Le Pop 9

RD: 2018-06-29

Record Label: Le Pop Musik
Catalog ID: LPM 48
Format: Master

<span class="compilation-title">Le Pop</span> <span class="compilation-number">9</span> by

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The new chanson generation, modern and completely renewed #

Attention - here comes the new blood! A new generation of artists is setting out to stir up the pop scene in France. With no respect, full of musical ideas and incredibly talented. It's not for nothing that the compilation Le Pop 9 is subtitled "au début": 16 brand-new artists from France are introducing themselves here, all of whom have never appeared on a Le Pop before. Artists, some of whom are still waiting to release their debut album, but who are already causing a furore in their home country. "Le Pop 9: au début" breathes fresh air from the neighbouring country. A contemporary sound characterizes the current scene and ensures that creative chanson-pop can be rediscovered in all its facets.

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Hollydays

A suited prelude: In "Les Insastifaits", the parisian duo Elise Preys and Sébastien Delage sketch the portrait of generation Y and its search for meaning amidst the realms of self-optimisation, consumption and social media. The Hollydays’ music unites influences from R&B, Electronic and Chanson into a combined mix which they themselves call "pleurer danser" (cry dance), a kind of melancholic dance music. Whilst very contemporary in sound, the subtle elegance of the duo reminds us of the magical pop of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt aka Everything but the Girl.
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Angèle

The 22-year-old from Brussels comes from a family of artists: her father a singer, her mother an actor, her brother the rapper Roméo Elvis; all of these talents feeding into her own. Despite only having released two singles, Angèle reaches double digit millions in Youtube clicks and already went on an extended and celebrated tour. It’s never too early, as Angèle proves on stage by showcasing her refreshing merging of Pop, HipHop and Chanson with such a contagious energy that one can’t help but speak of a great discovery. The lyrics to "Je veux tes yeux" incidentally deal with online acquaintances which are better left to the virtual world, so that the beautiful illusion cannot be spoilt by reality itself.
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Polo & Pan

Parisian artists and DJs Polocorp (Paul Armand-Delille) and Peter Pan (Alexander Grynszpan) first launched the Polo & Pan project in order to experiment with song writing aside from their respective occupations. A hype rapidly surrounded the duo, with prolifically booked live shows and remix demands from other artists. Their airy dance-pop infused with Latin rhythms, techno beats and Exotica is perfectly balanced in "Canopée" by the guest singers Marguerite Bartherotte and Victoria Lafaurie. Not to mention the song is suitably set in a jungle’s treetops somewhere by the Equator.
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Eddy Crampes

Eddy Crampes from Toulouse is an acting representative of a new generation of bustling French Indie labels of the likes of Objet Disque and the hyperactive La Souterraine, whose Bandcamp presence puts forward many talented artists in quick succession whilst presenting new publications on a weekly basis. Amongst them are numerous compilations providing many great discoveries. Eddy Crampes is one of them. His "Automne" is a soft and sparkling pop hymn in a minimalistic spirit. He has also produced a cover version of Dominique A's classic song "Le courage des oiseaux", which closes the circle with the first ever Le Pop compilation.
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Pomme

The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree: the parents of Claire Pommet – alias Pomme – are also musicians. The now 22-year-old from Lyon began writing her own songs very early on, recording herself and uploading her webcam videos onto Youtube. Since then Pomme has become a very busy newcomer, with her first album in the bag and performances alongside big names such as Vianney, Louane or Camille. As with many other female artists of her generation, Coeur de Pirate’s influence has left a mark in her music and her attitude, while her style acquires a distinctive folk-tinged feel from the sounds of autoharp and guitar. "De là-haut" is almost untypical for its sound. With its orchestral production and without sounding retro, Pomme’s reminds us of Petula Clark’s singles. Pomme’s modulation-rich vocals are in any case timelessly fascinating.
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Paradis

Simon Mény and Pierre Rousseau successfully and simultaneously pursue two traditions: French Electro and traditional Chanson. The fusion works successfully with shimmering elegance. Paradis’ breakthrough was indeed marked by a cover version of Alain Souchon already introducing the harmonious and voluptuous sound surfaces to come. "Sur une chanson en français" is an example of a subtle, pointed beat combined with soft bass tones. The song draws a scenario of escapism, which the duo simulate perfectly in sound.
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Laurie Darmon

Sound familiar: growing up in a musician’s household, beginning to make music at an early age, blessed with literary talent – a chanson career seems all but inevitable. After a detour studying law, Laurie Darmon followd her destiny and produced her debut album "Février 91" after releasing two EPs at the end of 2017. The Georges Moustaki award-winner describes her style as "chanson with rap and slam tendencies" – which becomes clear listening to "Rupture": strings are in harmony with a human beat box, and the vocals smoothly oscillate between rap and melodic phrasing. A refreshing and undogmatic crossover that remains nonetheless more pop than HipHop.
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Ezechiel Pailhès

Ezechiel Pailhès delivers yet another example of a successful fusion of electronic music and chanson. In his second solo album "Tout va bien", Pailhès, otherwise part of the successful club act Nôze (Le Pop La Boum), indulges in his faible for classical music, film soundtracks and jazz. The Montreuil based artist usually wraps his melodies in electronic sounds that he teases out of every imaginable keyboard instrument. This peculiar mixture draws a line from Pascal Comelade to Matthew Herbert. The song "Éternel été"oozes the jovial yet melancholic atmosphere of the summer melting away, featuring an undeniably groovy beat.
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Ali Danel

