Nouvelle Chanson
Encyclopedia
Nouvelle Chanson or 'New Chanson' is a recently coined buzzword used to define a new style of music emerging in France, one which takes clear inspiration from the forefathers of French Chanson (including Jacques Brel
, Barbara and Charles Aznavour
), albeit in an updated style. However, the principal influences appear to be the more avant-garde artists including Serge Gainsbourg
, Brigitte Fontaine
, Juliette Greco
and George Brassens. Principal French exponents of Nouvelle Chanson include artists such as Benjamin Biolay
, Émilie Simon
, Coralie Clément
, Keren Ann
, Francoiz Breut
, Olivia Ruiz
, and Camille. The term Chanson Nouveau is also used, and as a developing genre, there is considerable disagreement even in France about who belongs in this genre and how it is to be described.
Well-known contemporary English speaking artists who might also be termed New Chanson, in that their musical style is clearly traceable from this same Chanson lineage can be seen in artists such as New York based Rufus Wainwright
, his sister Martha Wainwright
(who recently reprised Barbara's song 'Dis, quand reviendras-tu ?' - , Regina Spektor
(showing French influence in songs such as 'Après moi' and 'Ne me quitte pas'), CocoRosie
(originally American, now Paris-based) and London-based singer-songwriter Ana Silvera
.
studied at the National Conservatoire, Lyon, Emilie Simon
studied musicology at the University of Montpellier, Ana Silvera
has performed with the English National Opera and Royal Opera House and Ezra Axelrod studied composition and opera at Middlebury College) giving an intellectual aspect that sets this style of music apart from other genres such as pop, rock and 'anti-folk'.
Trip-Hop/Electronica influences: Emilie Simon and Francoiz Breut belong in this group, and Camille, though she uses few electronic effects.
Updated Traditional Chanson: The second group seek to refine traditional Chanson, usually accompanied by a solo guitar or piano. This includes Anais (Croze) and Pauline Croze
Bossa Nova and Samba influenced musicians include: Olivia Ruiz, Coralie Clement, Benjamin Biolay, Emily Loizeau, and Les Blaireux.
Nouvelle Vague
Lyrically, inspiration is also drawn from fairy tales, contemporary poetry, and magical realist literature. It is also theatrical, and draws on the adoption of various personas.
Note: Outside France, there are a number of artists who, although perhaps not Chanson artists as such, seem to fit in with demonstrate an affinity with the movement, such as French-born http://www.mariannedissard.comMarianne Dissard
working from Tucson in Arizona (USA).
, Regina Spektor
, Marianne Dissard
and Antony Hegarty
could be classified as "Nouvelle Chanson". Their work is usually highly literary and may employ classical techniques as well as utilizing the waltz style.
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
, Barbara and Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour
Charles Aznavour, OC is an Armenian-French singer, songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-known singers in the world...
), albeit in an updated style. However, the principal influences appear to be the more avant-garde artists including Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg
Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's extremely varied musical style and individuality make him difficult to categorize...
, Brigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine
Brigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry and world rhythms...
, Juliette Greco
Juliette Gréco
Juliette Gréco, — also Michelle – is a French actress and popular chanson singer.-Early life and family:Juliette Gréco was born in Montpellier to a Corsican father and a mother who became active in the Résistance, in the Hérault département of southern France. She was raised by her maternal...
and George Brassens. Principal French exponents of Nouvelle Chanson include artists such as Benjamin Biolay
Benjamin Biolay
Benjamin Biolay is a French singer, songwriter, musician, actor and record producer. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément, whose two albums he wrote and produced, and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni.His low-key vocal style is...
, Émilie Simon
Émilie Simon
Émilie Simon is a French singer and composer of electronic music.-Émilie Simon:In May 2003, she released her debut album Émilie Simon. The electronic album was critically acclaimed and went on to become a commercial success. To promote her album, she did numerous live performances and TV...
, Coralie Clément
Coralie Clément
Coralie Clément is a French singer.-Biography:Clément was born into a family of musicians, her father a clarinetist, and studied the violin from the age of six but later quit. Her brother, Benjamin Biolay, also a singer, has written for Henri Salvador and wrote and produced her own debut, as well...
, Keren Ann
Keren Ann
Keren Ann Zeidel is a singer-songwriter-composer-producer and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv and New York City. She plays guitar, piano and clarinet, engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements.-Life and career:...
