On Écoute: Charles Aznavour
Perhaps France’s greatest ever singer-songwriter
Charles Aznavour sang of love, but also of nostalgia and the tragedy of lost youth. Here we revisit a musical master.
Born to a French-Armenian family in Paris in 1924, Charles...
On Écoute: French Kiwi Juice
Liquid beats for the beach (or anywhere, really)
Why French Kiwi Juice? Because the man behind the moniker, Vincent Fenton, is half French and half Kiwi. The more you know!
Just like his name, the tunes...
On Écoute: Erik Satie
Rediscovering the 19th-century maverick
Lambasted by some and lauded by others, Satie's work (and outlandish behaviour) divided public opinion.
A “phonometrographer”. That's how Erik Satie described himself – not as a musician, but as someone who...
On Écoute: L’Indécis
Unwind with the chill-hop master
For those unfamiliar with chill-hop, welcome to your initiation. C'est simple. Find a snug nook, slip on your best pair of headphones and sink into sensory bliss – this is...
On Écoute: Justice
A Look at France's Electro Dream Team
Not a far cry from Daft Punk, Justice is, like their better-known predecessor, an electronic music duo hailing from Paris – and one of France's greatest exports from...
On Écoute: Stuck in the Sound
Cartoon astronauts and '90s heroes
Let's begin with an origin story. Formed in Paris in 2002, indie rock band Stuck in the Sound is made up of four nostalgia-prone men in their 30s (ish): José...
On Écoute: Indochine
Celebrating the new-wave luminaries
Most folk who grew up in the 1980s remember Indochine with the same misty-eyed sentiment. Hugely popular in their native France, and subsequently the rest of Europe, they remain well known...
On Écoute: Olivia Ruiz
We celebrate the charming chanteuse
With her bright red lips and chocolate locks, Olivia Ruiz is instantly recognisable – a force of nature whose sultry, foot-stomping performances break out of the nouvelle chanson mould. The...
Nuit Blanche in Paris is Back, and Bigger Than Ever
Paris is set for its customary annual art all-nighter and it’s promising to be better than ever. On the first Saturday of October, the city stays up all night for ‘Nuit Blanche’, a major...
Music in Monaco: A Cultural Treasure Trove
Lanie Goodman attends the Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo festival and discovers there is much more to the glittery Principality than casinos and cars
There’s a legendary moment in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 To Catch a...
