Tuesday 30 April 2013

Soma: Letters to Unwrite


Another video has emerged from Soma, a very promising French act.

The track comes from their second album, Nobody Hotter than God, which  was released in France in September last year.

The band's debut album Jewel and The Orchestra was released in 2010. I gave the band a mention back in September, last year and they certainly deserved being featured here again on the strength of this track.

With Phoenix getting a huge amount of attention this year, hopefully some other  bands will benefit from the spotlight being on French rock, and Soma are certainly well placed.

Their biography says that the band play rock from their guts and pop from their hearts, and that certainly sounds like the case.

They've got some live dates coming up, having just played at Printemps de Bourges, and play at Solidays in June.


David Guetta: Play Hard


Another song from David Guetta's Nothing but the Beat collection released as a single, this time it's the track Play Hard from the Nothing but the Beat Ultimate Edition that emerged at the end of last year.

The track first appeared on the Nothing but the Beat 2.0 that came out in 2012 and features Ne-Yo and Akon.

The song heavily samples the track better Off Alone, originally a number two UK hit (and number 6 in France) for Dutch dance act Alice DJ in 1998.

It's the ninth single from the Nothing But the Beat collection, and reached the top 30 in the UK and number seven in France.

Guetta's Nothing but the Beat album's seen more singles released than most artists release in their entire careers.

While the video's not been popular with the Mexican audience, apparently offending some with its use of stereotypes, I reckon its a more affectionate portrayal of some of the more visually bizarre aspects of Mexican culture.

The boots with the comically long toes are apparently a genuine trend in Mexico, originating in the town of Matehuala in northeastern Mexico, where young men wear the distinctive footwear and compete with each other in dance competitions.

Apparently they emerged after a Mexican man, known only as Cesar of Huizache, had a pair made for him by a shoemaker, and the craze grew from there.


Monday 29 April 2013

Ulrich Forman: Get Lucky


Since word emerged that a new Daft Punk release was on the cards, the smallest clip has been seized on by DJs and producers to created something with the new sounds.

With Get Lucky finally appearing in full, there's little sign of that abating with all sorts of remixes and mash ups surfacing just a matter of days after the track was published.

Some are more successful than others, but my favourite has to be this rather unique cover by Ulrich Forman, a pseudonym used by Polérik Rouvière.

He's worked with the likes of Yann Tiersen and Alain Souchon since he began his career in the first decade of the 21st century, and has recorded under his own name, as Ledge and released his 2013 EP See My Love under the name Ulrich Forman.

He's also worked in film soundtracks, and his music's featured on commercials.

There's a joyous feel to his most recent single I'm in love, with a flavour of the perfect pop of 60s acts like the Beach Boys, and this cover perhaps shows that however different things might be on the surface, that perfect pop dna shines through every time.



Cascadeur: Ghost Surfer

A new track - Ghost Surfer - has emerged by Cascadeur.

Cascadeur's debut album The Human Octupus was released two years ago, and featured the memorable track Walker.

Cascadeur, who performs with a mask or a helmet shielding his face, first came to widespread attantion after winning the CQFD (Ceux qu'il faut découvrir) prize organised by Les Inrockuptibles magazine in 2008.

His major label debut saw him shortlisted for the Prix Constantin 2011.

On this new track his voice remains as unique as it did on the debut, and the new track certainly reminds you of what a unique artist he is.

Hopefully we can look forward to more new music from the artist known to his friends and
family as Alexandre Longo before too long.



Cascadeur – Ghost Surfer by VEVO

Saturday 27 April 2013

Juliette Greco and Feist: La Javanaise


A clip of a unique performance featuring two singers from very different generations, Juliette Greco and Feist.

The song was written by Serge Gainsbourg for Greco who originally released the song in 1963.

I came across this video while working on a longer piece about Gainsbourg for the Institut français in London's Culturethèque website, and thought it too good not to give it a mention here.

Greco is of course one of the most iconic female singers in French chanson, her career spanning the decades from the 1940s

to the present day, her work and life involving many of the most significant cultural names in 20th century France and  beyond.

Sharp-eyed viewers will also be able to spot Chilly Gonzales on piano.


Friday 26 April 2013

Vanessa Paradis: Love Song (clip)

The video has emerged for the new Vanessa Paradis track Love Song.

 The song's been out for a while, and it's already been a top ten hit in France, the video, in all its day-glo psychedelic glory will probably help sell a few more copies of the track

 It comes just ahead of her new album, a double album entitled Love Songs, released on May 13.