, Francoiz Breut
Françoiz Breut
Françoiz Breut is the stage name of Françoise Breut, a French illustrator and chanteuse of moody and melancholic pop. Breut got involved with music when her then-fiancé, French pop star Dominique A, asked her to contribute vocals on three songs of his 1993 album, Si Je Connais Harry...
, Olivia Ruiz
Olivia Ruiz
Olivia Blanc known as Olivia Ruiz is a female French pop singer of partial Spanish origin belonging to the nouvelle chanson genre.-Biography:...
, and Camille. The term Chanson Nouveau is also used, and as a developing genre, there is considerable disagreement even in France about who belongs in this genre and how it is to be described.
Well-known contemporary English speaking artists who might also be termed New Chanson, in that their musical style is clearly traceable from this same Chanson lineage can be seen in artists such as New York based Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, his sister Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
(who recently reprised Barbara's song 'Dis, quand reviendras-tu ?' - , Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor
Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...
(showing French influence in songs such as 'Après moi' and 'Ne me quitte pas'), CocoRosie
CocoRosie
CocoRosie is a musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Bianca "Coco" and Sierra "Rosie" Casady. The sisters were born and raised in the United States, but formed the band in Paris after meeting for the first time in years...
(originally American, now Paris-based) and London-based singer-songwriter Ana Silvera
Ana Silvera
Ana Silvera is a contemporary alternative London born singer-songwriter, known for the intense poeticism of her lyrics, her classical piano style and her work with choirs....
.
Characteristics of Nouvelle Chanson
Nouvelle Chanson, whilst influenced by the forefathers of French Chanson (cited above) has developed through modern influences such as rock and electronica. There is a tendency for theatricality and the adoption of personas, alongside intensely poetic lyrics incorporating surreal and metaphorical elements. Wry, intelligent humour is also often prevalent. However the defining characteristic of Chanson, both old and new, is that it focuses on the French language as vehicle and instrument. There is an emphasis on craftsmanship with many of the artists classically trained and/or having studied music academically (cf. Benjamin BiolayBenjamin Biolay
Benjamin Biolay is a French singer, songwriter, musician, actor and record producer. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément, whose two albums he wrote and produced, and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni.His low-key vocal style is...
studied at the National Conservatoire, Lyon, Emilie Simon
Émilie Simon
Émilie Simon is a French singer and composer of electronic music.-Émilie Simon:In May 2003, she released her debut album Émilie Simon. The electronic album was critically acclaimed and went on to become a commercial success. To promote her album, she did numerous live performances and TV...
studied musicology at the University of Montpellier, Ana Silvera
Ana Silvera
Ana Silvera is a contemporary alternative London born singer-songwriter, known for the intense poeticism of her lyrics, her classical piano style and her work with choirs....
has performed with the English National Opera and Royal Opera House and Ezra Axelrod studied composition and opera at Middlebury College) giving an intellectual aspect that sets this style of music apart from other genres such as pop, rock and 'anti-folk'.
Subgenres of Nouvelle Chanson
Nouvelle Chanson artists could be divided into the following genres:Trip-Hop/Electronica influences: Emilie Simon and Francoiz Breut belong in this group, and Camille, though she uses few electronic effects.
Updated Traditional Chanson: The second group seek to refine traditional Chanson, usually accompanied by a solo guitar or piano. This includes Anais (Croze) and Pauline Croze
Bossa Nova and Samba influenced musicians include: Olivia Ruiz, Coralie Clement, Benjamin Biolay, Emily Loizeau, and Les Blaireux.
Nouvelle Vague
- Artists such as Cibelle and Amel Bent are examples of the chanson form with Latin and/or African influences.
- Keren Ann, Vanessa Paradis, and Les Blaireaux represent the chanson form mediated through pop/rock sensibilities.
Literary And Artistic influences
Nouvelle Chanson takes its inspiration artistically from Dada and Surrealism.Lyrically, inspiration is also drawn from fairy tales, contemporary poetry, and magical realist literature. It is also theatrical, and draws on the adoption of various personas.
France
- Françoiz BreutFrançoiz BreutFrançoiz Breut is the stage name of Françoise Breut, a French illustrator and chanteuse of moody and melancholic pop. Breut got involved with music when her then-fiancé, French pop star Dominique A, asked her to contribute vocals on three songs of his 1993 album, Si Je Connais Harry...
