Tiny Yong - L'Intégrale

Tiny Yong - L'Intégrale

The Cambodian yé-yé girl twist.

Chantal Goya - Les Années 60

Chantal Goya - Les Années 60

Chantal needs no introduction to readers of this blog, really, other than to say that if you haven't seen Masculin Feminin, what are you waiting for?

Les Fleurs de Pavot

Les Fleurs de Pavot - S/T (1968)

This is considered to be one of the finest French psych records out there, and rightly so. Les Fleurs de Pavot were far from being actual hippies, however--their image was created by their Svengali, Jean-Pierre Rawson, in an exploitative effort that was rather typical of the era. The band had issued several EP's as the serviceable beat quintet Les Bourgeois de Calais before Rawson decided that transforming them into hippie freaks (one of them was supposedly named Jesus and from San Francisco) was the way to go. The album was produced by the unbelievable dream team of Jean-Claude Vannier and Bernard Estardy, and it shows...the arrangements are brilliant, the lyrics reference drugs as often as possible, and the atmosphere is highly lysergic. This album doesn't need drugs to be enjoyed--nay, this album IS drugs.

Florent Marchet - Gargilesse

(Drugburn is going to begin posting full albums. This is the first. I look forward to posting the finest French albums I have in the realms of prog, psychedelia, experimental music, nouvelle scène, and more in the future.)

Florent Marchet - Gargilesse

Phantasmagoric modern French pop from one of the biggest (albeit underrated) talents of the nouvelle scène, Florent Marchet. His music is dreamy and beautifully crafted with a slightly psychedelic vibe similar to some of my other favorites like Pierre Bondu and Albin de la Simone.

Here is the video for "Rio Baril," the title track from his most recent album:

Vidéo Drugburn: La Ballade de Johnny Jane

Jane Birkin is my hero. This clip intersperses her singing with clips from the film Je T'aime...Moi Non Plus, written and directed by Serge and starring Jane with Joe Dallesandro of Warhol film fame. I thought the film was well done, very bittersweet and bleak.

With A Z

I'm not the biggest Liza Minnelli fan, but I must say that her cover of "You're So Vain" (from her 1973 album The Singer) is fantastic. I've been grooving to this slice of orchestral pop-rock heaven all day long.

Viens

I just revamped two of my oldest Drugburn posts from way back before I posted any mp3's. Both now have songs attached, so go take a look.

The Blades of Grass
The Gordian Knot

Autoscopie

I thought I would have to dig through my music to find something good enough to inaugurate my first official music post in over a year. As it turns out, the obvious choice was practically staring me in the face--French soundtrack composer, keyboardist, and studio engineer Bernard Estardy. Estardy worked with big names like Françoise Hardy, Nino Ferrer, and Johnny Hallyday in the sixties and seventies as well as building and operating his own recording studio and creating some of the most bizarre, gorgeous music the jazz/funk genre has to offer.

1967's La Formule Du Baron, the album pictured above, is Estardy's most acclaimed record. Like Jean-Claude Vannier's masterpiece L'Enfant Assassin Des Mouches, Baron is an experimental concept album steeped in intricate arrangements and peculiar sound effects. "Cha Tatch Ka" sounds like something between evil bossa nova and African psychedelia, while "Monsieur Dutour" (an homage to the brilliant trumpet player Pierre Dutour) borrows the horn riff from Serge Gainsbourg's "Initials BB" (which Dutour may or may not have played on).

Please enjoy. It feels good to be back.

Estardy interview on French Attack
Waxidermy post on Estardy's Electro Sounds Volume 2 album

Viva la Drugburn!

Salut--it's been a long, long time since I last posted on this blog. Despite my former inconsistencies, the hiatus is now finally over, and I'm determined to post on a consistent basis from now until doomsday. Reading all the old comments, I was inspired by how much you all have appreciated my posts in the past, and I realised that I had to bring Drugburn back for good.

Some small changes are in store for Drugburn--since the advent of Youtube, I'll be able to post videos much more easily, for one. I also want to broaden the scope of the musical content to include some French/Belgian/Québequois punk and new wave, French experimental music, and whatever else I am really enjoying and wanting to share with the readers of this blog. Last but not least, I'm planning on posting playlists within the blog every so often.

Stay tuned for a new music post in the next twenty-four hours!

Love,
Pedal