Paradis has most recently been a face of clothes company H&M, and it's been six years since her last full album.

 If you want to take a more detailed look back at Vanessa's career, there's an article I wrote on the Institut Français' Culturethèque website here > 

 The new work sees her collaborate with a number of people, although principally with Benjamin Biolay, whom she appeared on the track Profite on his most recent album Vengeance that came out in November 2012.


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Wednesday 24 April 2013

Iam: Arts Martiens


Marseilles hip hop act Iam have realeased a new album, Arts martiens, and its already on

The album comes six years after the last release by Iam, 2007's Saison 5.

The five piece, Akhenaton, Shurik'n, Khéops, Imhotep and Kephren have been active since 1989, and were one of the first really great French hip hop acts that I became aware of, initially though their soundtrack for the film Taxi.

They were one of the biggest rap acts of the 90s in France, their major commercial breakthrough coming with their '97 album L'École du micro d'argent, one of the best selling hip hop albums ever in French music history.

Arts martiens found itself at the top of the iTunes chart in France immediately on its release, and looks set to be one of this year's biggest selling collection in the genre.

The track Notre dame veille continues the band expressing their relationship with their home town of Marseille, a city perhaps better known at the moment for its culture of gun violence as it is for being this year's European City of Culture.

Monday 22 April 2013

Phoenix: Bankrupt! (review)


And so the new album by Phoenix arrives, Bankrupt! arriving as unquestionably one of the most anticipated releases of the year.

The band have quietly risen to become one of the biggest international acts, French enough to be different, indie enough to be edgy, clever enough to be credible. Sophisticated yet unpretentious.

They're a rock act, who have managed not only to survive but to thrive in an environment that's become increasingly hostile to rock acts in recent years.

Which other acts are they competing against? Coldplay? Stereophonics? The Strokes? They're probably just some of the thousands of bands who wish they were Phoenix right now.

To these ears Chloroform is a highlight, the kind of song that leaves long-term fans nodding their heads happy that the magic not only remains but has if anything been improved on in the years since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It's also the kind of songs that festival goers unfamiliar with Phoenix will remember as a highlight.

Meanwhile, the rest of the songs have the qualities that are likely to see them embed into your musical dna over a short period of time. In a month or two you'll struggle to remember a time when these songs were not around.

With an album that's been subjected to so much scrutiny and critical speculation before it actually emerges, there's always a risk that it fails to reach expectations, even if its just because the material has been dissected so thoroughly that it seems over-familiar by the time it's released. But no such danger here.

There's not a bad track here in a confident album that both picks up where Phoenix left off and builds on what they've achieved so far.

A recent appearance at California's Coachella festival - featuring a memorable duet with R Kelly at the end of the show - sets the tone for a summer of memorable festival appearances by the band. If you're going to a festival pretty much anywhere this summer, chances are Phoenix are on the bill somewhere near the top.

This is what summer 2013 is going to sound like.


Yuksek : Baby & Me Evian babies advert

Amid an onslaught of amazing new releases this week, this new advertising campaign caught my eye and ear.

It's another innovative campaign by Evian, the French mineral water brand, and it continues their 'live young' themed adverts that feature dancing babies.

Previously they've been seen roller skating  in a 2009 ad campaign  that won the company the Gold Award at the London International Awards 2009 for Best Visual Effects.

A 2011 re-imaging of the campaign saw the babies dancing on T shirts, and interestingly the music was a version of Wordy Rappinghood, produced by DJ Mehdi and Uffie.

They've obviously decided to continue using some innovative French music for this new campaign. In this case the music is by Yuksek, with a remix of Here comes the Hotstepper, a 1994 US number one for Ini Kamoze.

The original song's appeared in a few advertising campaigns and films since then, after it appeared in the movie Prêt-à-Porter.  It also made an appearance in the song Qui t'a dit by Sexion d'Assaut in 2010.

Saturday 20 April 2013

Record Store Day 2013


While there's obvious and justified excitement about some of the big name releases from the likes of Dylan, Pink Floyd  and Bowie, there are some great French related releases being issued to celebrate the record shop.

There is a collection of remixes of Benjamin Biolay, an EP Terre Brûlée by Team Ghost and a seven inch by Stranded Horse featuring a cover of the Joy Division song Transmission.

There's also a 12' mix by Miss Kittin featuring material from her new album that's due out next week.

