L'Amour à la Chaîne pt.21

Greetings Chaîne fans, for link 21 you just need to take the title of the last song 'Metal Horse' and drop the equine noun, and you get...

'Metal'.

By Gary Numan.

Metal is taken from Numan's 1979 The Pleasure Principle album, his 1st 'solo' album after two under the collective Tubeway Army guise. It sees Gazza dropping the guitars completely and embracing full electronic/synthetic instrumentation throughout. And on the cover he appears to be trying to divine 'Pleasure' from a small red pyramid.

Hmmm, nice conceptual cover Gary, wonder where you got the idea from?

According to the wikipedia entry (your only trustworthy site on the interweb kids!*), 'Metal' is sung from the "perspective of an android longing to be human". Which leads me to ponder once again: Is Numan Human?**

Gary Numan - Metal
[you can buy The Pleasure Principle from all yr usual online outlets. Or you can go to a real shop and buy it for real from a real person.]


*joke
**I used to have a badge with a rather crude Numan drawing on it and the legend "Is Numan Human?" in a hi-tech digital typeface

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L'Amour à la Chaîne: what will be the next link in the chain? Join in...
Please leave your suggestions and any reasons in the comments.
Jacques Dutronc - L'Amour à la Chaîne > Françoise Hardy - Je Changerais D'Avis > Les 5 Gentlemen – Cara-Lin > Add N To (X) – Monster Bobby > Serge Gainsbourg – Le Poinçonneur des Lilas > Les Shades – Orage Mécanique > Gillian Hills - Rentre Sans Moi > Zombie Zombie - Psychic Harmonia > Michel Polnareff - Qui a Tué Grand'Maman? > Christine Pilzer - L'Horloge De Grand-Père > Violaine - J'ai Des Problèmes Décidement > Dutronc - Dodecaphonie > Fabienne Delsol - Ce Jour La > Johnny Hallyday - Son Amour Pour Un Jeu > Miss Kittin & The Hacker - L'Homme Dans L'Ombre > Andre Popp - L'Homme Invisible > Future Bible Heroes - Love Is Blue > Sandie Shaw - L'Orage > Ars Post Tergum Introet - Ford Mustang > Simon Bookish - Metal Horse > Gary Numan - Metal > ?

L'Amour Electronique mix 4

!!!NEWSFLASH!!! Part 2 of this mix now added below!!!

I felt I should commemorate the fact that a whole year has passed since the final L'Amour Electronique soirée on 26 May 2012, so I dug out a mix I had sitting on my hard-drive and dusted up for your listening pleasure.  This one was mixed live at one of our nights on 26 February 2011. Hopefully it'll keep y'all entertained while we wait for the mp3s to come back...

Here is some blurb that I spewed out to introduce it on mixcloud:

You want an epic prog-electroni-folk lament from Air? CHECK! You want a seriously DEVO-lved Toni Basil space-oddity? CHECK! You want to swoon as Gillian Hills makes dragging on a cigarette sound like the sexiest thing EVER? *PUFF PUFF* You want naked thighs and leather boots? CHECK! You want the Kili-watch rush of a surf-guitar instrumental? CHECK! You want early J-J Perrey Moog-pop? CHECK! You want Da Da Da en Français? CHECK! You want Christophe to leave behind his blue-eyed years and get on a grinding, motorik groove? CHECK! You want obscure pre-beat orchestral pop from Tienou; electro-pop from The Knife and Future Bible Heroes; Françoise Hardy, Liz Brady, Adèle (not that one), Polnareff and Brigitte Bardot? yé-yé! yé-yé! yé-yé! THEN HIT PLAY NOW >>

L'Amour Electronique mix 4 (pt.1) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

tracklisting for mix 4 (pt.1)

Air – Sex Born Poison

Stereo Total – Cannibale

The Knife – Kino

Toni Basil – Space Girls

Brigitte Bardot – Le Diable est Anglais

Adèle – J’ai Peur Parfois (acoustic version)

Gillian Hills – Ma Premiere Cigarette

Françoise Hardy – Pas Gentille

Serge Gainsbourg – L’Homme à Tête du Chou

Philippe Nicaud – Cuisses Nues, Bottes de Cuir

Liz Brady – Palladium

Léo Petit et Ses Guitares et Ses Rhythmes – Kili-watch

Jean-Claude Vannier – L’Ours Parasseux

Michel Polnareff – Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta

Jean-Jacques Perrey – Porcupine Rock

Toss – Da Da Da (Est-ce qu'on s'cherche ou est ce qu'on triche?)

Christophe – Rock Monsieur

Tienou – Tu N’Peux Pas T’Empêcher de Rire

Future Bible Heroes – Love Is Blue

Jean-Michel Jarre – Equinoxe (pt.4)

Françoise Hardy – Le Premier Bonheur du Jour

And now for PART 2! 

