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Album review
Alex Gopher takes to the mike
French pop
Paris
26/03/2007 -
They say first love never dies and Gopher has certainly proved that old adage true, returning to his teenage passion for pop and new wave. Music fans may not be aware that Monsieur Gopher made his debut in Orange, a long-forgotten group from Versailles. Interestingly enough, back in 1985 Orange also included future French electro stars Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin (Air) and Xavier Jamaux (Ollano, Bang Bang). After Orange, Gopher went on to get involved with Superdiscount, a project launched with Étienne de Crécy and his Solid label.
Gopher's debut album, You, My Baby & I made a major impact on the French music scene in 1999, thanks largely to the single The Child and its clever sampling of Billie Holiday. Since then, Gopher has been actively involved in a number of different projects, bringing out an album with Demon under the pseudonym Wuz, recording Superdiscount 2 and releasing a series of EPs aimed at club dancefloors.
Now, after years of splicing and sampling, Gopher has split from his machines and branched out in a totally unexpected direction, writing and singing his own material and using instruments generally associated with a raunchier, rock sound. His second album, Alex Gopher, produced by his former partner-in-crime Étienne de Crécy, is infused with a certain nostalgia for the good old new wave days of New Order. And, at times, Gopher's wired pop vocals seem to recall those of David Byrne (the charismatic frontman of Talking Heads). While some tracks on this second album occasionally sound a little clumsy and overly naive, the punchy melodies and compelling ambiences look set to win Monsieur Gopher a glut of new fans.Nicolas Dambre
Translation : Julie Street
24/09/1999 -
08/05/2002 -
