART-TOPPERS March 2004
House on Fire!
Paris
25/03/2004 -
Get on the dancefloor and wave your hands in the air, French house is back on the turntables and back in the charts. OK, so the real big hitters on the scene, namely the notorious masked duo Daft Punk, have not actually released any new material. But this has not stopped the French double act causing a major stir with the compilation Daft Club (Virgin). The album is currently taking the US by storm, even reaching no.10 in the “electro” chart compiled by the prestigious music mag Billboard. Meanwhile, other French house artists have been busy consolidating their reputations abroad. The eminently suave Dimitri From Paris recently recorded a special mix for the In The House series (released on the American label Defected). The Gallic spinmaster’s mix is currently riding high in the dance music charts in the UK (no.2) and the US (no.17). Dimitri’s mix has also charted in Japan, reaching no.91 in the HMV charts.
Deep Forest - perhaps better classified as "electro world fusion" rather than "house" – have also maintained a strong following abroad. The group, who enjoyed their chart heyday in the mid-90s, still have an enviable reputation in Russia. Two albums from the Deep Forest back catalogue (namely Music Detected and World Mix) have been floating around the Top 100 compiled by Russia’s Bolero record stores for the past month. Meanwhile, over in Estonia, the greatest hits compilation Essence Of Deep Forest hung on to the no.25 spot for two weeks. Last, but by very no means least, in the French house onslaught, comes the latest offering from Buddha Bar. The sixth album in the series, mixed by Ravin, has just rocketed straight to no.7 in the “Top Electronic” chart in the US.
This Month’s Big HittersBack to Eastern Europe for news of "chanson diva recently reconverted as rock chick,” Patricia Kaas. La Kaas’s popularity in Eastern Europe appears to know no bounds, but up until now the French chanteuse had never made it into the Polish album charts. That situation has now been rectified thanks to the success of Patricia’s latest album, Sexe fort (Columbia), which recently made it into the Polish Top 50, rocketing straight to no.13. Sexe fort has also been doing well in Estonia (reaching no.6 in the Lasering, charts and no.8 in the charts compiled by the Pedro Beat stores) and Russia (making it to no.16 in the Bolero charts and no.20 in the RBC charts). The album has also charted in Finland (no.31), Wallonia (no.26) and Switzerland (no.45).
Following her success in Finland in the autumn of 2003, Hélène Segara has moved on to Estonia where her latest album, Humaine (East West), broke into the lower reaches of the hit-parade, charting at no.87. Continuing in an Eastern European vein, Natasha St-Pier appears to be following in the successful footsteps of her French Canadian compatriot Garou in Poland. Her latest album, L’instant d’après (Columbia), has been flying high in the Polish Top 20 for the past four weeks.
Meanwhile, over in Greece, cinema-goers discovered the quirky charm of French animated film Les Triplettes de Belleville. The film soundtrack, recorded by Ben Charest, recently repeated its international box-office success in the Greek charts, reaching no. 33.
Still at the TopHip Versailles electro duo Air, who are currently in the midst of a major world tour, maintained their position at the top of the international charts in March. The duo’s new album, Talkie Walkie (Source), has received rave reviews from critics worldwide and has also been going down a storm with record-buyers, it seems. Talkie Walkie recently reached no.5 in Switzerland and Germany, no.19 in Austria, no.3 in Greece, no.5 in Italy, no.4 in Portugal, no.17 in the Netherlands, no.2 in Flanders, no.9 in Wallonia, no.5 in Norway, no.13 in Finland, no.26 in Denmark, no.50 in Sweden, no.8 in the UK (where it has earned silver disc status), no.7 in Ireland, no.6 in Iceland, no.51 in the Czech Republic, no.69 in Estonia (in the charts compiled by Pedro Beat record stores), no.18 in Australia, no.53 in Canada and, last but not least, no.101 in the US!
Quebecoise diva Céline Dion has attained international superstar status – and she is decidedly no longer in the league where lengthy tours or a hectic round of interviews are required to promote her albums! Ms. Dion’s latest album, Une fille et quatre types (Columbia) - recorded with four of her musician friends including French star Jean-Jacques Goldman - continues to ratchet up reasonable sales without the slightest effort on Ms. Dion’s part, it appears. Une fille et quatre types recently reached no.35 in Poland, no.17 in Estonia, no.72 in Flanders and no.29 in Wallonia, no.25 in Sweden, no.75 in Switzerland and no.58 in her homeland. On a slightly lower rung than his world-famous compatriot, French Canadian star Garou nevertheless maintains a strong presence in the charts. His latest album, Reviens (Columbia), made it to no.25 in the Polish charts, no.44 in Switzerland, no.12 in Wallonia and no.43 back home in Canada.
A Whiff of Nostalgia
Meanwhile, romantic ‘chanson’ crooner Salvatore Adamo enjoyed something of a comeback on the other side of the world last month. The singer, who was extremely popular in South America in the 60s, stormed back into the charts in Chile with a compilation of his greatest hits (in Spanish). The album shot straight to no.6 in the charts compiled by the Feria Del Disco stores. As for that other famous French ‘chanson’ icon, Sacha Distel, he appears to be enjoying yet another comeback across the Channel. "Ze eternal French lover," who ranked as the best-loved Gallic artist in the UK in the 70s, is currently back in the news with a compilation of his greatest hits (in English). The album, entitled When I Fall In Love, currently stands at no.79 in the UK album charts.
That’s all for now, music fans. We’ll be back next month with our monthly round-up of “top of the export pops!”
Gilles Rio
09/01/2004 -