— her voice is often referred to as 'moody' or 'smoky'. - Amélie-les-crayonsAmélie-les-crayonsAmélie-les-crayons is a French singer-songwriter, with an emphasis on theatricality and humour in her performances and that of her group.-2001–2003: the beginning:...
— is one of the longer-established artists in this genre, but whose work has only recently attracted international attention. - Camille (Dalmais) — referred to as the 'French Bjork' on account of her experimental style.
- Emilie SimonÉmilie SimonÉmilie Simon is a French singer and composer of electronic music.-Émilie Simon:In May 2003, she released her debut album Émilie Simon. The electronic album was critically acclaimed and went on to become a commercial success. To promote her album, she did numerous live performances and TV...
— her music is theatrical and atmospheric, her voice generally a fragile child-voice. - Keren AnnKeren AnnKeren Ann Zeidel is a singer-songwriter-composer-producer and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv and New York City. She plays guitar, piano and clarinet, engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements.-Life and career:...
— is a singer originally from Israel, now living in France, who also performs mostly in English, though her work is strongly associated with the New Chanson movement. - Nouvelle Vague — a duo who add various guest singers, their first album was considered Bossa Nova, but they have recorded in a huge variety of styles, even including covers of middle-of-the-road and easy listening tracks.
- Anaïs CrozeAnaïs CrozeAnaïs, full name Anaïs Croze, is a French singer. She was born in Grenoble, Isère, France on August 20, 1976. Her first album, called The Cheap Show, was recorded live in January 2004 and released in 2005...
— her approach is personal, humorous, and folksy. - Benjamin BiolayBenjamin BiolayBenjamin Biolay is a French singer, songwriter, musician, actor and record producer. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément, whose two albums he wrote and produced, and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroianni, the daughter of Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni.His low-key vocal style is...
— is closely associated with Keren-Ann and his sister Coralie Clement among others. - Coralie ClementCoralie ClémentCoralie Clément is a French singer.-Biography:Clément was born into a family of musicians, her father a clarinetist, and studied the violin from the age of six but later quit. Her brother, Benjamin Biolay, also a singer, has written for Henri Salvador and wrote and produced her own debut, as well...
— is the sister of Benjamin Biolay, who is prominent in the movement and also works with Keren AnnKeren AnnKeren Ann Zeidel is a singer-songwriter-composer-producer and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv and New York City. She plays guitar, piano and clarinet, engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements.-Life and career:...
. - Emily LoizeauEmily LoizeauEmily Loizeau is a French author, composer, and singer. Her debut album, released in 2006, was titled L'autre bout du monde .- Biography :...
— the instrumentation is similar to Olivia Ruiz, sounding rather eccentric to an Anglo audience. - Jeanne CherhalJeanne CherhalJeanne Cherhal is a French singer-songwriter.-Biography:After spending her younger years in Erbray near Châteaubriant, Cherhal studied philosophy before moving to Paris. She started her singing career playing piano – solo, or accompanied by her guitarist Éric Löhrer in small concert venues. At the...
— has recently emerged with an unusual, usually acoustic, style. - Pauline CrozePauline CrozePauline Croze is a French pop/folk singer and musician.She started to sing and play the guitar when she was 14 and 6 years later she made her first demos with Quito of the group Señor Holmes. At this time she made her very first appearance on stage.In 2003, she collaborated with Anne Claverie and...
— has a style which is close to traditional French Pop and Chanson, or to Folk. - Olivia RuizOlivia RuizOlivia Blanc known as Olivia Ruiz is a female French pop singer of partial Spanish origin belonging to the nouvelle chanson genre.-Biography:...
— the main instrument seems to be a ukulele. Humour is an important part of her approach. "What's yours is mine", she sings on La Petite Voleuse ending with relish "and what's Mine is Mine, too".
Note: Outside France, there are a number of artists who, although perhaps not Chanson artists as such, seem to fit in with demonstrate an affinity with the movement, such as French-born http://www.mariannedissard.comMarianne Dissard
Marianne Dissard
Marianne Dissard is a singer, lyricist and filmmaker living in Tucson, Arizona, USA. "A central figure in Tucson's desert music community" with her unique hybrid of French Chanson and Americana, she is noted as a ....
working from Tucson in Arizona (USA).