Allez-Allez! The mix continues >> obscure indie-poppers do Serge > pure synth-pop > moody French disco > sugary & soulful femme pop > In/Out > lo-fi electro-pop > analogue synth abuse > filthy dirty freakbeat > a hefty dose of road rash > proto-electronica > sounds of summer > psyche-noir. And all for your listening pleasure.

L'Amour Electronique mix 4 (pt.2) by L'Amour Electronique on Mixcloud

tracklisting for mix 4 (pt.2)
Addictive Larsen – Bonnie & Clyde
The Human League – Open Your Heart
Kraftwerk – Airwaves
Michel Polnareff – La Mouche
Mareva Galanter – Les Filles C’est Faites Pour Faire L’Amour
Bébé Suong – Mine De Rien
Elizabeth – Madame Superman
Les Roche Martin – Les Mains Dans Les Poches
Serge Gainsbourg – Qui est ‘In’, Qui est ‘Out’?
Sue Wilkinson – You’ve Got To Be a Hustler
Stereo Total – Baby Ouh
Add N To (X) – Ann’s Eveready Equestrian
Jesus – L’Electrocuté
Christophe – Macadam
The Normal – T.V.O.D.
Mathématiques Moderne – Disco Rough
Bertrand Burgalat & Robert Wyatt – This Summer Night
Johnny Hallyday – Noir C’est Noir

Tour de France, Tour de France

Huge congratulations and much awe and respect for Chris Froome, following in Sir Bradley of Mod's cleats and taking 1st place in the 2013 Tour de France yesterday. This one's for you...

Meanwhile, Kraftwerk performed at the Latitude festival on Saturday night. It was a "3-D concert" - er, aren't all concerts 3-D if you are there watching? No, apparently this was even more 3-D than real life as there were huge projections which made you feel sick unless you were wearing 3-D glasses which probably made you look like a bit of a twerp.

You can watch an impressive 35 minute show of highlights from their set on the BBC website. And you may also want to try and werk out if they are actually playing anything behind each of their neon lecterns. Sadly, no Tour de France though...

You can watch Kraftwerk at Latitude for the next 4 weeks via the BBC iPlayer

Here's the setlist for the film:
* The Robots
* Numbers
* Computer World
* Home Computer
* Computer Love
* The Man Machine
* The Model

Cactus versus Brezel

It will no doubt surprise you, dear reader, that my position in society as a music blogger/artist/musician/DJ/toy maker/father has not yet made me my millions. It is because of this that I, plus the good lady V and the little O, found myself in a Holiday Inn up there in up-and-come-and-pretty-much-gentrified Hoxton, East London.

Caught in a moment of pure glamour, we were awaiting the only working lift to reception, and as the doors slid open, who should we spy amidst the packed-in-like-sardines passengers? None other than our old friends Stereo Total (over from Berlin for one night only)...

[I wondered aloud if they always stayed at the Holiday Innn, but apparently they rather regret writing that song: "Next time we will write about a more upmarket hotel!"]

We checked out and found a café bar to pass the time until their flight, and they very kindly furnished me with a vinyl copy of their new LP Cactus versus Brezel. And then they were off, refreshed by breakfast, Guinness and rosé wine.

There was no sign of the fisticuffs promised by that title, but just supposing...

"LAYDEEZ AND GENTLE MEN, in the coin Français, on vocals, kazoo and banging the drums: FRRRRANÇOISE CACTUSSS!!!"

*DAGG-A-DAGG-A-DAGG-A-DAGG-A-DAGG-A-DAGG-A-DAGG-A-DAGG-A*
"It doesn't pay to try, all the smart girls no why..."

Trust Françoise, she's a smart cookie and she knows.

She knows it makes good sense to take a rough pop diamond by smacked-up heartbreaker Johnny Thunders and to turn it into a dirty, shuddering, synthetic hymn to love, loss and empty arms.

*this is the sound of a filthy, dirty arpeggiator*so there*

Françoise Cactus - You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory

[only released on the 3-disc Girl Monster compilation (Chicks on Speed Records), which is out of print, but there are 2nd hand copies here]


"And in the Deutsche ecke, on guitars, synths, trautonium und neu!-ses:  
BRRRRREZEL GÖRRRING!!!!"

