Jean-Michel Jarre: the first time

In case you missed it, Jean-Michel Jarre was interviewed on BBC 6Music last Sunday. You can listen to him ruminate on the differences between French and German electronic music, and his memories of his first ever synth - the EMS VCS3 'Putney'.

>>Listen here (available until 4th November 2015)

Vive le Vinyl

My ears pricked up as Jarvis opened his Sunday Service with Françoise Hardy's Autumn Rendezvous, and what followed fairly had me frothing at the mouth...

Mr Cocker paid a visit to the Radio France vinyl archive and was joined by the Dirty Sound System DJs who plundered the millions of discs for some rare French cuts by the likes of François de Roubaix, Pierre Cavalli, Alain Goraguer, and more.

It's available until 3:59pm next Sunday and it makes for ace listening >>> LISTEN HERE

French music on 6music

Lauren Laverne's 6music show is currently putting together their 'People's Playlist' feature for tomorrow. This week's theme is titled 'The Ooh La La list', and will be half an hour of listener selected music from French artistes. I've posted my 2 Francs-worth on the 6music facebook page, and you can also make suggestions on Twitter.

The People's Playlist will be broadcast tomorrow (Thursday 08 November) sometime between 10am and 1pm on BBC 6music. You can also listen again for 7 days via the iPlayer.

You may be wondering the reason for all of this sudden French-ness? It's in honour of French nouvelle-shoegaze lovelies Melody's Echo Chamber who were in session yesterday.

Here is a shimmering and woozy video of M.E.C for your delectation

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D’you know after all that talking it up, I was out when the show was on, and I’ve only just had a chance to listen to it.

Now it wasn’t all my, er, tasse de thé, but any radio station that plays Superman-Supercool by Jacky Chalard just after 10am on a Thursday morning will always always get the thumbs up from my little corner of the interweb.

The full tracklisting for an oh-so brief 30+ minutes of air time was
Jacky Chalard – Superman-Supercool
Sebastién Tellier - La Ritournelle (Mr Dans Magic Wand Remix)
MC Solaar – Nouveau Western
Stereolab – French Disko
Serge Gainsbourg – En Melody
Amadou & Mariam – Masiteladi
Daft Punk – Da Funk

Wot no yé-yé? Yeah I know. And they didn't play any of my suggestions either. *sulks*. I was just happy to hear some French music on le radio really, especially one of the Serge songs I nearly always DJ (mentions Sunderland, Lauren Laverne's home town, you know... Apparently Serge liked the romantic connotations of phonetic sound of it: "Son-de-lon". Let's presume he never actually went to Sunderland).

You can listen again until this Thursday morning on the iPlayer.

Laetitia Sadier breaks her silence

Fans of space-age jazz-pop groop Stereolab will be pleased to hear Laetitia Sadier is releasing a new album Silencio on 23rd July. She was in talking politics, unmemorable recording sessions, epiphanies in churches, the ongoing Stereolab hiatus, and why more bands should be sticking it to the man, to Radcliffe & Maconie on their 6music show yesterday. Listen to the full interview (with abridged songs*) below.

* The new songs are sounding a lot more carefully crafted and immediate than some of her previous output - all signs point to GOOD.  You can hear them in their entirety by listening to the full radio show on the iPlayer (available until 1pm on Monday 16th July)

Moogie Wonderland

Last Sunday, the Now Playing @6Music show was dedicated Bob Moog in salute to what would have been his 78th birthday earlier in the week.  The show puts the power of selection in the hands of the listeners, who can make suggestions through social media sites like Facebook and Twitter (see #Moog6Music), and dedicated Spotify playlists, which are then curated by the production team and host Tom Robinson.

[image source]

The Moog special threw up some analogue treats including an ace version of Let The Sunshine In (from the musical Hair) by Mort Garson suggested by The Horrors, an early use of Moog by The Monkees (Mickey Dolenz bought the 3rd commercially available Moog Modular off the production line), Moogie Wonderland by Stereolab, some Wendy Carlos, various 80s synth-pop classics, and even an epic Simon & Garfunkel track (on which Bob Moog apparently came to the studio to set up the Moog himself!). The one thing missing for me was something by avant-hard synth-abusers Add N To (X), or maybe some Claude Denjean Moog-madness, but I shouldn't complain when I didn't bother sending in my own suggestion, should I?

