John Barry R.I.P.

It has been reported today that John Barry, one of the great film score composers of the 20th Century, has died.

We don't play much John Barry at L'Amour Electronique (his widescreen music is better suited to our sister night Tonight We Fly), but here are a few L'Amour related points of interest:

• John Barry was Jane Birkin's first husband, with whom she had their daughter Kate. 
• John Barry composed the score to Beat Girl, which starred Gillian Hills. 
• John Barry was an early adopter of the Moog synthesizer - see his score for the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).

He also made great use of the synth on the awesome 'theme from The Persuaders' (1971).



His music will live on.

Girls in the Garage volume 12 (bonus)

Pssssst!  Remember I had an advance mp3 version of Girls in the Garage volume 12?  And remember there was one track that was included on the vinyl version but not listed on the sleeve (Les Emeraudes - see comments on the previous post).

Well, the mp3s had 2 more songs tagged onto the end, and these are they:
(the Annie Girardot has quite a violent fade on the end - but that's the way it is.)

16. Célia - Il n'y pas que toi
17. Annie Girardot - La femme faux cils
[Girls in the Garage volume 12 is released on Saperlipopette in Europe and Dionysus Records in the US. You can order it direct from them or from bompstore.com | clearspot.nl | shinybeast.nl]


Does anyone know anything about these 2 mystery tracks?

L'Amour Electronique Samedi Soir + November setlist

Salut!  Our next L'Amour Electronique disco is this Saturday 22 January.
9pm - 3am at The West Hill in Brighton
entry is FREE all night

Join us for a late-night audio cocktail of 60s ye-ye, 80s synthpop, gallic freakbeat, plus many more things French and/or electronic.

We will be digging out a few choice Broadcast tracks in memory of Trish Keenan. Watch out also for songs from the ace new Girls In The Garage compilation, and lots of Francoise Hardy, whose birthday it was last Monday.

see you there!
xxx
ps. November's setlist is below

Here's the setlist from L’Amour Electronique on 27 November 2010.  We've not included mp3s again, as, like the previous month, there will hopefully be a special mix available soon.


Verity

Petula Clark – Les James Dean

Pavement – Decouvert de Soleil

Depeche Mode – Enjoy The Silence

Stereolab – Les Yper-Sound

Bob Lapointe - Diba Diba

April March – Magic Ass

France Gall – Laisse Tomber Les Filles

The Knife – Pass This On

Dominic

Jenny Rock – Au Go Go

Boy From Brazil – Le Claqueur De Doigts

Joanna – Hold-up Inusité

Serge Gainsbourg et Jean-Claude Brialy - C’est La Cristallisation Comme Dit Stendhal

Stereo Total – Comme Un Garçon

Antoine – Les Élucubrations d’Antoine

Jacques Dutronc – Et Moi, Et Moi, Et Moi

John & Jehn – 20L07

I Monster – Who Is She?

Les Charlots – St. Rock

Michel Polnareff – Computer’s Dream

Sarah

France Gall – Zoï Zoï

Brigitte Bardot – Le Diable Est Anglais

Liz Brady – Bas Les Pattes

Sylvie Vartan – Koibito Jidai

Chantal Goya – Une Écharpe, Une Rose

Charlotte Gainsbourg – AF607105

Sebastien Tellier – Divine

Vive La Fête – Maladie d’un Fon

Stereo Total – Alaska

Verity

Jacques Dutronc – Je Suis Content

Pete Shelley – Qu’est-ce Que C’est Que Ça

Serge Gainsbourg – Marilu

Baby Birkin – Orangutan

Mareva Galanter avec Jacno – Bang Bang

Françoise Hardy – Coment Te Dire Adieu

Brigitte Bardot – Tu Veux Ou Tu Veux Pas

Dauerfisch – Peter Thomas Kann Nicht Zählen

Michel Polnareff – Y’a Que Pas Pouvoir Qu’on Peut

Human League – (Keep Feeling) Fascination

Dominic

Telex – Moskow Diskow

Large Number – The Number People

Jean-Claude Vannier – Je M’apelle Geraldine (up-tempo version)

Françoise Hardy – Apprends Le Moi

Gillian Hills – Oublie

Chantal Goya – Laisse Moi

Eddy Mitchell – Baseball

Serge Gainsbourg – En Melody

David Bowie – Weeping Wall

Jacques Brel – Amsterdam

Adèle – Je Ne Veux Plus D’Accordéon

Sarah

Brigitte Bardot – Bubblegum

France Gall – Dis á Ton Capitaine

Les Roche Martin – Les Mains Dans Les Poches

Mick Harvey & Anita Lane – 69 Erotic Year

Future Bible Heroes – I’m A Vampire

Momus – Trust Me, I’m A Doctor

Patrick Wolf – Bluebell

The Associates – 24 Carat Love Affair

John Foxx – Underpass

Verity

New Order – 586

Lio – Banana Split

France Gall - C’est Air La

Françoise Hardy – Que Mal y a-t-il á ça

Marie Laforêt – Et Si Je T’aime

Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem Pour Un Con

Ray Davies (BBC Radiophonic Workshop) – Breezy Bounce

Crystal Castles feat. Robert Smith – Not In Love

Jean-Michel Jarre – Magnetic Fields pt.4

Neon Neon – Neon Theme

Dominic

Stereolab – John Cage Bubblegum

Spider & The Flies - Spider & The Flies

Les 5 Gentlemen – Si Tu Reviens Chez Moi

Jacqueline Taïeb – 7 Heures Du Matin

Cosette – L’Idéalisation

Silicon Teens – You Really Got Me

Soft Cell – What

Stone – C’est Ma Vie

Monty – Que Me Reste-t-il?