*BEEP*
"We can hear you coming through loud and clear on the answerphone."
*BEEP*
"No, you're breaking up. You're breaking up into a stuttering, electro cut-up xerox of an old Serge Gainsbourg Freggae number..."
"Is that you Françoise? Brezel? Just what is this bad news filtering in on the solar winds? Tell us, what news from way up there in the celestial heavens?"
...
"No, you're breaking up again..."
*BEEP*
---message terminated---

Brezel Göring - Bad News From The Stars

[originally released on the Brezel Göring/Barom One split LP (buy it from Gagarin Records); confusingly, a virtually identical version also came out on Stereo Total's Discotheque remixes album (buy); and then there's an alternate version, with our other friend Vice Cooler rapping over it on Hawnay Troof's sprawling double album Dollar and Deed (buy)]

Françoise, Nicolas, Jean-Benoît et Jeanne

Let's toddle back to 1998 when Air released their, oft-copied/seldom matched, sci-fi lounge masterpiece Moon Safari. Tucked away on the b-side of simian-disco smash 'Sexy Boy' was a gem that saw them calling on the voice of a certain first lady of the French yé-yé scene.

This passed me by completely at the time, and though I loved the song 'Sexy Boy', I could only afford to buy the album and not the single too, and so I missed out on those bonus b-sides.  Instead I discovered something magical when my now wife and I did a tape swap, where we both compiled some Gallic-flavoured numbers for our first holiday together in Paris.

Back then, neither of us had much of a French record collection, so we had to be imaginative: anything with even a hint of the old ooh la la about it was recorded and sequenced, and a certain track on her C90 shone through. It was taped off an Elefant Records compilation Pop Romantique: French Pop Classics (1999) - a tasty little album if you can still find a copy: it has French language covers and originals including that Heavenly/France Gall one I posted recently; and Chaîne 17 contenders-by-proxy The Magnetic Fields doing a creaky version of 'Le Tourbillon' from Jules et Jim, that sounds like a busted old merry-go-round.

But I digress. The song by Air with a guest vocal by Françoise Hardy is entitled 'Jeanne' - a beautiful, breathy wisp of pastoral synth-pop with possibly the most melancholy oscillator solo I have ever heard. Make sure you have a handkerchief nearby before you listen...

Air feat. Françoise Hardy - Jeanne

[as mentioned above, this was issued as a b-side to Air's 'Sexy Boy' single, and also on Pop Romantique (Elefant Records/Emperor Norton). There are cheap used CD copies of both on the usual 2nd hand sites, and a couple of reasonably-priced vinyl copies of Pop Romantique on discogs.com]

L'Amour à la Chaîne pt.17

This was to be my inaugural post of 2013, however it has now taken about 2 weeks to finish composing, and it has been well-and-truly bumped down the list.  I had it clear in my mind that I had no intention of heralding the new year by blowing hot air about how grand resolutions to keep the posts coming and write more regularly for you, my handful of readers. But the lesson has been learned and the stock has been taken, and nowadays I have even less time to devote to hollering into the ether in the vain hope that more people will hear me. Soooooo.....

Instead I shall get on with the next instalment of la Chaîne.

Cast your minds back, dear readers, to my previous link, and that dastardly Invisible Man was getting a bit too touchy feely with his wandering hands, musically aided by Monsieur Andre Popp...

Back in 1967, a young greek chanteuse by the name of Vicky came in fourth representing Luxembourg at the 12th Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna. The song was 'L'Amour Est Bleu' and it was co-written by Andre Popp and Pierre Cour. The song has been covered by everyone from Jeff Beck to Johnny Mathis, and was a number 1 hit record in the US when Paul Mauriat released an easy listening version in early 1968.

Favourite recordings round our way are Claudine Longet's swoonsome version, and this more recent(!?!) electronic Europop cover by Future Bible Heroes (one of many projects led by the sickeningly prolific genius and indisputible Eeyore of lo-fi indie pop Stephin Merritt)

Future Bible Heroes - Love Is Blue

[this was released in 1997 on the Lonely Days ep (Slow River Records), which is out of print. There are 2nd hand copies out there, current market value £10-£13]

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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 > Add N To (X) – Monster Bobby > Serge Gainsbourg – Le Poinçonneur des Lilas > Les Shades – Orage Mécanique > Gillian Hills - Rentre Sans Moi > Zombie Zombie - Psychic Harmonia > Michel Polnareff - Qui a Tué Grand'Maman? > Christine Pilzer - L'Horloge De Grand-Père > Violaine - J'ai Des Problèmes Décidement > Dutronc - Dodecaphonie > Fabienne Delsol - Ce Jour La > Johnny Hallyday - Son Amour Pour Un Jeu > Miss Kittin & The Hacker - L'Homme Dans L'Ombre > Andre Popp - L'Homme Invisible > Future Bible Heroes - Love Is Blue > ?

L'Amour à la Chaîne pt.15

Bet you didn't expect another L'Amour à la Chaîne post quite so soon...

You can thank Darby for planting the seed for this next one. In response to Chaîne no. 14 (Johnny Hallyday's Son Amour Pour Un Jeu), she asked if I could post Françoise Hardy's later version of the song: L'Ombre. Which I duly did, here >>.