UK
- Ana SilveraAna SilveraAna Silvera is a contemporary alternative London born singer-songwriter, known for the intense poeticism of her lyrics, her classical piano style and her work with choirs....
— her lyrics draw inspiration from literary work and are complex in style. She also covers the work of Jacques Brel, and Barbara, a nod to the forefathers of Chanson. - Ezra AxelrodEzra AxelrodEzra Axelrod is an American singer, composer, pianist and recording artist and gay rights activist based in London. Axelrod is one of a small number of openly gay recording artists to explore queer identity explicitly through his music...
— originally from the U.S., this London-based composer reinvents the chanson realiste in a contemporary, personal vernacular with sparse musical arrangements and vivid narratives about marginal characters. - CibelleCibelleCibelle is a multi-media performance artist, singer-songwriter and music producer. Cibelle’s music is difficult to classify; she has been called a self-styled purveyor of “Tropical Punk”.-Biography:...
— (originally from Brazil, now a resident of London) has recently come to attention with her prize-winning second album, The Sound of Dried Electric Leaves, which includes songs in Spanish, English, and French, in a wide variety of styles. - Imogen HeapImogen HeapImogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
— whilst coming from a rock perspective is influenced by poets, such as Sylvia PlathSylvia PlathSylvia Plath was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer...
.
Scandinavia
- Ane BrunAne BrunAne Brun is a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, four of which are studio albums, a live DVD and a collection of duets...
— has subtle and metaphysical music based around daily life. - Anna TernheimAnna Ternheim-Early life:Ternheim was born 31 May 1978 in Stockholm, Sweden. When she was 10 years old she began playing the guitar, writing songs and performing. During a year abroad in Atlanta, Georgia, Anna created her first band "Sova," playing at smaller festivals and local clubs...
— has a more traditional folk style and sings complex songs, often focusing on relationships. Songs: "My Secret", "Halfway to Fivepoints". - Emiliana TorriniEmilíana TorriniEmilíana Torrini Davíðsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, best known for her 2009 single Jungle Drum, 1999 album Love in the Time of Science and for performing "Gollum's Song" for Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.-Early life:Torrini grew up in Kópavogur, where, at the age of...
— is an Icelandic performer. Her work has artistic and avante aspects and she has associations with both Trip-Hop and Nouvelle Chanson.
Canada
- (Leslie) Feist — (originally from Canada, now resident in France) came to international attention through her song "1234" which was used to advertise the iPod nano.
- CocoRosieCocoRosieCocoRosie is a musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Bianca "Coco" and Sierra "Rosie" Casady. The sisters were born and raised in the United States, but formed the band in Paris after meeting for the first time in years...
— is an unclassifiable duo from Canada. Originally formed in 1996 and now resident in France and performing again, these two sisters can be very experimental, incorporating into their music the sounds of toys and other unusual effects.
USA
Artists such as Rufus WainwrightRufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
, Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor
Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...
, Marianne Dissard
Marianne Dissard
Marianne Dissard is a singer, lyricist and filmmaker living in Tucson, Arizona, USA. "A central figure in Tucson's desert music community" with her unique hybrid of French Chanson and Americana, she is noted as a ....
and Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.-Early life:...
could be classified as "Nouvelle Chanson". Their work is usually highly literary and may employ classical techniques as well as utilizing the waltz style.
Philippines
- Cynthia AlexanderCynthia AlexanderCynthia Alexander is a highly respected singer-songwriter and musician in the Philippines. Her music infuses prose-poetry and haunting melodies with indigenous Philippine and Asian rhythms...
— affinities with Nouvelle Chanson as well as with the Freak FolkFreak folkFreak folk is a genre of folk music associated with contemporary artists such as Faun Fables, Animal Collective, Davenport, Devendra Banhart,CocoRosie, Panda Bear, Kelli Ali, Joanna Newsom, Bowerbirds, Woods, Greg Weeks, Hecuba, Akron/Family, Rio en Medio, Birdengine, Sufjan Stevens, Sean Hayes,...
genre into which CocoRosieCocoRosieCocoRosie is a musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Bianca "Coco" and Sierra "Rosie" Casady. The sisters were born and raised in the United States, but formed the band in Paris after meeting for the first time in years...
are also often classified.
External links
- http://www.last.fm/tag/nouvelle+chanson+francaise
- http://rfimusique.com/anglais/musique/articles/084/article_7837.asp