Ali Danel’s debut album sounds rough, carefree and spontaneous. Allegedly "et ses ami.e.s" was created as a mixtape: Danel fuses duets, cover versions and as with "À peine défigurée", an interpretation of a poem, into a fantastical kaleidoscope with little technical and production effort. As influences, he of course names the likes of Gainsbourg, Katerine (see Le Pop Vol.1) and the Cameroonian Afrobeat star Francis Bebey, all of which clearly resonates in "À peine défigurée". Ali Danel lives in Le Havre. The fresh sea air and the distance from Parisian sound make him an eccentric figure of the new scene. And accordingly, the words which he sets to music are borrowed from Paul Éluard.
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La Femme

Heaved onto the front cover of the most important French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles, La Femme were described "the future of rock". Originally from Biarritz, the quintet is one of the few established acts on Le Pop 9. Their two albums (Psycho Tropical Berlin, 2014, and Mystère, 2017) were awarded at the Victoire de la musique, and without a doubt their career is in overdrive. Thanks to their shrill looks they are the darlings of the fashion scene, having already played Yves Saint Laurent shows and been photographed by Hedi Slimane. With their furious blend of surf rock, garage and electro clash, La Femme could become something of the likes of the B52s for France or even fill the big shoes of Les Rita Mitsouko.
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Alexia Gredy

Ethereal breezes layered with harmonious synth sounds – in the land of Joe le Taxi and Alizée, this is part of the cultural heritage. But we should pace ourselves with the clichés: Alexia Gredy’s pop approach is a lot more complex. The singer-songwriter's first EP "L’Habitude" was indeed produced in collaboration with big names of the likes of Dodi El Sherbini (Phoenix), Aline, Baxter Dury and Geoff Barrow from Portishead. The result is elegant chanson pop with catchy melodies and many different sound arrangement ideas. In France, Gredy, who has already studied law and worked as a model, is compared to Françoise Hardy and Marie Laforêt. Some clichés must be allowed.
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Adrien Soleiman

Adrien Soleiman, a former jazz saxophonist and indie rocker (Beau Women), recorded his debut album in a country studio in Anjou. The place of recording stands in interesting contrast to the timbre of the recorded music – "Brille" (produced by Ash Workman, et al Metronomy, Christine & The Queens), shines with elegant and melancholic urban pop complemented by electronic colours and epic melodies. Despite elaborate musical arrangements, Soleiman’s sound remains organic and authentic. "Poisson volant" is not only the perfect example of this, but also for the technique propagated by the artist – using the saxophone as a synthesizer, discretely dosed and as an equal part of the sound mix.
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Flavien Berger

Similarly to Paradis, who have already created a remix for him, Flavien Berger is a wanderer between chanson and electronic music. His label is the hip Pan European Recording, and in reading a little about the new French chanson scene, one notices how many artists agree on this man as a point of reference. His name pops up constantly. Even Etienne Daho has already released a song with him. And to think that everything began with a Playstation game console, with which Berger composed his first songs. He has, however, not lost his naive and playful approach to creating music since then. And Flavien Berger’s sounds, vacillating between 8-Bit aesthetics and spherical surfaces, is indeed sometimes reminiscent of computer games.
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Achille

Donia Berriri won her first award, the Andrée Chedid prize (after the grand-mother of successful singer –M–), for a poem she set to music. Her nom de plume refers to the composer Debussy. She learnt to play the piano and the saxophone, studied musical theory and writes her own poetry. If such a biography does not depict a glamorous pop star story, her songs, written by herself, are just like her voice: wonderfully warm and full of soul. Her album "Iris" is one of the most beautiful chanson albums of the past year. A good dose of intellect never hurt anybody!
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Gérald Kurdian

Pop surrealist, gender activist, sound utopist … the Parisian musician and performance artist Gérald Kurdian is associated with many -isms. On stage, he acts as a soloist with all sorts of electronic equipment and identifies himself as a feminist (he founded a feminist women’s choir). As a composer he is both minimalistic and impressionistic. Influenced by the electronic experiments of Laurie Anderson and the melodies of Alain Bashung, Kurdian brings these different elements together wonderfully, much like an alchemist. He has already appeared on Libération’s best of the year list and was awarded with the Prix Paris Jeunes Talents. For us, Gérald Kurdian is a creative, electrifying francopop avantgardist.
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Chaton

Chaton is not Lyon-born Simon Rochon-Cohen’s first alter-ego. Under the name of Siméo, the multi-instrumentalist released three albums and toured extensively in Asia and Europe. Following a health crisis, the artist returns under the pseudonym Chaton with a musical sensation: he combines dub effects with chanson melodies and autotuned vocals to a sound that has never existed before. Minimalistically grooving and yet subtly melodic – such is how Chanton reinvents the Nouvelle Chanson, showing us that in the francophone cosmos everything is indeed "Possible" (the album’s title, after all!). It goes not without reason that "Poésies" concludes this compilation: Chaton’s vision is absolutely forward-looking in an eternally young genre that promises many surprises to come.
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