IRON & WINE (ABO #370)

IRON & WINE
SOUTHERN ANTHEMS

There is no denying that Samuel Beam, a.k.a. Iron & Wine, has been one of the strongest forces of the indie folk scene since his very first release (2002's The Creek Drank the Cradle) and that his hushed-way to sing has influenced many of today's scene.
With 5 albums under his belt (including 2005's In the Reins recorded with Calexico), Samuel has established himself as a great songwriter and performer managing to evolve from the minimalistic basis on which he builds his music to simply become a central character in today’s musical scene.
Baistophe just couldn’t miss introducing those who don’t know yet what an essential artist Samuel Beam/Iron & Wine is, and not just for those who like folk music. Enjoy.

RIYL:
Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes, Ray Lamontagne, Elliott Smith

MAGAZINE (ABO #368)

MAGAZINE
SOUNDS FOR SORE EARS

Formed by ex-Buzzcocks' Howard Devoto, Magazine is, with Wire, the band which created the whole post-punk movement. Allying the energy of English punk rock to the aesthetics originating from the art-rock scene, they managed to add brains to the testosterone-infused brutality of punk.
Throughout three outstanding albums - from 1978's Real Life to 1980's The Correct Use of Soap - they perfected a sound that still influences many of today's bands. Sadly, a final album (1981's Magic, Murder and the Weather) saw a major loss in inspiration and their quick demise. Though the latter wasn't a bad album, it was nothing like its three predecessors adding too many keyboards to the mix and losing most of the original energy which inhabited the band.
Magazine recently came back together, minus John McGeogh – often described as the “new wave Jimmy Page” - who died in 2005, and there is word that a new album might be in the works, until that, enjoy "Sounds for Sore Ears" which might not be of the ear-candy type but still is the demonstration of a supremely talented band at work.

My MAGAZINE List
1 – Real Life (1978)
2 – The Correct Use of Soap (1980)
3 – Secondhand Daylight (1979)
4 – Magic, Murder and the Weather

RIYL:
Wire, Public Image Ltd., The Teardrop Explodes, The Fall

Note: the three videos are from the reformed Magazine.

MATHIEU BOOGAERTS (ABO #366)

MATHIEU BOOGAERTS
BONS VOYAGES

Mathieu Boogaerts is an acclaimed French alternative singer/songwriter whose eclectic style draws from Afro-pop and reggae as well as indie electronica and folk music.
He has released 5 albums from 1998's Super to 2008's I Love You developing a quirky and endearing universe made of naivety, humour and tenderness. This compilation features the best tracks from his 5 albums as well as a duet with Vincent Delerm and a cover of Dirk Annegarn released on a tribute album.
I hope you'll enjoy his unique way to mix pop minimalism and african rhythms and folky influences.

My MATHIEU BOOGAERTS List
1 - Michel (2005)
2 - 2000 (2002)
3 - Super (1996)
4 - I Love You (2008)
5 - J'En Ai Marre d'Etre Deux (1998)

RIYL:
Katerine, Dominique A, Bertrand Betsch, Gérald Genty

HOT CHIP (ABO #356)

HOT CHIP
COLOURS

With their mix of indie electronica, synthpop and subtle dancefloor tendencies, Hot Chip has become quite an institution among those who know. Not only does the band do good songs they also have a lyrical and musical sense of humor which, if it doesn’t dominate their art, is still very much welcome. With four full-lengths and a handful of EPs, Hot Chip’s talent is not to be demonstrated anymore. This compilation, a 77 minutes exploration of the band’s discography up to this year’s One Last Stand, is only meant to be an introduction to a band that has a lot to offer those of you looking for clever/playful indie “poptronica”.

RIYL:
LCD Soundsystem, The Rapture, New Order, The Postal Service

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN (ABO #354)

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN
IT COULD HAVE BEEN A BRILLIANT CAREER

Coming from Glasgow and named after a French children book and tv series of the 60s, Belle and Sebastian have crafted their delicate (retro) pop sound through the years establishing a cult following but failing to win mainstream audiences. With 7 studio albums, a lot of EPs, some live recordings and a double b-side compilation, the band proved to be both productive and consistent. So much that it hasn’t been an easy task to select the 36 tracks displayed here. Of course, most of the tracks come from the band’s studio albums but, considering the quality of the material released on their various EPs, I had to include some excerpts from it.
And, voilà, a 2 CDs filled with a little under 2 and a half hour of retro-indie pop at its best. Enjoy!

