French culture is back in force in the United States. Although it has yet to make much impact on middle America, the new French
chanson is making waves in the quality press, sweeping aside the lamentable French bashing of two years ago, when the U.S. administration and French government went head-to-head over the Iraq invasion. In late March, the prestigious
New York Times devoted a whole page to
Benjamin Biolay, a rare honour. In its issue of April 4, The very respected
Village Voice reported on this new enthusiasm for French-language music. "
Six years ago, everyone thought French music was horrible," says Dan Cohen of V2 Records. There has been a rekindled interest "
in the most seductive shape of all: the French chanteuse." "
A cluster of talented, quietly toxic French female singers are making their way to these
shores. Among them are Carla Bruni and Coralie Clément (sister of French pop
star Benjamin Biolay) - whose solo French-language albums Quelqu'un m'a
dit
and Bye Bye Beauté
, respectively, were officially released in the U.S.
this spring – and the Israeli-born, Paris-raised Keren Ann, the best-known
figure in the scene." If none of them has yet to reach the summits of celebrity, eventually they might become as famous as Patricia Kaas, the French-language singer best known internationally after Céline Dion.
And indeed it is
Patricia Kaas, after Jean-Michel Jarre, who will represent France for China's Year of France. Announcing the arrival in Beijing of the French star on 15 May, the press agency Xinhua has a strange way of presenting her to the Chinese public: "
China welcomes Europe's Madonna," it proclaims, known for "
her trash music style"! Even if her last album,
Sexe Fort, shows a more extroverted side to her than she has revealed before, Kaas's image is still leagues away from that of the nefarious Nina Hagen or the provocative Madonna. In any case, "
the (Beijing)
concert will be one of the highlights of the Year Of France in China," Two weeks earlier, Mademoiselle Kaas "
will be performing in Korea, her third such performance following her visits in 1994 and 2002," announces the South Korean daily
Chosen (25 April).
French singers would no doubt love to travel as much as French DJs, who are always on demand on the international circuit and have had a busy April.
Etienne de Crécy and
Alex Gopher have both been doing their thing in Australia for
Super Discount 2 (named after the latest compilation from their label Solid). Melbourne daily
The Age featured them in an article published 15 April. The two artists are "
reconstructing house," and possess "
a certain je ne sais quoi.
When the first Superdiscount
album was released in 1996, very few people were aware of a French underground dance music scene. Certainly, no one had heard of its stars, people like Daft Punk, Cassius, Bob Sinclar or Stardust, or up-and-coming talents like St. Germain, Alex Gopher, Kid Loco, Air or Motorbass." Ten years on, the recent Super Discount 2 CD "
was a shock for people who expected yet another deep house album," because today, as De Crécy puts it, "
house music is perhaps a little tired, and some people are trying to find a new direction for a fresher sound."
Asia too is an increasingly popular stopover for French musicians. "
French DJ Stéphane Pompougnac recently served up cuts from his latest compilation album Hotel Costes 7 at a party held at the Sofitel Silom," reports the
Bangkok Post (27 March). Stéphane Pompougnac is only one among many. Who, for example, remembers
DJ Le Tone? In the dying days of the last century, he had his fifteen minutes of fame with the house hit
Joli Dragon, from his album
Le petit nabob. Since then he has been keeping a low profile, touring and soaking up new musical influences for a new album. Lately, according to
Express India (24 April), "
Le Tone was in Delhi for a month, working on his second album [in fact his third] Impressions of India,
a project that is being supported by the French embassy," with the collaboration of the traditional Indian singer Meeta Pandit and the pop artist Smriti Minocha. While Le Tone was hard at work in Delhi,
DJ Neuromotor has been spinning the discs at Calcutta's BED. "
After playing in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune, the Frenchman made the city's party people rock till the early hours of Saturday with high-energy beats on some pulsating music," reports
The Telegraph (3 April). He has brought "
something new to Calcutta."
