Bonjour Motherfuckers #15
By the time this gets published, a lot has already been said and done about Notre Dame’s fire; tears have been cried and dried, history has been mourned and rebuilt, life has stopped in its tracks and resumed its stolid course. So I’m not going to blab about loss, the fragility of man-made infrastructures — even those which seemed to be virtually eternal — or the hypocrisy that reuniting nearly 1 billion euros overnight represents when approximately the same number of people don’t even have access to drinking water. Instead, I want to use this as a pretext to celebrate humanity’s remarkable ability to heal, to come together, and to empathise with both the individual and the collective via common cultural referents. Because in the end it’s never the physical things that matter, but instead the aura they end up emanating, binding us all together and reminding us we are indeed one and one alone. Which is pretty much what music does.
I’d also like to publicly congratulate myself for having been able to reach the fifteenth (!) regular edition of Bonjour Motherfuckers, which has joyfully been serving you some of the best new French music for over a year now on a (roughly) monthly basis. It really makes me happy to imagine that I might have something to do with you finding your new favourite thing. And no, I’m not usually this sentimental; Spring does weird things to me.
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Botine announces debut EP Acid Sensible
Rodez-based musician Clément Vidamant a.k.a. has announced he’ll be releasing his debut EP later this spring. Titled Acid Sensible, it gathers four tracks (plus a remix) composed between 2013 and 2016, and is due out on May 17th via Johnkôôl Records. The EP is previewed by debut single ‘Prgrm 29’ which sees Vidamant mixing IDM, psychedelia, and braindance into a pop-coated synth fantasy. Check it out above.
BB Brunes release new single ‘Visage’
Once upon a time I was very much in love with , both their debut Blonde Comme Moi and follow-up Nico Teen Love being superb examples of the new French indie rock, adapting the likes of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys to the language of love. But with 2012’s Long Courrier they headed towards a new direction music-wise and the mojo was lost — for me, at least. 2019 sees Adrian Gallo & co. back with a vengeance, this ‘Visage’ being the first taster of an exciting return to form. Welcome back les gars.
LUNEAPACHE release debut LP Onironautes
Self-describing their sound as “somewhere between Syd Barrett and Étienne Daho,” quartet LUNEAPACHE are relatively newcomers to the French psych scene, their debut full-length hitting the shelves as you read this piece: Onironautes was released last month digitally via Toolong Records, but the physical copies should be arriving to your local record store any day now. The video for the LP’s self-titled single is a kaleidoscopic illustration of the track, and can be watched above.
Fotomatic unveil video for single ‘Bipolarity’
You’d think they come from Manchester sometime in the late ’80s, but post-punk trio Fotomatic are as French as a baguette with a red beret (though I have no idea why a baguette would need a beret). Hailing from beautiful Toulouse, Maxime, Guillaume, and Laura have recently treated us to the visuals of their excellent debut single ‘Bipolarity’, a sort of love child of Buzzcocks and Siouxsie Sioux. The clip was directed by the band’s bassist Guillaume, and you can watch it above.
Dombrance shares new single ‘Taubira’
After having released a single called ‘Raffarin’ (a reference to the French prime minister who served during Chirac’s presidency), Bertrand Lacombe’s Dombrance is back with ‘Taubira’, an hypnotic new tune that borrows its name from Hollande’s French minister of Justice. Slightly less disco than its predecessor, ‘Taubira’ is an amazing treat for every fan of early 00s French Touch, predicting an exciting future full-length from the Paris-based producer.
If you’re one of those people who are constantly complaining they have nothing to listen to, you clearly haven’t yet subscribed to the ongoing Bonjour Motherfuckers playlist in which I gather every artist I mention here. You can (and should) also check out Season One, and keep an ear on ruc.pt for the Portuguese-spoken radio version of the column.
Originally published at https://www.thefourohfive.com.
