Threads – Portishead (2008)
Do we still need to introduce Portishead? This group of trip-hop formed in 1991 by Geoff Barrow, after his works with Tricky or even Massive Attack, and Beth Gibbons. The group’s first album: Dummy, published in 1994, was a symbol for a whole generation by embodying perfectly the trip-hop spirit. Their second album, the eponymous Portishead, released in 1997, did not meet the same success as the previous one, but it maintained the special atmosphere of this group.
Then a long, even interminable wait started for the fans, punctuated by false joys. It is first in 2003 that a rumor started about the release of a third album, denied early 2004 on the band official website. In 2006, some are beginning to say that the recording of Portishead’s third album is completed. Then, to the delight of fans, Portishead appeared live at the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival, in early December 2007, with 5 new compositions. Finally, Portishead announced officially the release of the third group album: Third, on April 28, 2008. So, for the fans, it is the end of a waiting period of more than 10 years.
Threads is the closing song of this third album from Portishead. The atmosphere of the song keeps the spirit of the group alive. It is still dark, disturbing and modern at the same time, with Beth Gibbons, true to herself, who offer to us a magnificent singing.
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Portishead Official Website
Portishead Myspace
Portishead Blog
Buy Third on Amazon.com
Je Ne Veux Pas Mourir – Mendelson (1997)
Death is probably the thing which haunts the most artists who assume their spleen. Some singers use metaphors, but on his first album, french duet Mendelson treats this subject frankly.
Released on Lithium (the label which discovered Dominique A), famous for his jansenist aesthetic (productions of the label were often sad and slow), and itself closed, “Je ne veux pas mourir” describes a nocturnal anxiety : dying.
The narrator exposes all the reasons he has not to die : he is young, in good health. So why is he so anxious ? Probably to create the lyrics of a very slow and dark-spirited french song.
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Mendelson Website
Mendelson Myspace
Buy Personne Ne Le Fera Pour Nous on Amazon.com
Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte – Ravel (1899)
Joseph Maurice Ravel was born on March 7, 1875 in Ciboure, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France. He is a french composer and pianist, perfectionist to the extreme extent influenced by the pioneers of jazz and Jean-Philippe Rameau. According to Le Robert (french dictionnary), his music combines “the most subtle intelligence games” and “the most secret heart effusions.”
He has produced relatively few works unlike prolific composers like Amadeus Mozart or Frédéric Chopin, only eighty-six original works and twenty-five works choreographed or arranged.
The piece Pavane Pour Une Infante Défunte composed in the first place in 1899 for piano, was orchestrated in 1910. The one for piano is one of his most played pieces by amateur music lovers, although Ravel does not appreciate it because he feel it being too much influenced by the works of Emmanuel Chabrier.
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Further information on Wikipedia [en]
Buy Complete Works for Solo Piano on Amazon.com
La Ville S’Endormait – Jacques Brel (1977)
Jacques Brel was born in the district of Brussels, at Schaarbeek, on April 8, 1929. He is not interested in school, so his father gives him a job in the family’s Cardboard factory. Finding no more interest in the cardboard than in school, he thinks about taking a fresh start, in singing or in breeding chickens.
1954: he left alone Brussels to move to Paris, leaving behind him his wife and two daughters. His family doesn’t support him and stops giving him money, he then lives under the roof of the hotel Stevens, Pigalle.
1966: he decided to leave everything and to stop singing. He gave his last recital on May 16, 1967, in Roubaix.
1974: already suffering from lung cancer, he left Paris and his family. He left on a boat to the Marquesas with Madly Bamy. He works there as a taxi-plane between Tahiti and the Marquesas.
1977: he was back in France, despite the progression of his cancer. He decided to record a new album which is released under the simple name: Brel. He finished the album, as well as his career, by the song Les Marquises, which was recorded in one take and which ends as follows: “Veux-tu que je te dise / Gémir n’est pas de mise / Aux Marquises”.
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Further information on Wikipedia [en]
Buy Les Marquises on Amazon.com
Too Late – M83 (2008)
M83 is a group of electronic music formed in 2001 by Anthony Gonzalez in Antibes. He is quickly joined by Nicolas Fromageau, guitarist and drummer from his first rock band. The M83 influences range from Sonic Youth to Mogwai or even My Bloody Valentine and Tangerine Dream. He is the worthy heir of Shoegaze style. In addition, we can’t miss the massive use of persistent electronic sounds which reminds us the tracks of Vangelis.
On Saturdays=Youth album released today, Anthony Gonzalez has worked with producers Ewan Pearson (who also produced for Ladytron and The Rapture) and Ken Thomas (also known for his work with Cocteau Twins or Sigur Rós). The voices are much more present than on previous albums, which do not make the album less gliding. We keep being carried away by these beautiful melodies fueled by melancholy.
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M83 Official Website
M83 Myspace
M83 Facebook Page
M83 YouTube Directory
Further information on Wikipedia [en]
Buy Saturdays=Youth on Amazon.com