Next we have Miss Kittin & The Hacker: synthetic disco rhythms and filthy dirty synthesizers, with a bored sounding European girl making banal observations over the top. This is what we used to call "Electroclash" (Is that still a dirty word? Or is there enough distance yet to re-appraise the seedy/glam niteklub fad? Someone at The Quietus reckons there is >>)

This is taken from their inspiringly titled First Album, and we find Miss Kittin adrift in a vortex of swelling, synthesized strings and hard-edge, detuned oscillators, confessing her fears about the man in the shadows who lurks behind her...

...Ah, turns out she's just talking about The Hacker, though perhaps it's not such a sugary relationship: He seems to have enslaved her, and has taken her out on a never-ending tour, forcing her to sing every night in a new city, in her new life. No wonder she sounds so cold and emotionless. And no wonder it took so long for them to get together for album Two.

Miss Kittin & The Hacker - L'Homme Dans L'Ombre

[you can purchase First Album from Zero"]

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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 > Add N To (X) – Monster Bobby > Serge Gainsbourg – Le Poinçonneur des Lilas > Les Shades – Orage Mécanique > Gillian Hills - Rentre Sans Moi > Zombie Zombie - Psychic Harmonia > Michel Polnareff - Qui a Tué Grand'Maman? > Christine Pilzer - L'Horloge De Grand-Père > Violaine - J'ai Des Problèmes Décidement > Dutronc - Dodecaphonie > Fabienne Delsol - Ce Jour La > Johnny Hallyday - Son Amour Pour Un Jeu > Miss Kittin & The Hacker - L'Homme Dans L'Ombre > ?

Tour de France

Bon chance to "mod cyclist" Bradley Wiggins who sets out today to be the first ever Brit to win the Tour de France. The French media have nick-named him "Le Gentleman" due to his sportsman-like behaviour (he slowed down during stage 14 to allow other riders, who had fallen victim to tacks scattered on the road, to catch up) and his modest, quiet demeanour. The fact that he speaks very good French has probably helped too!

[image source]

With the tradition for competitors not to challenge the leader on the final stage of the tour, victory is surely a fait accompli and he'll be whistling all the way to the Champs-Elysées...

Stereo Total - Tour De France

[buy this on Baby Ouh! by Stereo Total from the hanseplatte shop]

Whilst you're here, you may as well enjoy the original Kraftwerk version with new improved video visuals!

Oh so high

Yesterday, all eyes were on the London skyline as Europe's new "tallest building" The Shard was opened in a laser show that might have made Jean-Michel Jarre jealous...

...had Jean-Michel Jarre not been able to play his lasers, that is!

It doesn't actually look that tall in real life, and I can't say I'll be queuing up to pay 25 quid to see the view from the top.  No, this post is really just an excuse to give you some L'Amour Electronique friendly songs about tall buildings.

Serge Gainsbourg - New York USA

[Gainsbourg's New York USA was re-issued on Couleur Cafe and Comme Un Boomerang, both still available]

The Human League - Empire State Human

[you can buy Reproduction by The Human League from yr favourite online music emporium]

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 fin de la soirée

After nearly 10 YEARS of giving Brighton the finest in Synthesized Sounds, vintage French Pop and Electronic Delights we have decided that it’s time to go out with a great big SHEBAM! POW! BLOP! WIZZZZZ!
 
SATURDAY 26 MAY 2012
la dernière L’Amour Electronique
9pm – 3am
The Westhill, 67 Buckingham Place, Brighton, BN1 3PQ
FREE ENTRY as it has always been

So please join us for one last late-night cocktail of 60s Yé-Yé, 80s Synthpop, Electronic Pioneers, 8-Bit, Québécois, Gallic Freakbeat, Chanson, Synthcore, Moog Pop, Swinging Mademoiselles, Casio Pop and Synth Disco.




But L’Amour Electronique n’est pas morte, the blog will live on, and on, and on.

love + electronics
Dom, Verity and Sarah

8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< CUT 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8< 8<

setlist from 28 April 2012

Seeing as it was our 2nd to last ever L'Amour Electronique I felt I should at least make an effort and get the setlist up on here so people can kick themselves/congratulate themselves on missing out if they didn't come!

It was a good night, I think, nicely busy with a good crowd who seemed to appreciate the music - some even came and asked what things were, which is always a sign you're doing something right.  I'd even go so far as to say it felt a bit like it did back when we used to DJ at The Penthouse in the early years!

Thanks to all who came out on such a wet and turbulent night.

