Parisian pop genius Sébastien Tellier took one of his famous leaps into the unknown with the release of his recent single A Ballet. Sonically it was full of the character you’d hope for him to deliver - dreamy French electronica, classic pop songwriting and yacht rock-style sax. Thematically, however, it played with the unlikely parallels between music and the never-ending routine of domestic life. As he questions, “Maybe the key to happiness is there, hidden under a dirty laundry basket?” It’s a topic that Tellier delves further into with his sixth studio album Domesticated.
This perennially popular annual compilation had Australia listening to Camille before she became a JJJ darling, Fade Out Line before The Avener’s remix topped charts across Europe, Yael Naim’s New Soul before it became the soundtrack to Apple’s MacBook Air, and to Lilly Wood and the Prick ahead of Prayer C becoming an international hit. Dancing, hanging out with friends, enjoying sunny afternoons in the garden with a glass of Champagne in hand; So Frenchy has been a soundtrack of musical joie de vivre. And now, to celebrate a decade of friendship, its curators have carefully culled its whopping 360-song playlist down to the very best of the best.
French music always sounded different from english or american pop music. Not only because of the language, but also because of it’s very unique sound. Blank & Jones have been travelling to france since the 1980s and always brought home some musical souvenirs. It started with names like Mylene Farmer, Niagara, Etienne Daho or Vanessa Paradis, later artists like Benjamin Biolay or Keren Ann followed. After their Paris trip in spring 2013, where they shot the music video for “Days Go By” with Coralie Clement, they decided to present these new Pop Sensations from France on Bonheur & Mélancolie. This exclusive collection brings you stars like Benjamin Biolay or Sébastien Tellier but also presents new talents like Éléphant, Rose, Berry, Loane or Vincent Delerm…
For better or worse, Germany's Compost Records has been the benchmark and barometer for measuring the state of downtempo/chillout. While trends in downtempo music have altered and evolved since the inaugural installment of the Future Sounds of Jazz series, one thing has remained consistent: the series has provided quality compilations featuring some of electronic music's most respected downtempo producers alongside up-and-coming talent. This tenth installment, mixed carefully by label owner Michael Reinboth and labelmates Beanfield, features the same high-quality acid jazz, downtempo, and drum'n'bass that devotees of the label have come to expect from the series. Contributions from minimal techno maestro Ricardo Villalobos and jazz legend Cal Tjader (remixed ably by Reinboth)…