My BELLE AND SEBASTIAN Top Three
1 – If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
2 – The Boy With the Arab Strap (1998)
3 – The Life Pursuit (2006)

RIYL:
The Smiths, Of Montreal, Love, The Magnetic Fields

AN PIERLÉ (ABO #338)

AN PIERLÉ
ANYTIME YOU LEAVE

Perhaps best likened to a Belgian Tori Amos, An Pierlé created a similarly theatrical and operatic brand of piano-based art-pop. Born in 1974, Pierlé embraced music, acting, and dance as a toddler and briefly studied classical piano before enrolling at Antwerp's Studio Herman Teirlinck Art School at age 17. During her third year she headlined her first solo program of original material, an event further distinguished by the transparent ergonomic ball she sat upon instead of a traditional piano stool, a component of her live performances from that point forward. In 1996 Pierlé entered her demo tape in the annual Humo's Rock Rally competition, ascending to the final round on the strength of her jury-favorite rendition of Gary Numan and Tubeway Army's synth pop classic "Are Friends Electric?" The song also emerged as a Belgian radio hit, but Pierlé shied away from the attendant hype, instead spending close to two years as a member of the touring company behind the theatrical production Bernadetje. A handful of solo concerts nevertheless kept her on the radar of pop music executives and fans, and in early 1998 Pierlé finally signed to Warner Music Benelux to begin sessions for her debut LP, Mud Stories, issued the following year. Composer and arranger Koen Gisen emerged as Pierlé's collaborator for her sophomore release, 2002's Brian Eno-influenced Helium Sunset. A subsequent tour featured a full backing band and orchestra, additions that also shaped 2006's White Velvet.

RIYL:
CocoRosie, Regina Spektor, Tori Amos

MANO SOLO (ABO #328)

J'AURAIS VOULU... LE MEILLEUR DE
MANO SOLO

To say the news of the death of Mano Solo came as a shock certainly is an overstatement. All those who took interest in the man's music knew from the start about his condition. HIV-positive then ill with AIDS, this has been the life of Mano since the begining of his solo career and probably his founding battle and the basis on which he build his lyrical style. But, to sum Mano to his disease wouldn't be fair, the man had much more to offer than just pain and misery. His passion for life, his sensitivity, his ability to voice out the life of simple people were some of the artist's strong points.
His music displayed a clever mix of classic chanson (think Léo Ferré, Jacques Brel, etc.), world music (Tango, Latino, African, Gypsy) and alternative rock (he started his career as part of French alternative rock band The Chihuahuas) merging it all in something quite unique and tasty.
Son of left-wing cartoonist Cabu and ecological activist Isabelle Monin, Mano Solo was a free-minded man, a maverick in the French chanson scene who chose in 2006 to stray away from the big business and do his thing on his own thus returning to the values of his alternative rock debut.
For all these reasons and more, Mano will be dearly missed and probably never replaced. He died last Sunday, he was 46. R.I.P.
NOTE: This compilation is just a short introduction to Mano Solo's art. All his albums, except maybe 2004's Les Animals, are worth checking and can be ordered on Mano's website.

Mano Solo : Allo Paris
envoyé par MANO-SOLO. - Regardez la dernière sélection musicale.

MANO SOLO, je suis venu vous voir
envoyé par sassako1. - Clip, interview et concert.

My MANO SOLO Top 3
1 - La Marmaille Nue (1993)
2 - Dehors (2000)
3 - Je Sais Pas Trop (1997)
3 - In the Garden (2007)

My MANO SOLO Bottom 3
1 - Les Animals (2004)
2 - Internationale Sha La La (1999)
3 - Frères Misère (1996)

RIYL:
Les Têtes Raides, Thomas Fersen, La Tordue

THE RAINCOATS (ABO #318)

THE RAINCOATS
SELECTED DROPS
(1980-1996)

In a twisted and humorous way, England's The Raincoats could be compared to the Shaggs, once said to be the worst band in the world. They share the same quirky sense of destructured melody and weird harmonies, the notable differences being that The Raincoats do it voluntarily and to a result that actually sounds good.
It's no wonder this all-girls post-punk combo reached cult status. For starters, witnessing girls playing music that is usually all-male and infusing into it a real feminity is a breath of fresh air. Then the use of harmony vocals and fiddle certainly bring something new to their folk-influenced avant-pop punk music. In my opinion, the only thing that kept these birds from becoming a major success is the totally uncompromised way they did their thing which is another good point to their credit.
This baistophe displays song from the three classic albums released in the early 80's, their 1983 live album and some more from their 1996 reformation album which, incidentally, happened after Kurt Cobain claimed his love of their music. I know the Cobain reference will drive some people away from the Raincoats, that would be a mistake and, trust me, their music deserve your attention more than many male formations do. Enjoy.