Dominic

Michel Colombier - Ballet Des Soupirs /

H. & G. Rapid Learning Systems: French – General Expressions: Salutations

Michel Polnareff – L’Oiseau De Nuit

Christophe – Excusez-Moi Monsieur Le Professeur

Fabienne Delsol – Ce Jour La

Stereo Total – Lunatique

Jean-Claude Brialy – Boomerang

Brigitte Bardot – Contact

Space – Magic Fly

Grimes – Oblivion

Léonie – En Alabama

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Le Chat du Café des Artistes

Sarah

Chantal Goya – Mon Ange Gardien

France Gall – Nous Ne Sommes Pas Des Anges

Les Roche Martin – Les Mains Dans Les Poches

Stereo Total – I Wanna Be A Mama

Vic 20 – Sweet Child O’ Mine

Ladytron – The Way That I Found You

Bat For Lashes – Two Planets

Glass Candy – Beatific

Lizzy Mercier Descloux – Torso Corso

Verity

C++ - Comme Dans Les Films

Add N To (X) – Hey Double Double

The Human League – The Things That Dreams Are Made Of

Hair (version original Française) – Laissez Entrer Le Soleil

Jacques Dutronc – Je Suis Content

Michel Polnareff – La Mouche

Fat Truckers – Anorexic Robot

Jean-Michel Jarre – Magnetic Fields Pt. 2

Dominic

YACHT – Le Goudron (edit)

Air – Parade

Jacky Chalard – Super Man–Super Cool

The Blackburds – Absolument Hyde Park

Anna Karina – Rollergirl

Katty Line – Un Petit Peu D’Amour

Jenny Rock – Mal

Brezel Göring – Ich Bin So Süchtig (feat. Christiane F.)

David Whittaker – theme from The Tube (ZX Spectrum 128K)

Dakkar & Grinser – I Wanna Be Your Dog

Christophe – Macadam

Sarah

Guerre Froide – Ersatz

Ruth – Polaroid-Roman-Photo

DAF – Kebabträume

John Foxx – 20^th Century

OMD – Pretending To See The Future

Devo – Girl U Want

The Knife – Kino

Verity

Blancmange – Living On The Ceiling

Ray Davies/BBC Sporting Themes – Breezy Bounce

Stereo Total – Tas De Tôle

Jacques Dutronc – On Nous Cache Tous, On Ne Dit Rien

Brigitte Bardot – Ca Pourrait Changer

Mareva Galanter – Les Cornichons

The 6ths (feat. Gary Numan) – The Sailor In Love With The Sea

Yazoo – Only You

Michel Polnareff – Qui à Tue Grand’Maman

Stereolab – Escape Pod (From the World of Medical Observations)

Patricia Carl – Le Lion

Jocelyne – Nitty Gritty

Dominic

Arlette Zola – Je Suis Folle De Tant T’Aimer

Les Gammas – Satsfaction

Larry Greco – Comme Un Poker

Johnny Hallyday – Noir C’est Noir

Pussycat – Aucune Fille Au Monde

Claude Denjean – Venus

Add N To (X) – Revenge Of The Black Regent

OMD – Messages

Simple Kid – The Road

Les Bel-Air – Ils Parlaient Dans Mon Dos

Sarah

Jacques Dutronc – L’Espace D’un Fille

Brigitte Bardot – Un Jour Comme Un Autre

Stella – Pourquoi Pas Moi

Françoise Cactus – You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory

Soft Cell – Memorabilia

The Human League – Only After Dark

Eurhythmics – Love Is A Stranger

Stereo Total – Hallo Damenklo

Devo – Swelling Itchy Brain

Strike a pose... MOOG!

Dominic

Claude Denjean – The House Of The Rising Sun

Stereolab – Sun Demon

Antoine – Ma Fête Foraine

France Gall – Cet Air La

Les Sunlights – C’est Fini

Pussycat – L’Arret D’Autobus

Tom Dissevelt & Kid Baltan – Electronic Movements: Syncopation

John Baker/BBC Radiophonic Workshop – The Chase

Bainc Didonc – 4 Cheveux Dans Le Vent

Les Brummels – BOF!

Marc Hamilton – Tapis Magique

Verity

Sandie Shaw – Toujours Un Coin Qui Me Rappelle

Françoise Hardy – Les Petits Garçons

Serge Gainsbourg – Requiem Pour Un Con

Cerrone – Supernature

Sebastien Tellier – Sexual Sportswear

Jean-Michel Jarre – Oxygene pt. 4

Deux – Dance With Me

Vanessa Paradis – Joe Le Taxi

Visage – Fade To Grey

Dauerfisch – Peter Thomas Kann Nicht Zählen

Dominic

Nicoletta – Ca Devait Arriver

Christophe – Sunny Road To Salina

Jean-Jacques Perrey – Pioneers Of The Stars

H. & G. Rapid Learning Systems: French – General Expressions: Salutations

“Goodbye: Au Revoir; Au Revoir…”

Big Daddy and his Casio VL-Tone

I suppose you could say we at L'Amour Electronique HQ are something close to avid followers of Luke Haines - we have copies of the majority of his records under various guises, from the earliest Auteurs' albums, through his terrorist-funk Baader Meinhof project, the chart-bothering, sugar-coated/acid-tongued Black Box Recorder, and his later acerbic, and mostly 70s-obsessed, solo material, not to mention his memoirs firmly stating his part in Brit Pop's downfall, and the years following...