The occasion is also being marked in independent record stored in France today.

Among the releases that are likely to be snapped up in France, Miossec releases a Seven inch entitled Planter des primevere and there's a Mylène Farmer seven inch picture disc Je te dis tout. Skip the Use also releases a 12' of remixes.

Le Disquaire Day, as Record Store Day is know in France, is organised by CALIF (Club Action des Labels Indépendants Français) in partmership with the US organisation of independent record stores Coalition Of Independent Music Stores and the UK organisation the Entertainment Retailers Association. CALIF was founded in 2002 with the support of the ministry of culture and communications to maintain and develop a network of independent record shops offering a diverse range.

I'm sure in the UK struggling record stores could only dream of something like that

Whether in France or in the UK or elsewhere, stocks of the special items are limited,in some cases very limited indeed. There are only 900 copies of the Mylène Farmer single for instance, so you'll be exceptionally lucky to find exactly what you set out to purchase. But you might get something else instead that surprises.

T
here are also plenty of events, with bands DJs and appearances.

Good luck and enjoy the music!


Friday 19 April 2013

Daft Punk:Get Lucky (at last..)

At last, the new single by Daft Punk finally drops on iTunes. Almost on cue,  summer weather breaks out.

To theses ears it sounds like something that's always been around. In a good way.


I know there have been the brief clips that have been released to whet the appetite before now, and they've been listened to thoroughly, extended, remixed and absorbed.

So the song comes as perhaps without many surprises, but its remains a great tune.

There's an argument that the Daft Punk release is as much about a marketing campaign as it is about the music. Hardly new though, the music business has been doing this kind of thing for decades.

While excitement about the release has been stoked up with careful releases and teases, it comes down to one issue: Is it actually any good?

And there's one simple answer: Yes.

Daft Punk have made a record that sounds like it came from a late 70s/early 80s that never actually existed, a time warped mash-up that takes bits of disco, funk and electro and combine them into something that sets the standard against which other releases this year will be measured against. It manages to be both innovative and new, yet both familiar and instantly identifiable as by Daft Punk at the same time.


It looks like the single will be a number one in the UK, probably elsewhere too. Time for the world to sit up and take notice of French music again.

Thursday 18 April 2013

Arne Vinzon: La route de Dreux


A cool piece of electronica with Arne Vinzon's song La route de Dreux.

The track comes from their forthcoming album Les belles structure.

It's the second album by the three-piece that consists of Arnaud Vincent, Matthieu and Fabien Devos. Their debut Le Monde Entier was released in May 2011, although the band was then only a two piece of Arnaud and Matthieu. Arnaud writing the songs, Matthieu adding the keyboards and the technology.

A 7' of a remixed Japanese version of the track Lente Dépression came out earlier this year.

La route de Dreux is the second piece from their new album to emerge, following the track Je ne partirai pas, je n'irai nulle part.

Both tracks show a sophisticated elegance and artistic vision that suggests the album will be one of this year's most interesting releases.

Their album Les belles structures is due to be released in France on May 6, and they play in Paris on June 3 to mark the album's release.


Wednesday 17 April 2013

Trust, Margaret Thatcher and Misère


With the funeral today in London of Margaret Thatcher, I though it worth reflecting on another song concerning her by a French artist.

The track Misère by Trust was certainly not the only time a rock act would tackle Thatcher - Iron Maiden's Sanctuary single's cover showing Thatcher murdered by Eddie made that point (She returned with a machine gun on the cover of Women in uniform for her revenge)- it was certainly unusual for a French rock act.

The song featured on the band's third album Marche ou crève from 1982 and was the b side of the single Ton derniere acte.

An English version of the album was also released, with the title Savage. It didn't feature an English version of this track, despite every other song on the album being represented.

Maybe it was thought that the references to the Troubles would cause problems. They probably would have done.

Ironically I can't find a video for the song online, but there's a decent clip by Trust tribute band Répression on the page instead.

I've written about Trust before on this blog, and how they turned the head of this former teenage metal fan. trust were very much a band of their era, aware of the politics around them and their implications.

Trust were actually quite well known in the UK, particularly among rock fans, and were often played on The Friday Rock Show, the legendary Radio One show by Tommy Vance, and in magazines like Kerrang! and music papers including Sounds.

They became less well known after they stopped recording English versions of their albums, they recorded versions of their second (Répression), third (Marche ou crève) and fourth (IV) albums, their debut getting airplay in the UK principally on account of their cover of AC/DC's Ride On.

