Music - Paris - page 711

Rock & Pop
French pop has come a long way since the yéyé (imitative rock) days of the 1960s as sung
by Johnny Hallyday. The distinctive M is the son of singer Louis Chédid; Arthur H is the
progeny of pop-rock musician Jacques Higelin; and Thomas Dutronc
( www.thomasdutronc.fr ) is the offspring of 1960s idols Jacques and Françoise Hardy. Serge
Gainsbourg's daughter with Jane Birkin, songwriter-singer and actress Charlotte (b 1971)
made her musical debut in 1984 with the single 'Lemon Incest' and - several albums later -
released a cover version of the song 'Hey Joe' as soundtrack to the film Nymphomaniac
(2013), in which she also starred.
Noir Désir was the sound of French rock until its lead vocalist, Bertrand Cantat (b 1964),
was imprisoned in 2003 for the murder of his girlfriend. Following his early release from
prison in 2007, Noir Désir limped along until 2010. The controversial singer, once dubbed
the 'Jim Morrison of French rock', later formed the band Détroit with instrumentalist Pascal
Humbert. Cantat's powerfully husky voice instantly won fans over, Détroit's first album, Ho-
rizons (2013), selling 160,000 copies in just six months and tickets for the band's 2014 tour
selling like hot cakes.
Indie rock band Pheonix from Versailles - born in the late 1990s in a garage in the Paris
suburbs - headlines festivals in the US and UK. Lead singer Thomas Mars (b 1976), his
schoolmate Chris Mazzalai (guitar), his brother Laurent Brancowitz (guitar and keyboards)
and Deck d'Arcy (keyboards and brass) have five hugely successful albums under their belt
and a much-coveted Grammy award.
Always worth a listen is Louise Attaque ( http://louiseattaque.com ) and Nosfell
( www.nosfell.com ) , one of France's most creative and intense musicians, who sings in his
own invented language called 'le klokobetz'. His third album, Massif Armour (2014), opens
and closes in 'le klokobetz' but otherwise woos listeners with powerful French love lyrics.
David Guetta, Laurent Garnier ( www.laurentgarnier.com ) , Martin Solveig and Bon Sinclair
( www.bobsinclar.com ) - originally nicknamed 'Chris the French Kiss' - are top Parisian
electronica producers and DJs who travel the international circuit.
Electronica
Paris does dance music very well, computer-enhanced Chicago blues and Detroit techno of-
ten being mixed with 1960s lounge music and vintage tracks from the likes of Gainsbourg
and Brassens to create a distinctly urban and highly portable sound.