Which brings me to his latest release, of which he writes:

"This album is an affectionate homage to the wrestlers who preoccupied my unfreaked out pre Rock n Roll mind (mid '70s - early '80s).

The concept couldn't be more simple: nine songs (and one spoken word story) putting wrestlers into psychedelic situations. I give you '9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations On British Wrestling Of The 1970s and Early 1980s'.

Surrender your minds boys and girls, surrender your 21st Century minds."

Only a twisted crackpot like Luke Haines could dream up such a concept.  And then see it through to completion. The man is quite possibly a GENIUS. A twisted, dry-witted genius, but a genius nonetheless.

The inner sleeve of the album features 12 lo-fi portraits, lovingly(?) painted by Haines himself, of the album's various wrestling perpetrators, such as this of Big Daddy...

In his own particular vignette, we hear the story of how 'Big Daddy Got A Casio VL-Tone':

"He just wants a calculator, but he got an oscillator" set to a Casio Rock 2 beat.

I remember the Christmas my big sister got a VL-Tone - a tiny, white electronic keyboard, that gave out tinny beats and rudimentarily synthesized versions of string and woodwind instruments.  My favourite thing, whenever I got my mitts on it, was to stick the demo song on and let it cycle through all the various beats and sounds. To the point where it drove my family to distraction. I think I even made up my own words to the tune...

"...and he can't turn it off."

And just in case there was maths homework to be completed, Casio had included a handy calculator at the flick of a switch. WOAH! Crazy scenes! I jest.  Properly exciting, though, was the day we saw that skinhead bloke from TRIO produce one from the confines of his tatty dinner jacket with a cheeky grin on his face.

"And his mind has been blown, yeah his mind has been blown... A.D.S.R! A.D.S.R!"

Now the one thing that didn't blow my young mind was the ADSR, for me all that the setting had to offer was a strangely stilted, percussive toc-toc-toc sound. Little did I know that if I were to read the manual, like sensible Big Daddy presumably did, I would unlock an almost infinite number of new sounds via the calculator and an octidecimal binary coding system.

But enough of my misty-eyed recollections, here's what happened the day Big Daddy bought a Casio VL-Tone...

Luke Haines - Big Daddy Got A Casio VL-Tone

BUY LUKE HAINES!
The CD of 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations... has sold out, but you can buy it as a download direct from Plastic Fantastic Recordings.

There is a limited run of 500 only Vinyl LPs of 9 1/2 Psychedelic Meditations... (+ CD copy) being pressed up exclusively for Record Store Day this Saturday 21st April.

L'Amour Electronique mix 3

***MIX 3 PT. 2 NOW ADDED - SEE BELOW***

Another mix of vintage French pop, eclectic electronics, psychedelic sweetness and synthetic sounds from your trusty L'Amour Electronique DJs (originally recorded live at our soirée on 22 January 2011).

Mix 3 begins with a little lesson in parler en Français, a spooky analogue symphony from Add N to (X) and then a steamy French version of Nancy & Lee's 'Summer Wine'. Onwards with some classic Gainsbourg, a rare Québécois garage cut, Nicoletta's eerie take on 'I Put a Spell on You', and some obscure Turkish Francophone garage. A little 70s segue leads us into more modern electronic territory with the brutalist synth-pop of Electronicat and Sebastien Tellier's epic Sexual Sportswear. Ending with a bittersweet 8-bit ballad from Yazoo and some Dutronc-ian absurdist psychedelia.

L'Amour Electronique mix 3 (pt.1) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

tracklisting for part 1
H. & G. Rapid Learning Systems: FRENCH – General Expressions: Salutations /
Add N To (X) – On The Wires of Our Nerves
Marie Laforêt (avec Gérard Klein) - Le Vin De L’été
 Serge Gainsbourg – Ballade De Melody Nelson
Les Bel-Air – Ils Parlaient Dans Mon Dos
Nicoletta – Ça Devait Arriver
Jacqueline Taïeb – Bienvenue Au Pays
Broadcast – Message From Home
Galatasaray Lisesi – Zazie
Les Roche Martin – C'est Toi Qui A Gache Notre Vie
Philippe Clay – Dis Ma Femme
Sylvie Vartan – Ballade Pour Une Fugue
Grace Jones – La Vie En Rose
Stereo Total – Miss Rébellion Des Hormones
Electronicat – Frisco Bay
Sebastien Tellier – Sexual Sportswear
Yazoo – Nobody’s Diary
Jacques Dutronc – Ma Poule N’a Plus Que 29 Poulets