Trust were a huge influence on the French rock scene, and one of the few to make a significant impact outside France.


Monday 15 April 2013

Miss Kittin: Calling From The Stars.


An interesting release expected later this month from electronica artist Miss Kittin, with the new album Calling From The Stars.

The album is a 23 track double album, with ten tracks being made available for online streaming.

You can listen to the tracks here on the Les inrocks website >

It's as perfect a taste of state of the art electronica as you could hope for, with innovative sounds from dancefloor to more ambient work.

The DJ, known to her family as Caroline Hervé, has been active since the 90s, working as a solo artist and then part of The Hacker, who released their debut First Album in 2001 to critical acclaim.

She's worked with Felix Da housecat on his Kittenz and Thee Glitz album, and collaborated with Sven Väth on his cover of Gainsbourg's Je t'aime...moi non plus in 2001.

In 2002 she released an album with Golden Boy called Or, which gave her a UK dance chart number one with the track Rippin Kittin.

She released her debut solo album in 2004, and  also that year set up her own record label Nobody's Bizzness, which would release her second solo album Batbox in 2008 and a second album with The Hacker called Two the same year.

Calling from the stars is available from April 22



Daft Punk Get Lucky (ft Pharell Williams)


More content emerging from  he new Daft Punk album Random Access Memories, with a short clip for the track Get Lucky.

The video shows Pharell Williams singing, alongside Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers.

The clip appeared on American TV on Saturday and was also shown on the big screens at the Coachella festival over the weekend.

A couple of remixes of Get Lucky have already emerged.

Pharell Williams features on another track on the album, Lose Yourself to Dance.

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalte's last release was the soundtrack of the Tron:Legacy movie in 2010, their last full album Human After All came out in 2005.


The album  Randon Access Memories comes out on May 21.



Saturday 13 April 2013

Serge Gainsbourg: Histoire de Melody Nelson film


I don't know how  I managed to miss this treat of 70s TV visuals that is the short film that was made to accompany Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson.

The TV special was directed by Jean-Christophe Avery, a pioneering and award winning TV director who had previously worked with Johnny Hallyday, Joan Baez,  Françoise Hardy, Yves Montand and others for TV shows. Avery and Gainsbourg had crossed paths on Avery's ground-breaking 60s TV series Les raisins verts.

While the album's rightly been given the classic status it deserves - Jane Birkin commenting that it only took 30 years for it to become an overnight success, I hadn't come across the accompanying film.

It's either a long music video or a short film depending on how generous you're feeling, and probably one of the most eye-popping pieces of 70s psychedelic visuals you'll see.

Every track from the album is featured on the film, although the album's 28 minute running time keeps it fairly short.

With Serge and Jane such iconic figures and the music presenting Serge at probably his peak, I don't know why the film's not widely know. Maybe it has dated a bit, to say the least, but it has dated in a stylish way.



Friday 12 April 2013

Benjamin Biolay: Profite


No sooner do I feature more details of the new Vanessa Paradis album that a video emerges of a track by Benjamin Biolay that she features on.

However, neither Paradis nor Biolay feature in the clip.

The song
Profite comes from Biolay's most recent collection Vengeance, released in November last year.

Its the second video to be released from the album, the track Aime mon amour coming out in October.

Biolay is of course one of the main collaborators on Paradis's new double album Love Songs, her sixth, due out in May. Biolay  writes, produces and also duets with Paradis on two tracks.

Biolay is on tour in France at the moment, with dates throughout the country and shows at festivals over the summer.

He also plays in London on June 27 and the Olympia in Paris on November the ninth


Thursday 11 April 2013

Maître Gims: J'me tire


The video's been unveiled for the single J'me tire, by French rapper Maître Gims, one of the main voices in French hip hop
collective Sexion d'Assaut.

The track by the rapper known to his family as Gandhi Djuna looks et to be one of the big hits of spring 2013.

The song is currently at number one in the French singles chart, where it's been for the last three weeks.

J'me tire is the second track from the forthcoming album to emerge, following on from the song M.P.S (Meutre Par Strangulation).

The clip for J'me tire comes out just a short time after Sexion d'Assaut released the track Cérémonie as a single, from the extended edition of their album L'apogée.

Sexion d'Assaut are continuing their programme of live dates, and while they look on track to be France's most popular rap act, the attention will also no doubt benefit the solo career of Maître Gims.