Whether every track played featured an actual Moog is up for debate, but if you enjoy the warm sound of vintage synths you should give it a listen before Sunday 3rd June.

Listen again via the BBC iPlayer >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01j8l4d

La Chanson de Serge

Not sure how I missed this, but 6music repeated La Chanson de Serge: The Serge Gainsbourg story,  a radio doc narrated by Malcolm McLaren, earlier this week.

For some reason I can only find episode 2, which is available to listen again on the iPlayer until 11.59pm on Tuesday 3rd April >>>>>> LISTEN HERE

Here's the blurb from the 6music website:

"There is no equivalent of Serge Gainsbourg in the contemporary British music scene. At his traffic-stopping funeral in 1991, President Mitterrand described him as "our Baudelaire, our Apollinaire. He elevated the song to the level of art." Today, his former home in the suburbs of Paris's Left Bank is covered in graffiti and the "wall of Serge" is a bigger shrine than Jim Morrison's grave in Pere Lachaise cemetery.

He became famous the world over for a heavy breathing hit; propositioned Whitney Houston on live TV; and caused outrage with his reggae version of Le Marseillaise. Over here Gainsbourg is known chiefly for his steamy duet with Jane Birkin, Je T'aime, a worldwide hit in 1969 which was banned by the Beeb and condemned by the Vatican.

The song was originally recorded by Gainsbourg and his then girlfriend Brigitte Bardot. When the subsequent Birkin version was released, some assumed the couple had simply placed a tape recorder under their bed during a night of passion. In fact, they were standing in two separate booths in a studio in Marble Arch.

Gainsbourg knew no musical barriers, recording jazz, reggae, pop, disco, psychedelia and rock 'n' roll. But although the French regard Serge as their very own John Lennon or Bob Dylan, his work was not so highly regarded outside his native country.

In a programme first broadcast in 2009, the late Malcolm McLaren, who lived in Paris for many years, visited the people and places central to Serge's story. These include Saint-Germain des Pres, where Gainsbourg first performed in the rive gauche cafes and bars; his former home in the Rue de Verneuil; his grave at Montparnasse cemetery; and contributors include Jane Birkin, Francoise Hardy, Petula Clark, David Holmes and biographer Sylvie Simmons."

Is Numan Human?

The answer to the question, it seems, is YES.  Unless, that is, he sent one of his androids to talk to Steve Lamacq today.

And the event?  Tubeway Army's Replicas is the 6music 'ClassicalbumoftheDay'. This means that tracks from the record have been peppered throughout today's schedule, and that Lammo got to grill the Numan all about the making of the album.  He was quite candid for an android: talking about getting used sexually by older women and banging out prototype versions of his tunes on an out-of-tune pub piano, plus, his rather ham-fisted first forays into analogue synthesis.

You can listen again via the BBC iPlayer until around 3.59pm next Wednesday 4th April >>>
LISTEN HERE.

Kraftwerk on 6Music

Depending on which DJ you believe this week/month/weekend is "Kraftwerk week/month/weekend" on that there BBC 6Music.  They keep playing a trailer, which is of course in schoolboy German (it is on as I type!), that seems to suggest it begins on Thursday.  The programme schedule on the website lists a 30-minute documentary titled "Kraftwerk: The Men Who Invented Pop" (Celebrating the influential German band Kraftwerk, Alex Kapranos tells their story.) to be aired at midnight tonight/tomorrow.  Though the information page hasn't been updated and gives details of a Lenny Kravtiz narrated doc' about Curtis Mayfield.

All very confusing.  One thing is for certain: the reasons for scheduling a "Kraftwerk week/month/weekend" at this point in time is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Model going to number 1 in the UK singles chart back in February 1982.



