Nothing lasts forever... In 2001, the release of
Discovery marked the commercial highpoint for
Daft Punk, the most internationally famous French electronic duo along with Air. But this time around, it seems the tide has well and truly turned. Their new album
Human After All (Labels/Virgin), released only a month ago, has had a disappointing run. Although it has made its mark on at least 18 national charts, it has not done as well as its predecessor, carried by the global hit
One More Time.
Human After All only hit the top ten in the U.K. and Ireland (no. 10), Argentina (no. 4), Belgium (reaching the 8th position in Flanders but only 11 in Wallonia), Greece (no. 6) and Switzerland (no. 8). Elsewhere the album only just snuck into the charts at no. 19 in Italy, no. 23 in both Austria and Japan (their best position in a country where non-Japanese music doesn't sell well), no. 30 in Sweden, no. 36 in Australia, no. 38 in Germany and Canada, no. 40 in the Netherlands, no. 49 in Estonia, no. 66 in Denmark, no. 87 in Spain and no. 98 in the U.S. Worse still, while
Discovery held on in the charts for months,
Human After All has already slipped down the rankings, or out of the charts altogether. The fact that
Discovery is back in the charts in the U.K. (at no. 68) and
Homework has crawled back to no. 66 in Ireland are meagre consolations. The verdict on whether
Human After All has really flopped will be out in a few weeks' time.
Nonetheless, has the media hoo-ha surrounding daft Punk boosted French electronic music in general? Well, it does seem that things are picking up. The seventh Buddha Bar compilation (George V Records), by Ravin et David Visan, recently reached no. 11 in the American Top Electronic in Billboard. In the Netherlands, David Guetta is no. 30 in the singles chart with The World Is Mine (Virgin). Released last autumn, Aero (Dreyfus), by electronic veteran Jean-Michel Jarre, is finding favour with the Danes (no. 67 in the Top 100).
French chanson is doing all right as well. Six years after her last studio album,
Mylène Farmer is back in the news with
Avant que l’ombre... (Polydor). While only the "collector's edition" is currently on sale in record stores (the "normal" version comes out on 18 April),
Avant que l’ombre... is already topping the album charts in France and Wallonia, and is ranked no. 67 in Flanders. As with last month, it's the female singers who have been making waves. More than two years after its release,
Carla Bruni's first album,
Quelqu’un m’a dit (Naïve), is finally making its mark in the United States, reaching no. 3 in
Billboard's Top World Music chart, ahead of another French-language album by
Paris Combo,
Motifs (Polydor), which is at no. 13. In Europe, Germany is still hooked on former sixties diva
Françoise Hardy (
Tant de belles choses, no. 67) and
Patricia Kaas (the
Toute la musique compilation, no 34), while Hungary is still falling for
Gérard Presgurvic's musical
Roméo et Juliette (no. 6). With
Quelqu’un quelque part (Warner), the Quebecois
Lynda Lemay is at no. 24 on her home turf in Canada, and is also riding high in Belgium (no. 24 in Wallonia) as well as Switzerland (no. 16). Meanwhile,
Lara Fabian and her album
9 (Polydor) are still charting in Switzerland (no. 33) and Belgium (no. 2 in Wallonia, no. 68 in Flanders), as is
Le Train des Enfoirés (no. 1 in Wallonia and no. 3 in Switzerland). Singing the great
chanson standards,
Dee Dee Bridgewater has hit the charts with
J’ai deux amours (Universal Jazz), reaching no. 40 in Greece, no. 71 in Austria and no. 76 in Switzerland.
Moving on to rock, the young
Raphaël is going places with his
Caravane (Capitol), reaching no. 48 on the Swiss charts, and hitting the top ten in Wallonia (no. 7). And finally in the rap world, the omnipresent
K-Maro is doing well in Europe with his album
La Good Life (Up Music), hitting no. 40 in Germany and Wallonia, no. 51 in Austria, no. 68 in Switzerland, and no. 13 in Hungary. The single
Femme Like U is selling like hot cakes in Austria (no. 6), Germany (no. 7), Ukraine (no. 14) and Russia (no. 16). And the poetic
Jean-Louis Murat has climbed to no. 19 in Wallonia and no. 72 in Switzerland with his latest record
Mokba (Labels/Virgin). Smash hit movie
Les Choristes is still playing in the cinemas, and its soundtrack (Marc Music/Warner) is still charting in Greece at no. 24, Belgium (no. 24 in Wallonia) and in the U.S. where it has reached no. 8 in the Top World Music chart.
Other musical genres are also doing well. Era's Very Best Of (Mercury) is hanging in there on the Estonian charts (no. 13 on the Pedro Beat chart) and in Wallonia (no. 49). Gotan Project's first album La Revancha del Tango (Barclay), has found success in Argentina (no. 12), while the Cuban Orishas are still very popular in Europe, where their CD El Kilo (EMI) hit no. 14 last month in Spain, no. 20 in Portugal and no. 80 in Flanders. As for the multicultural Pink Martini, they are still wowing the Greeks (no. 20) and the Swiss (no. 99) with their album Hang On Little Tomato (Naïve).