His debut album Subliminal is available from May 20.


Serge Gainsbourg: Paris Metro station to be named after singer


Serge Gainsbourg, is to get the unusual honour of having a Paris Metro station named after him.

The RATP and the town of Lillas agreed to name a station after the singer as part of a scheme to extend the Metro network's line 11.

Stations in the past have been named after writers and politicians, such as Hugo, Dumas and Mitterrand.

The station is expected to be called Les Lilas – Serge Gainsbourg, in homage to the town that the line crosses and to the Gainsbourg song
Le poinçonneur des Lilas.

The song, one of Gainsbourg's best known songs, was his first bit hit, and was originally released in 1958 and appeared on his Du chant à la une! album.

A bronze statue of Gainsbourg is also expected to be installed close to the new station. A park commemorating Gainsbourg was opened in the 19th arrondisement of Paris in 2010.

Work on the new line starts next year and is expected to continue until 2019.


Wednesday 10 April 2013

Vanessa Paradis: Love Songs


More details have emerged of the forthcoming Vanessa Paradis album Love Songs.

The singer, who has recently been seen in an advertising campaign for H&M, releases her new collection on May the 13th.

The first track Love Song has already been released as a single, reaching the top ten in France.

It's been six years since her last album Divinidylle, so the new release has certainly been long awaited by fans.

If you want to take a look back at Vanessa's career, there's an article I wrote on the Institut Français' Culturethèque website here >

The double album features 20 tracks, an extra two on the deluxe edition, and there are two duets, one with Benjamin Biolay - who produced the album - on the track Les roses roses, an another with former Libertine Carl Barât on The Dark, It Comes.

Biolay is one of the main songwriters, but there are also contributions from Mickaël Furnon, Mathieu Boogaerts, Adrien Gallo from BB Brunes and Ben Ricour. Paradis is involved in the wroting ofa number of songs, the track Doorway on her own, while Rocking Chair and Love Song are co-written with Biolay. Être celle is co-written with Marcel Kanche.

Meanwhile, the song New Year sees writing credits for Vanessa Paradis alongside ex-parter Johnny Depp and their daughter Lily Rose.


Tuesday 9 April 2013

Johnny Hallyday:Un Tableau de Hopper


A new single release by Johnny Hallyday, with the track Un Tableau de Hopper getting some much deserved attention.

It's the third track to be released from his L'Attente album, which came out towards the end of last year.

Two preceding tracks were the title track L'Attente and 20 ans, and the album's enjoyed good sales, probably as a result of its release during his extensive tour for his preceding album Jamais Seul.

The new single, written by Emmanuelle Cosso, Jérôme Attal and Daran, refers to American painter Edward Hopper. Hopper was famous for his detailed paintings of the common features of everyday life in the USA and its inhabitants.

One of his most famous works was Nighthawks, a cinematic representation of customers at a late night diner in a city.

Hallyday's song reminds me a bit of one of his other tributes to another American icon, Tennessee Williams, in his song Quelque Chose de Tennessee.

Hallyday turns 70 this summer, and marks the occasion with a series of shows at the Bercy arena in Paris on the 14th , 15th and 16th of June. The second night show, on the actual date of his birthday, is to be shown live on TF1 as part of a special evening dedicated to Hallyday.


Sexion d'Assaut: Cérémonie


A new video for the track Cérémonie (Feat. Dry) by Sexion d'Assaut.

the track comes from the new edition of their L'Apogée album, originally released in March last year, which has gone on to be one of France's biggest rap albums.

The new video comes to mark the re-issue of the album in a special edition format with six extra tracks.

The video makes comment on the fact that despite the success the act has enjoyed, they've not been given the recognition from awards ceremonies that they might have been expected.

They've been performing live incessantly since the release of L'Apogée, and are continuing to sell out arenas around the country, as documented in their Concert Bercy Live CD and DVD released at the end of last year.

They play at the Olympia in Paris in June for two nights.


Monday 8 April 2013

Renaud : Miss Maggie


I don't celebrated the death of a frail old woman, but the coverage so far of the death of Margaret Thatcher revolts me its the re-writing of history.

Her friendship with Pinochet forgotten, her branding Mandela a terrorist airbrushed from the picture. The communities across the UK that were devastated by her idealogical campaign against the working class, whether miners or steelworkers, railwaymen or teachers disregarded.

Her party were the party of apartheid, militarism, xenophobia, homophobia and greed.

