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French Music Seen From Abroad July 2010

French-speaking holidays


Paris 

27/07/2010 - 

From Algeria to Tunisia and Belgium to Quebec, a bunch of French artists, like Faudel, Nâdiya, Michel Fugain, Hélène Ségara and Vanessa Paradis, will be visiting the francophone zone this summer.


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The Maghreb is pretty festive in summertime. Festivals abound, just like in Europe, only with less risk of rain. In early July, the Algerian town of Bordj Bou-Arrérigj was the location for an earlier-than-usual 5th edition of the Festival National de la Musique Actuelle (current music). “This year, the date was fixed for the month of July, rather than August as previously,” noted the Algerian daily Liberté (3/7). “The reason is very simple: the sacred month of Ramadan.” Featuring Faudel, “Who played some of his best hits and other raï classics like Tellement je t’aime, Bladi hiya El Djazaïr, Baïda, S’hab el Baroud and Abdelkader ya Boualem", along with other musical heavyweights (like Cheb Khallas) and artists from the Algerian regions, the organisers pulled out all the stoppers. However, “Even though the raï star performed during the second part of the inauguration evening, the first night only drew a modest crowd.” In Tunisia, “A total of 36 shows will brighten up the evenings in Carthage this year,” including “French singer Hélène Ségara on 31 July.” (La Presse, 2/7).

Further afield in Madagascar, “Performing in front of a 100,000-strong audience, Rossy, Brick and Lace and Nâdiya were high points of the Independence Festival in Mahamasina,” reported the Antanarivo newspaper, L’Express de Madagascar (28/6). Nâdiya had the whole stadium dancing. “The beautiful French singer takes us on a voyage into a different musical landscape that is not totally unfamiliar to her Malagasy audience.”


In Europe, the highbrow Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland recently hosted Vanessa Paradis. You read right – even the woman herself was surprised to be billed at the prestigious event. “I can’t help wondering if there wasn’t a mistake in the line-up (…) I find it hard to imagine that I’m in Montreux!” she mused in Le Matin Dimanche (11/7). “On stage at the Stravinski Auditorium, the lovely singer put the accent on acoustics, interpreting her best songs in all simplicity. A kind of baring of the soul.” 

The Festival d'été de Québec festivities have just come to an end in Montreal. Among the highlights, “The festival on the Plains, with Les chansons d'abord, a production that brought together a dozen Quebecois and French singers,” recounted the daily Le Soleil (8/7). “Artists from Quebec and France gave journalists a preview taste of the festival. In the company of Roch Voisine, de Catherine Major and de Diane Tell, Michel Fugain led a dynamic medley made up of some of his hits: Une belle histoire, Viva la vida, Fais comme l'oiseau, and Je n'aurais pas le temps.” At the French-speaking festival, “Also up on stage were producer Daniela Lumbroso and Véronic DiCaire, who ran the show together, Ariane Moffatt, and on the French side, Enrico Macias, Zaz and Chimène Badi, Gérard Lenorman and Michel Delpech.”


At the same time, but spread over just five days, the Francofolies de Spa also delighted audiences. On the eve of the last day, the newspaper Libre Belgique (20/7) excitedly announced the programme, which “Strikes the right balance between well-known artists (…) and new faces. Obviously, an appearance by Jacques Dutronc, after his Forest National performances, is quite something, as is that of the fantastic Christophe. (…) A wonderful big stage, on which Renan Luce leads Alain Souchon and Christophe Willem overtakes Marc Lavoine: oldies, watch out! And Pascal Obispo, who regularly performs here, is already number one in the presales. (…) But the heart of the festival lies in its unique creation: the Francofou Village, with three stages set up in the historic Parc des Sept Heures. There’s nothing half-hearted about the programme, which includes some top-of the-bill acts and some major crowd-pullers: Thomas Fersen, BB Brunes, Gaëtan Roussel, Cœur de Pirate, Yodelice, Dominique A (his first time at Franco), Art Mengo, JP Nataf and Sttellla.” In the end, only Yves Duteil didn’t show up. “Following a car accident, the singer was obliged to cancel his concert scheduled for 21 July at the Théâtre de Spa.”

Gilles  Rio

Translation : Anne-Marie  Harper