Our third mix continues with a mod-dancefloor classic and a tasty bit of boogaloo from Monsieurs Polnareff and Ferrer, some classic Stereolab and a truly sinister slab of analogue-synth abuse from Add N to (X). Next a Dutronc cover from Les Lolitas and one of my favourite Françoise Hardy songs. We also have garage femme pop (Les Princesses), porno go-go music (Gracy et Paje), Frrrrrench R’n’B and Ra-Ra-Ra-Rollergirl, then a swerve into 8-bit and space disco. Then Leonie takes our breath away with her epic, breathy Lilith, leading us into a little French/electronique finale.

L'Amour Electronique mix 3 (pt.2) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

tracklisting for part2

Michel Polnareff - Time Will Tell

Nino Ferrer - Les Hommes A Tout Faire

Stereolab - French Disko

Add N To (X) - Revenge Of The Black Regent

Les Lolitas - Les Cactus

Françoise Hardy - Pourtant Tu M’Aimes

Les Princesses - Oh! Dis Moi

Joe Gracy Et Michel Paje - Les Danseuses à Go-Go

Les Problèmes - Dodécaphonie

Ronnie Bird - Elle M’Attend

Anna Karina - Rollergirl

Dave Rogers - Theme From Cybernoid (ZX Spectrum 128k)

Herman's Rocket - Space Woman

Leonie - Lilith

Air - Ghost Song

Coralie Clement - Vis-à-Vis

Deux - Game + Performance

Serge Gainsbourg - Ford Mustang

Jean-Michel Jarre - Oxygene (Pt.4)

Future Bible Heroes - I'm A Vampire

France Gall - Les Sucettes

L'Amour Electronique mix 2

At last, the 2nd L'Amour Electronique mix! This one was recorded on 27 November 2010.

Another 2 hour mix of French pop, Gallic freakbeat, 60s garage, popsike, synth-pop, Franco-funk, bubblegum, chanson, ye-ye, synthesized sounds and electronic delights, for your listening pleasure.

For the first installment, we give you europop from Sebastien Tellier, call-and-response courtesy of Antoine and Jacques Dutronc, I Monster's sinister synth epic, a rare cut from France Gall, a Serge Gainsbourg soundtrack dalliance, Polnareff Computer funk, and more, and more, and more...


[for some reason the embedded player doesn't work with the Safari browser. It definitely works with Firefox though, or you can listen to it at the Mixcloud page]

L'Amour Electronique mix 2 (pt.1) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

track listing for part 1
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

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

L'Amour Electronique mix 2 (pt.2) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

Hour 2 begins with a slow-burning Dutronc freakbeat classic. The mix takes a pure pop line until the urgent electro-meltdown of Dauerfisch and some oddball latterday Polnareff. Back to early 80s synth-pop (Human League, Telex), then off on a widescreen trip with Jean-Claude Vannier; next, some sweet ye-ye from mademoiselles Hardy, Hills and Goya, before Eddy Mitchell reprises the Anna soundtrack from part 1. It ends with an accordion duel between Jacques Brel and Adèle. Adèle wins with a bullet. 

track listing for part 2

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 – Comment 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

Telex – Moskow Diskow

Large Number – The Number People

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

The Blackbirds – Promenade dans le Forêt du Brabant

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

L'Amour Electronique mix 1 (23 October 2010)

This is the first of a series of special mixes* recorded live at our L'Amour Electronique soirées.

Mix 1 was recorded on Saturday 23 October 2010:
A 2-hour audio cocktail of French pop, Gallic freakbeat, 60s garage, popsike, bubblegum, psychedelia, chanson, ye-ye, synthesized sounds and electronic delights. This first mix takes in exotic and out-there sounds from the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Polnareff, Stereolab, Gainsbourg, Air, Dutronc, The Normal, Baby Birkin, Stereo Total, Pierre Henry, Christie Laume and Jean-Jacques Perrey.

Hope you all enjoy it, please leave comments here or on Mixcloud.