Messieurs R. De Bordeaux Et D.Beretta – Psychose

Jacques Brel – Les Filles et Les Chiens

Sarah

Christie Laume – Agathe Ou Christie

Electronicat – Frisco Bay

Dandi Wind – Balloon Factory

Les Georges Leningrad – Missing Gary

Dauerfisch – So Gut

Add N To (X) – Take Me To Your Leader

Bis – Action + Drama

Qunitron & Miss Pussycat – Love Is Like A Blob

Stereo Total – Komplex Mit Dem Sex

Verity

Jacques Dutronc – Les Cactus

Catherine Desmarets – Les Petites Croix

Heavenly – Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges

Belle & Sebastian – Electronic Renaissance

Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxgene pt.4

Sandie Shaw – Toujour Un Coin

Dominic

Jocelyne – Nitty Gritty

Bazooka – Dada Dodo (version instrumental)

Jiri Bezant/Jiri Malasek – Erotica 2

Kraftwerk – Autobahn (single edit)

Die Dorau + Die Marinas – Fred Vom Jupiter

Virginie Rodin – Commando Spatial

Michel Polnareff – Time Will Tell

Michel Legrand – Digue Ding Ding

Claude François – Ma Petite Amie est De Retour

Fabienne Delsol – Ce Jour La

Sarah

Ladytron – Another Breakfast With You

Pulp – Separations

Giorgio Moroder – From Here To Eternity

Verity

Hot Butter – Popcorn

Katerine – Louxor J’Adore

Vanessa Paradis – Joe Le Taxi

Dominic

Eileen – Ce Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher

Chevette – We Can Dance Again

Brigitte Bardot – Harley Davidson

Sarah

The B-52s – Planet Clare

Qunitron & Miss Pussycat – Dream Captain

Trish Keenan R.I.P.

We heard the truly sad news that Trish Keenan, singer in Broadcast, passed away last Friday.

We have been big fans of Broadcast and their beautiful and spooky psych/jazz/kraut analogue electronica since their earliest records. A bright star has gone out...

Girls in the Garage volume 12

Let’s face it: this French 60s lark is a bit of a niche market, so it’s always good news when a new compilation is unleashed for us fanatics to gobble up (especially when this particular fanatic only has 4 of the 14 tracks). What’s even better is that it has the Girls in the Garage seal of approval, and even more better-er are the rumours it was compiled by the elusive Sasha Monett, who gave us the essential Swinging Mademoiselle volumes 1 and 2. Yes, this latest G.i.t.G. could easily have been titled Swinging Mademoiselle volume 3. 11 years later and we finally have a formidable follow-up: tripleplusgood as we used to say in 1984.

Copies haven’t landed in the UK yet, but mine’s on its way from France – “14 charming French swinging ladies” on clear blue vinyl *drools*. Luckily I have a secret source who has sent me a preview mp3 version, here’s a blow-by-blow account:

Side 1
1. Les Chéries - Mai qui que quoi donc où (1967)
Typical femme pop: identical twins with sassy blonde pixie-cuts, add some cheesy Hammond, treble-y guitar jangle, a bit of brass, and that loose, bubbling French bass-style with a rapidly-descending scale every few bars, speed it up towards the end, and we’re on our way…

2. Evy - Une question qui se pose (1965)
This definitely pricked my ears up: Evy’s raunchy cover of ‘Questions I Can’t Answer’ by Joe Meek’s golden boy Heinz. I do love those RGM productions but this has got a hell of a lot more balls to it!

3. Tonia - Un petit rien (1966)
Who is Tonia? I have no idea. Belgian you say? All I know is she’s got those cute France Gall vocal-stylings down pat and some cool echo on her voice when she hits the refrain. There’s a very pleasant booming reverb sound to this whole recording, and my motto is: you can never have too much reverb!

4. Les Princesses - Oh! dis-moi (1966)
Ooh! Fuzz bass and, what I like to call, the Sesame Street 3-chord piano rhythm (see also Liz Brady’s ‘Bas Les Pattes’). Les Princesses were a girl group from French Guyana – dig those Rhythm & Blues.

5. Annie Markan - Raconte-moi (1966)
Annie was the ‘A’ in Les Gam’s, she went solo and gave us some soulful songs that, apparently, didn’t make her a star. This one reminds me of some of Petula Clark’s French releases. Which is a good thing.