She opened the doors to the bankers,letting them to do as they saw fit with the economy, the consequences of which are being felt on every shore, far beyond the voters who backed her.

I don't even need to detail what she did in Northern Ireland.

Hearing Renaud in the 80s when this song came out gave the many of us disgusted by what was happening in our country a boost, letting us know loud and clear that we were not alone in the face of an idealogical onslaught.

So I won't mourn Miss Maggie. My memory of the 80s were more student demonstrations and miners strikes, the Poll Tax and unemployment.

Her economic miracle only benefited the few, at a cost most of us are still paying.

As one YouTube comment makes clear "Ding dong la sorcière est morte!"


Wednesday 3 April 2013

Alvin Lee and Le Péril Jeune


The death in March of guitarist Alvin Lee, best known for his playing in Ten Years After reminded me of the memorable scenes in the French movie Le Péril Jeune that featured his music.

Lee's playing was famous probably as a consequence of his performance at Woodstock, which was captured on the film of the archetypal 60s rock festival.

Afficionados of 60s/70s guitar heroes would always debate who was the best. Opinions would be split and there would be passionate debate over the  merits or otherwise of the likes of Hendrix, Blackmore, Clapton, Page or whoever. It mattered whether a particular player was the most tasteful, the most authentic, the most versatile or whatever. , but there would always be an agreement that Alvin Lee was the fastest.

The film Le Péril Jeune was a 1994 film directed by Cédric Klapisch, who would go on to direct films like 1996's Chacun cherche son chat, and most famously 2001's Auberge Espagnole and its 2004 follow up Les Poupées Russes.

Le Péril Jeune is a coming of age drama with the characters looking back on their youth in Paris in the 70s from a vantage point ten years after (!) they left school, as they await the birth of the child of one of their former school friends who recently died of a drugs overdose.

It's one of those great French films that is wonderfully scripted and acted, and while there might not be any huge drama, it's the kind of film that features characters that you can actually sympathise with on a human level, and situations that you can recognise.

I'm sure anyone who has ever picked up an electric guitar will recognise the situation in the clip/

It starred Romain Duris in his debut performance. Duris was offered the part after the casting director saw him in the street. He's gone on to star in other films such as Dobermann, Arsène Lupin, The Beat That My Heart Skipped, as well as in Klapisch's  Auberge Espagnole, Les Poupées Russes as well as in other films he's made


Goin' home by jeanbeatles

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Bob Sinclar: Paris by Night


A new release by DJ and producer Bob Sinclar, Paris by Night appears today.

There's no track being promoted as a single so far from the collection, described as a Parisian Musical Experience selected and Mixed by Bob Sinclar.

It seems a low key release, following his January 2012 collection Disco Crash which saw a raft of singles such as Me Not A Gansta (feat Colonet Reyel), Rock The Boat (feat Pitbull) and F- With You (feat Sophie Ellis Bextor).

The fact that none of these were hits might explans why the new release is being released without much hype, perhaps to allow the album to find its market and quietly re-establish Sinclar as a respected name before giving his career a bigger promotion.

For all his earlier hits, he's got a way to go before he reaches the levels of success of David Guetta or even Martin Solveig have enjoyed in recent years.

Sinclar appeared in Solveig's video for the track Hello, where the two DJs faced each other across a tennis court.

Hopefully the new collection will go some way to improve Sinclar's world ranking.

A teaser for the track Summer Moonlight has appeared on YouTube


Monday 1 April 2013

Editorial: April 2013


A quick editorial for this month, with Easter holidays meaning that this was pre-written in advance and scheduled to appear while I'm elsewhere.

Last month saw the site mark its third anniversary, and since that hesitant start in 2010 there's been a huge change in how much has appeared on the site, as well as how many visitors have been.

In simple terms, I had more posts last month than I did in the whole of 2010.

Incidentally, March also saw a couple of other milestones passed on the site, with over 50,000 pageviews and over 500 posts. While not likely to challenge any of the big sites that are out there on the internet, and given that for its first year the site was not far off dormant, I'm pleased with the success its had.

Anyway, no time for nostalgia or looking back. More new releases scheduled this month, from Carla Bruni's new album out today to Disquaire Day/Record Store Day at the end of the month, more great things to listen to and write about.

As always, I can be contacted by email at the address johnkilbride AT hotmail DOT com, with the spaces and the appropriate @ and . in the address, or on twitter where you can find us @viveleroq

Merci et à bientôt

jk