Bonjour Motherfuckers #22
I like to leave things out in the open so I don’t really want to say if this is going to be the last edition of Bonjour Motherfuckers or not; it’s no secret we’re closing very soon, so every column/editorial/lengthier piece becomes harder and harder to write as the fateful date approaches. But in spite of an unavoidable denial that comes from an emotional relationship to a safe place (like Daft Punk once said, we’re only human after all), the time has come to remind you I won’t be bringing fresh music macarons on a monthly basis for much longer — at least in the format and place you’ve grown accustomed to.
But we’ll have plenty of time to mourn the dead when they actually — well, die. If there’s something Lenny Kravitz has taught me is that it ain’t over till it’s over, so prick up your ears and tune into this magnifique selection of some of the best new French music I put together just for you. As Nancy used to sing, keep the candle burning until it burns out — it’s a fine, fine life.
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Baston share new single ‘Primates’, announce debut LP
After a solid debut EP called Gesture in 2015, four years of (almost) complete silence made many declare Rennes-based prematurely dead. So it’s with much joy that I recently received a press release from their label Howlin Banana Records announcing they not only had a new single out (‘Primates’, whose video you can watch above) but also that the band would be releasing their first proper full-length in November. Welcome back to the world of Baston’s pop motorik. Vous nous manquiez les gars.
Fabio Viscogliosi releases new album Rococo
It’s been over a decade since the Italo-french artist and musician Fabio Viscogliosi has treated us to a proper full-length — Fenomeno came out in 2007, and after that we only got a few collabs here and there. But all good things come to those who wait, and his new LP Rococo is proof of that: a superb collection of happy/sad Pop tunes evoking ghosts of both Christmas past and future, it gradually takes over the room to the pointing of transforming your everyday routine in an intricate, intense film. It’s out now via Objet Disque.
Rendez-Vous unveil video for ‘Last Stop’
It’s already been a year since Rendez-Vous released their brilliant debut LP Superior State, and as they get ready to play the last dates of their Expanded Corruption Tour (which ends with a show at Paris’ La Cigale in January), they have shared the visuals for yet another track from the album: ‘Last Stop’ succeeds to ‘Double Zero’ and ‘Sentimental Animal’, the video relying heavily on a pixelated mid-noughties’ aesthetics. And horses. Lots of horses. Check it out above.
Cerrone returns with ‘The Impact’, announces new LP
French disco maestro extraordinaire — a.k.a. “the most sampled French artist in the history of music” — is back: he’s just released his first track since 2016’s Red Lips, a classy prog-disco track called ‘The Impact’ in which he samples Jane Goodall to deliver a powerful message about climate change. The single is accompanied by a video directed by Etienne Perrone showing images of desolate landscapes, burnt forests, and depressing landfill sites. ‘The Impact’ is the first taster of his forthcoming new album DNA which is due out next year.
Hot Mule re-releases Touré Kunda’s debut LP Mandinka Dong
Back in 1977, Senegalese brothers Ismaïl and Sixu Touré arrive in Paris with the plan of becoming Pop stars. Despite a series of obstacles ranging from financial difficulties to their parents’ music ban (which they saw as a “work of the devil”), they manage to self-release an LP called Mandinka Dong, limited to 700 copies. The first pressing rapidly became very hard to find (especially in a decent condition), so Hot Mule is re-releasing this brilliant piece of afro-fusion funk for its 40th anniversary in both digital and physical formats, restored and remastered in all its sonic glory. You can stream it in full via bandcamp.
No reason for you to stop following the Bonjour Motherfuckers playlist which will always be here to brighten up your days with some of the most exciting new French musique. Check out season one here as well, and don’t forget to tune into RUC for the radio version.
Originally published at https://www.thefourohfive.com.