6. Pascale & Suzie - Les rendez-vous Menier (1966)
Can you really sell chocolate bars with a garage-y dance-floor shaker like this? Menier seemed to think so: according to the sleeve notes it was released as a promotional record for their chocolate bars. Thankfully Pascal & Suzie (the ‘S’ in Les Gam’s) make it sound more like they’re going to the hip new beat-club in Paris. You must have heard of Le Menier. No?

7. Caroline - Mister a gogo (1967)
I ask myself: Do I really need a French version of David Bowie’s ‘The Laughing Gnome’? Probably not, it’s fun, but I’ve already found myself skipping onto side 2. It’s a strange inlcusion, especially as it was included as a bonus track on the CD version of SM vol 2. What could have been worse, though, would have been a French version of one of Bowie’s mime skits. I’ll let you think about that while you turn the record over…

Side Two
1. Christie Laume - Chic voilà le soleil (1968)
Yay! One of Christie’s only 16 songs that hasn’t already been comp’ed, I can’t think why, ‘cause this is ace! A really wonky pop number, hooked around a brilliantly odd piano and glockenspiel(?) motif, that shows off her “unique” singing style at it’s best.

2. Katty Line - Un petit peu d'amour (1969)
Katty Line covers Aussie mods The Easybeats: Maximum R&B en Français!

3. Jany L. - Le restaurant Chinois (1968)
I first heard about this rare mademoiselle on the superlative, but sadly defunct, Spiked Candy blog. I don’t think I’m alone in wondering why this has never found its way onto any French compilations until now. Our Jany likes eating in the Chinese restaurant because she get to use chopsticks instead of a fork. There’s a song in there somewhere: a driving, beat-style belter of a song with some deliciously clichéd oriental motifs on the xylophone. Casual racism? Perhaps they were more innocent times in 1968.

4. Marjorie Noël - Au temps des princes charmants (1967)
I swear this is a cover. No idea what, but it sounds very familiar. Marjorie looks too young to be doing grown up songs like this, but she holds herself well. The result: A big production with vibraphones, horns, a motown beat, and a vocal that stays just on the right side of sickly.

5. Clothilde - Le Boa (1967)
Every French yé-yé comp needs a Clothilde song, so here we are: another fantastique piece of everything-and-the-kitchen-sink production from the ace Germinal Tenas - baroque-fuzz-pop perfection.

6. Charlotte Walters - Fleurs de pavots bleus (1969)
A freaky-psychedelic slow burner, full of faux-Eastern mystique. Is this really what Les Fleurs de Pavots listen to when they’re down? Or is it just a sly, hippy-drippy piss-take?

7. Kathy - Ma moto (1973)
Another one to add to the ‘Girl on a Motorcycle’ genre (see BB’s ‘Harley Davidson’ and Dani’s ‘La Fille à la Moto’). A bit of a late-comer, but a welcome addition: early-70’s road-worthy rhythm and blues with some sexy Jean-Claude Vannier-style strings and breathy backing vocals. Oh and the sound of motorbikes revving up and roaring off into the horizon.


I think we deserve to hear a couple of songs after all that:
Evy - Une question qui se pose
Les Princesses - Oh! dis-moi
[Girls in the Garage volume 12 is released on Saperlipopette in Europe and Dionysus Records in the US. You can order it direct from them or from bompstore.com | clearspot.nl | shinybeast.nl]

L'Amour à la Chaîne pt.3

Happy New Year!

Our first (proper) post of 2011 is the next step in the chain of love: The link is Marseille, where a certain Italian composer heard the 3-note police siren that inspired the stirring and monumental Je Changerais D'Avis...

Les 5 Gentlemen formed in Corsica as Les Ambitieux, but set up base in Marseille where they switched names and honed their Franco-R'n'B psych-garage sound. They also had a pop at the British pop charts releasing one single - Daytime: an English language cover of Dis-Nous Dylan - under the name of Darwin's Theory.  It bombed.  In 1966 they released their first ep for Riviera with a true freakbeat stomper as the lead track.

Cara-Lin, is a cover of a song originally written and recorded by the writer/producer team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein and Richard Gottehrer (aka FGG Productions) for their faux-Aussie garage band The Strangeloves.

Check out this freakout Scopitone of Les Gents performing under the arches at some crazy, drug-fuelled happening.


Other essentials by Les 5 Gentlemen include the acid-nightmare LSD 25 and piano-led belter Si Tu Reviens Chez Moi.




Les 5 Gentlemen - Cara-Lin
[buy Les 5 Gentlemen from Amazon.fr | discogs.com]


...................................................................
L'Amour à la Chaîne: what will be the next link in the chain? Leave your suggestions and reasons in the comments.
Jacques Dutronc - L'Amour à la Chaîne > Françoise Hardy - Je Changerais D'Avis > Les 5 Gentlemen – Cara-Lin > ?

Mick Karn R.I.P.

Mick Karn, the man responsible for all those fluid-as-honey Japan bass-lines, died yesterday. Let's take a minute or two to enjoy one of his finest moments: