Zaz au Pays Des Merveilles

French art-rock unit Etron Fou Leloublan – roughly translated, "Mad Sh*t, the White Wolf" – was formed in 1974 by vocalist Eulalie Ruynat, bassist/vocalist Ferdinand Richard, saxophonist Chris Chanet, and drummer Guigou Chenevier. A product of the Rock in Opposition coalition – a loose collective of British and Western European artists, spearheaded by Henry Cow, that openly challenged the commercial, creative, and sociopolitical aims of mass-market popular music – Etron Fou Leloublan boasted a frenzied, densely rhythmic approach ably captured by their 1976 debut LP, Batelages…

The full title of Étron Fou Leloublan's second album is Les Trois Fous Perdégagnent (Au Pays Des…), which could translate to "The Three Fools Lose'n'win (In the Land Of…)" - granted, it doesn't make more sense in English than in French. On this opus from 1978, Francis Grand picks up the saxophone where Chris Chanet (aka Eulalie Ruynat) had left it. Despite his inventive growls and screams, he simply cannot tame the devastating rhythm section (and madcap creativity) of Ferdinand Richard and Guigou Chenevier. This album is a studio construction, filled with overdubs and intro/outro collages. The group has gained better knowledge of the possibilities offered by a recording studio, but still operates on a shoestring budget…

As an artist, French singer-songwriter Yves Simon (born in Choiseul, France, 1944) lived two lives. On one hand, he was a writer, publishing almost one book a year since 1971 and eventually being rewarded (in 1988 and 1991). On the other hand, he was an almost as prolific recording artist, having released around twenty LPs since 1967, though his two first outings remained under the radar.

Depuis les toutes premières notes de Fanny Ardant et moi entendues à la radio il y a maintenant bien longtemps, je suis une inconditionnelle de Vincent Delerm. J’ai écouté sans fin tous ses albums les uns après les autres, et j’ai découvert que ses concerts étaient aussi théâtraux que musicaux. Son nouveau disque Favourite Songs, un album de reprises en duo enregistrées en live, fait le lien et ne m’a pas déçue.

C'est dans la chanson qu' Yves Simon a obtenu en premier la reconnaissance du grand public, dès 1973 il impose sa modernité, sa singularité, son étrangeté, dans des morceaux iconiques aux sonorités incroyables: "Au pays des merveilles de Juliet", "J'ai rêvé New York", "Amazoniaque", "Les Gauloises bleues". Toutes font partie de la mémoire d'une époque dont les battements de coeur refusent de s'apaiser.