Coming back to semi-unconfined life after so much time in lockdown with limited human contact can be as tricky as learning to walk again after healing from a broken leg; we tend to tread carefully, and resort to immediate self-isolation again if too much stimulus is provided at once. The world is looking more uncanny than ever, but with no other viable solution than re-adapting to what already felt like an extreme simulation, we seek for comfort in both the old and the new, recognising bits of ourselves we sometimes fear have lost forever.
And that’s where music comes in, galloping loud and proud as the knight in shining armour that will save you from yourself and everything else when you most need it and least expect it. Undoubtedly belonging to that category of essential workers during a pandemic, musicians’ non-stop offerings are what’s been helping to keep us sane and afloat through it all—so, if you can, don’t forget to give back by buying their music and merch. Keep them alive and well so you can count down the days until you see them in concert again; in the meantime, here’s a bunch of new French delicacies for your list.
Grand Veymont release single-track album Persistance et Changement
It’s no secret that Grand Veymont are a Bonjour Motherfuckers favourite, so it was inevitable we’d open this new edition with their brand new album Persistance et Changement, out now via Objet Disque/Outré. Heavily recommended to fans of harmonium-based ambient folk, the LP consists of a single 40-minute track recorded last summer at SMSS Productions, and it’s another excellent example of the superb “krautrock de salon” they’ve been offering us since their 2018 debut Route Du Vertige.
Breakbot shares new single and video “Be Mine Tonight” (ft. Delafleur)
French DJ Breakbot is back with another tune that is set to become a new dancefloor favourite when clubbing resumes. His first offering since 2018’s “Another You”, “Be Mine Tonight” features vocals from Delafleur to achieve a delicious 2000s throwback with that sweet neon nu-disco vibe we grew accustomed to associating with French Touch. The video is a pretty cool animation that goes splendidly with the noughties nostalgia; you can watch that above, and check out his lockdown mixtape here.
Agar Agar drop surprise Nap EP
Two years after their sophomore album The Dog & The Future, French duo Agar Agar are back with a new two-track EP they managed to record during lockdown. Nap is the happy result of a fruitful long-distance collab between Clara (quarantining at her parents’ in Biarritz) and Armand (at a squat he manages in the Parisian suburbs), and can be streamed/downloaded above via Bandcamp, or at this micro-website Armand created especially for the release.
Black Devil Disco Club to release farewell album this June
Known for his legendary 1978 debut Disco Club which has been recently re-released by Alter K/Lo Recordings, French producer Bernard Fevre a.k.a. Black Devil Disco Club has recently announced he’ll be putting out his farewell LP this month. Lucifer Is A Flower is preceded by an insanely addictive track titled “Six Six Sex” whose video you can watch above, and whose release coincides with a first 10-minute sneak peak of a documentary about the musician that should see the light of day in 2021.
Fontanarosa releases debut EP
Another gift the lockdown has given us is Fontanarosa‘s a.k.a. Paul Verwaerde’s self-titled debut EP, out now via personal chéris Howlin Banana Records. During his quarantine in Lyon, Verwaerde wrote and recorded these six tracks that draw obvious inspiration from his punk rock roots, a bunch of charming lo-fi tunes superbly mixed by Florian Adrien, mastered by Cyril Meysson, and illustrated by Thilda Craquelin. It’s up for grabs on digital and cassette via the label’s Bandcamp.
Don’t forget to subscribe/share/show love to the new ongoing Bonjour Motherfuckers playlist, which will be regularly updated with the artists featured on the column; and if you’re reading this the day it was published, consider buying music from your favourite artists on Bandcamp—they’ve done it again and waived their fees so all money goes to the bands in full.