These are the dedicated programmes I have found in the 6Music schedule:
Thursday 02 February
00:00 Kraftwerk: The Men Who Invented Pop
Celebrating the influential German band Kraftwerk, Alex Kapranos tells their story.
04:00 The Live Hour: Kraftwerk at Tribal Gathering
Continuing 6 Music's celebration of Kraftwerk, a chance to hear the influential band recorded live at Tribal Gathering in Bedfordshire in 1997

Friday 03 February
00:00 Andrew Collins Meets the Man Machine
Famously reclusive Kraftwerk founder Ralf Hutter interviewed by Andrew Collins in 2003.
19:00 Now Playing @6Music: #Kraftwerk6Music

As 6 Music Celebrates Kraftwerk, Tom Robinson asks listeners to help put together a playlist. 

Saturday 04 February

13:00 Liz Kershaw

Liz is joined by Andy McCluskey of OMD as part of BBC 6 Music celebrates Kraftwerk. 

16:00 Tom Ravenscroft

Tom Ravenscroft sits in for Jon Holmes with three hours of artists influenced by Kraftwerk. 

Sunday 05 February

07:00 Nemone

Dandy Warhols frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor celebrates Kraftwerk in his Most Played.

[hmmm, seems they'll seek anyone's opinion on Kraftwerk]

10:00 Cerys on 6

BBC 6 Music celebrates Kraftwerk with Wire editor Chris Bohn. 

12:00 The Man Machine: Kraftwerk, Krautrock and the German Electronic Revolution

Jarvis Cocker looks at Kraftwerk and their influence on the music industry. 

13:00 The Huey Show 
As 6 Music celebrates Kraftwerk, Huey reflects their unlikely influence on hip hop.
[as I said, seems like anyone can be an expert on Kraftwerk]
16:00 Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service
Jarvis spins Kraftwerk rarities as part of BBC 6 Music's celebration of the band.
18:00 Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone
Stuart celebrates Kraftwerks fifth studio album, Radio-Activity.
20:00 6 Mix - Mark Jones: Kraftwerk Special
Mark Jones explores Kraftwerk's huge influence on electronic music.

So if you like your electronic pop auf Deutsch, keep your radio tuned to 6Music and keep an eye on the website.

Just for a little nostalgia trip, here is Kraftwerk on the BBC's layman's science prog Tomorrow's World.

French goodness this week on Radio 6

A bumper week of French-ness on BBC 6Music this week:

On Monday, Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains' new LP E Volo Love was album of the day. They also played a live session on Marc Riley's show [listen again here]. Here is F&TAM's video for their lovely new single on Domino Recording Co.


FRÀNÇOIS & THE ATLAS MOUNTAINS "Les Plus Beaux" by domino

On Tuesday, Radcliffe & Maconie spoke to Air on the telephone about their new album and soundtrack to the Georges Meliès film Le Voyage dans la Lune [listen again here]. You can watch and download the film for free via the Air Facebook page.

And on Thursday, between 1pm and 4pm, Radcliffe & Maconie talk to Charlotte Gainsbourg about her new album Stage Whisper [programme info here].

French rarities on the radio TONIGHT

news reaches us that there is une gâterie érotique in store at midnight on BBC 6music, when Andy Votel (Finders Keepers Records) joins Stuart Maconie on thee Freakier Zone...

Andy Votel And The Music Of French Eroticism

Listen :

NEXT ON:

Tomorrow, 00:00 on BBC 6 Music

Synopsis

A 60 minute compendium of audio gloop, hosted by King of Freaks, Stuart Maconie, plus every week a special guest presenting a skewed example of weird music. This is the boiled-down peculiar little brother to Sunday's Freak Zone.

This week, record collector Andy Votel uncovers the true story behind Melody Nelson, Serge Gainsborg's peculiar concept album and plays tracks from the genre of French eroticism... ooh err!

**UPDATE**
You can now 'listen again' on the iPlayer (available until 11.59pm on Friday 28th October)
[see comments for more info about the programme]

Something borrowed?

This has been bugging me for the past week or so:
Every time the new Röyksopp single 'Happy Up Here' comes on the radio (which is a lot at the moment - it seems to have been A-listed by 6Music), I think it's going to be Stereo Total's 'Beauty Case'.

And even though I know it's not going to be, a little part of me gets my hopes up, and I'm repeatedly disappointed.

Compare and contrast, if you will:
Stereo Total - Beauty Case (1999)


Röyksopp - Happy Up Here (2009)