L'Amour Electronique mix 1 (pt.1) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

TRACKLISTING FOR PART 1
Brigitte Bardot – Contact
Michel Polnareff – l’Oiseau de Nuit
Biky – Reponses
Joe Gracy & Michel Paje - Valérie Se Rebelle
Stereolab – Sun Demon
Jacques Dutronc – Il Est Cinq Heures Paris S'Eveille
Jean-Jacques Perrey – Mister James Bond
France Gall – Sacré Charlemagne
Stone – Auguste le Chat
Fabienne Delsol – Pas Adieu
Mareva Galanter – Pourquoi pas moi
Dalida – Petit Elephant Twist
Françoise Hardy – Pourtant tu M’aimes
Marie Laforêt - Mais si loin de moi
Serge Gainsbourg et Charlotte Gainsbourg - Lemon Incest
Air – Talisman
Stereo Total – Barbe à Papa
Christie Laume – Rouge Rouge
Jacques Dutronc – Sur Une Nappe De Restaurant
Chantal Goya – D’abord dis-moi ton nom

L'Amour Electronique mix 1 (pt.2) by Lamourelectronique on Mixcloud

TRACKLISTING FOR PART 2
Sylvie Vartan – De Bonheur
Baby Birkin – Black…White
The Rogers Sisters – Les Fantasies sont Bien
We Are Enfant Terrible – Snap Dragon
Jenny Rock – Mal
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM
Daniel Gérard – Sexologie
Pierre Henry & Michel Legrand – Teen Tonic
Stereolab – Percolator
The Normal – Warm Leatherette
C++ - Dé-Rock ‘n’ Rollisation
M – Pop Musik
Jane Birkin - Raccrochez c'est une Horreur
Depeche Mode – The Meaning of Love
France Gall - Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son
Michel Polnareff – Tout Tout pour ma Chérie
Orlane Paquin – Le Train de 10h03
Francis Lai – Un Homme et Une Femme (instrumental version)
Chantal Goya – Dans la Nuit
Soft Cell – Say Hello, Wave Goodbye


Stay tuned for another mix in the coming weeks...

* These mixes were originally produced for a radio station, but never made it to air after the person who commissioned them moved elsewhere. Hopefully you'll agree that their loss is your gain...

Samedi Soir: Synthesized sounds, French Pop and Electronic Delights

This Saturday, 9pm - 3am at The West Hill, Brighton. F R E E E N T R Y.

we will be ensconced in the homely surrounds of The West Hill, in our very own tricolore-swathed corner.

There will be music:
French boys and French girls doing freakbeat, ye-ye and bubblegum POP!
synthesized sounds from the glacial to the disco to the dirty synthcore.
electronic pioneers and bleeps and noises...
(basically anything that is French or electronic or both!)

There will also be fine wines, ales and spirits, bar snacks and parlour games to while away the evening. And you can dance if you can find a space. yeah!

The Autumnal Equinox

At around 3.09am tomorrow morning the autumnal equinox will occur. It sounds a little foreboding, but it's just the signal of the end of the summer months and the beginning of winter. Pagans will be celebrating and the rest of us in the northern hemisphere can just use it as a reminder to dig our scarves out and prepare for the cold months ahead. It would be depressing if it wasn't such a glorious sunny day outside today.

Here's Jean-Michel Jarre getting all autumnal:

The Great Bleep Forward

You know that woman wailing operatically on the theme tune to Star Trek? Well it is not a woman. It is the Ondes Martenot.

Yes, more homework: This time it's 6Music's 4-part history of Electronic Music The Great Bleep Forward (2004)

Episode 1 (30 mins, available until 25 Oct) explores the history of electronic music, from the early pioneers to the birth of punk and the bloated retreat of prog in 1977.

I wish it had paid a lot more attention to the early instrument makers, rather than dismissing them as a bunch of egomaniacs for naming the instruments after themselves (they had no other points of reference, what else could they have called them?)

Episode 2 (30 mins, available until 27 Oct) covers the emergence of bands with synths during and post-punk. Apparently OMD used to just stick their synths under their arms and get on the train to gigs (They obviously never had an Arp Omni - 19.5kg and built like a tank!). We hear from nearly all the late 70's/early 80's synth bands and their daily struggle with temperamental analogue technology. Oh, and the arrival of the DX-7.

Episode 3 (30 mins, available until 28 Oct) introduces sampling, from its roots in musique concrète, via the Mellotron (including the legendary cheesy-listening patches see below), through the Fairlight CMI, industrial sounds, record sampling, and drum machines (scourge of the drummer corps of the Musicians Union). And somehow completely omits any reference to the late 70's New York Hip Hop and Electro scene.

Episode 4 (30 mins, airs at midnight tonight 22-23 Oct, and will be available until 29 Oct) Here's what you can expect, a glimpse of what could be happening now from 2004:

In the final part of the series, Andrew Collins gives us a glimpse of the electronic future as it appeared to him in 2004. As electronic music reaches maturity, new artists are going back to the original synthesizers and mixing them with the most up to date technology to create new fusions. Computers rule the planet and music. You no longer need to be a musician to make music, you can be a programmer. Vintage instruments can be re-created on your laptop. Electronics have become sophisticated in the live environment with bands like radiohead sampling and replaying vocals during a live track. You can buy a software singer and guitarist for under £200 each. Have we finally created Kraftwerk's Man Machine?