My RAINCOATS List
1 - Moving (1984)
2 - Odyshape (1981)
3 - The Raincoats (1980)
4 - Looking in the Shadows (1996)
5 - The Kitchen Tapes (live) (1983)

RIYL:
Liliput, Young Marble Giants, Television Personalities

KEREN ANN (ABO #312)

KEREN ANN
SUSURRATIONS MELANCOLIQUES

Singer/songwriter Keren Ann Zeidel, who records under the name Keren Ann, was born in Israel in 1974 to a Dutch-Javanese mother and a Russian-Israeli father. She was nine when her parents bought her a guitar, on which she learned to play songs by Joni Mitchell and Serge Gainsbourg. In the years to come, she would also learn to play the harmonica and the clarinet. Zeidel and her family, including a brother and sister, lived in Israel and Holland before settling in Paris, France, when she was 11.
In the 1990s Zeidel met musician/arranger Benjamin Biolay, with whom she would form a fruitful partnership. In 1997 she had a small part (as Judith) in Alexandre Arcady's K, and in 1998 she released a couple of singles (including "I+I+I") as a member of Shelby, but they attracted little attention.
Zeidel released her full-length debut, La Biographie de Luka Philipsen, in 2000. On it, she combined trip-hop, folk, and French pop to sublime effect. Lyrically and thematically, she was inspired by her family history; the name Philipsen, for example, comes from her maternal grandmother. Biolay assisted with the writing and arranging. As influences on her unique sound, Zeidel has cited Russian literature, Jewish folk music, French poetry, Bob Dylan, and Suzanne Vega, whose "Luka" is also referenced in the title (in 2001, Zeidel would open for Vega in France). La Biographie was enthusiastically received in Europe, garnering favorable comparisons to Françoise Hardy, Portishead, Beth Orton, and Dido. In addition, it earned several nominations for the French equivalent of the Grammy, the Victoires: Best New Discovery (Artist and Album) and Best Song of the Year. The song "Jardin d'Hiver" ("Wintergarden") was co-written by Biolay and became a hit for Henri Salvador. Zeidel and Biolay contributed a total of five songs to his best-selling Chambre Avec Vue. A version of "Jardin d'Hiver" also appears on La Biographie.
In 2001 Zeidel assisted with the writing of Biolay's Rose Kennedy. Her follow-up to La Biographie, La Disparition ("The Disappearance"), came out the following year. She recorded a version in English at the same time. While preparing the album, Zeidel listened to a lot of Beatles, Chet Baker, and Tom Waits recordings, resulting in a bluesier, jazzier sound. As with La Biographie, much of the material was written with Biolay, who has also claimed the Beatles as an influence. Late in 2003 the English-language Not Going Anywhere arrived and was distributed by Blue Note in the U.S. the following summer. After relocating to New York, Keren Ann released the half-French, half-English Nolita in 2004, which marked the first time she worked without Biolay, producing and writing most of the tracks on the album herself. In 2007 her self-titled full-length hit shelves. (allmusic)

RIYL:
Coralie Clément, Benjamin Biolay, Françoiz Breut

OLIVIA RUIZ (ABO #310)

OLIVIA RUIZ
VOUS HABITEZ CHEZ VOS PARENTS?

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Let's start with her embarrassing participation to the first edition of Star Academy Edition… Luckily, she didn't win but quickly knew how to convert this experience into success with a record compagny and a first studio album, "J'aime pas l'amour". To do so, she contacts Juliette, Weepers Circus, Chet and others alternative chanson artists to help her write top notch material (J'aime pas l'amour, Le Tango du qui, Petite Fable…). A first appreciated album even if some songs sound like commercial teenage orientated chanson. It's only with the second album, La Femme Chocolat, that we can really define Olivia's music touch: folk, punk, indie, Hispanic Rock and Nouvelle Chanson.
With this second disc, Olivia Ruiz is awarded as the Female Artist Of The Year in 2001. The 'Live Chocolat Show' was a fantastic moment of phantasmagoria and extravaganza and she also won a prize for it (Concert of the Year).
Two years later, she writes the lyrics for her third studio album called Miss Météores. She co-arranges the music with her life partner, Mathias Malzieu (of French indie rock band Dyonisos) and one more time collaborates with friends and family (The rapper Buck 65, the dark cabaret project Lonely Drifter Karen, the indie band Noisettes, the french indie band Comign Soon, her brother and father, etc…). Just like the Chocolat show, Météores Show offers a spectacular live concert with beautiful scenes in which Olivia sings and dances her little stories, joking with the audience, inviting friends and family too...
All you have in 'Vous habitez chez vos parents?' is a 'patchwork': songs from the studio albums, covers and songs with other artists such as Brigitte Fontaine, Christophe, Mathias Malzieu, Weepers Circus,François Hadji Lazaro… Just listen to it with an open-mind and I'm sure you'll discover how attractive and entertaining Olivia's world is! And, as she's only 30 years old, we can assume the best is still to come…

mStanzas OLIVIA RUIZ Top
1 - La Femme Chocolat
2 - Miss Météores
3 - J'aime Pas L'Amour

RIYL:
Anaïs, La Grande Sophie, Jeanne Cherhal

(selection, rip and text by mStanzas, artwork by SFP)