Tag Archives: Serge Gainsbourg

12.10.20
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Iraini Mancini – Shotgun

I had a dream. We were younger and playful and driving across France. We’d just stolen some broccoli from the village stores simply because we could. We had the cents to pay for our veg but the dithering fool behind the counter tested our patience to the limit. And so we drove off in our 2CV, with not a care in the world. 

The car radio startled into a crackle and a song came out. It was Iraini Mancini’s Shotgun. I queried in my head how this could be – the song only came out two months ago and yet this dreamscape was from years ago, nay decades. I still had a full head of hair and you were full of smiles. 

I didn’t let the incongruity have time to settle. We were happier than you could imagine now, giggling more than we ever thought possible. We were young, crazy and in love and being accompanied by the most appropriate soundtrack. This was bliss.

And then I woke. 

 

Iraina Mancini is the epitome of cool; of that there can be no doubt.  An expert in Northern Soul, Funk, Vintage R&B, Ska and Garage Rock, she’s exactly the sort of person you’d want at your parties. She might spin some records whilst there or introduce you to her well-connected friends. She’d undoubtedly provide the street cred.

She’s always made music but she’s now turned her attention to her solo career. And on the evidence of Shotgun this is the stuff that Sonic Breakfast’s dreams are made of (see what I did there?). This is deliciously laced 60s French Pop; Serge Gainsbourg influenced-music for the 2020s.

It’s carefree and seductive; a chance for all of us to jump into our own road movie and to pay no regard to the consequence. We’re on the run and leaving it all behind.

Shotgun is a shot of fun. We need this now more than ever. 

 

https://youtu.be/33J08L8T4SE

04.29.19
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Le SuperHomard – Institut Francais – April 25th 2019

London has so much to offer. It’d be easy to keep venturing out to the tried and trusted venues for my gig action but I’m keen to remain curious and to keep digging beneath the surface of this sprawling metropolis. Thus, I find myself on a pleasant Thursday evening in a stunning library surrounded by the very best French books.

This is not any library. The Denis Saurat Reading room at the Institut Francais is an architectural wonder; a dome at one end letting in stained and colourful shards of light . Ladders and wooden steps guide you to a book-laden balcony that runs around the outside of the room. I choose to sit down in one of the comfy modern pieces of furniture, a chair in beanbag shape. 

I’m here to see Le SuperHomard play a stripped-back set. This baroque pop is right up my street; their 60’s influenced bossa-nova tunes reconnect me with those days when I solely listened to Gainsbourg, St. Etienne, The Clientele and Air whilst dreaming of the life-changing romance that I was convinced was just around the corner. 

The romance never came and the cynical punk came out. But tonight it’s good to reminisce.

This gig is part of a monthly initiative, Music Rendezvous, within the Institut Francais, an effort to share the best of emerging French music with the British public and French ex-pats. But many of us here have already heard of Le SuperHomard. 6 Music DJs have picked up on some of the brilliance within their debut album, Meadow Lane Park, and have been urgently spinning key tracks. The fact that the record is released on the seminal indie-pop label, Elefant Records, evidently helps aa well. 

Typically a five piece, the library setting dictates the stream-lining. It’s SuperHomard first outing as a three-piece but you wouldn’t know by listening. Through a mix of electronica, acoustic guitar and sweet chanson action, the trio of Christophe, Julie and Benoit captivate all for 45 minutes with their Gallic pop. Dressed in a mix of denim, mod excess and blue and white striped fisherman shirts, the look screams twee and gorgeous cinematic hip. 

The music is dreamlike for the romantic poets gathered, a soundtrack to every holiday romance we’ve ever yearned for. It screams of sunny days in the park, misspent youth and nostalgic longing. When Julie dances with her arms locked behind her back we’re transported back to those days when indie disco had something to say, perhaps fittingly for an act named after a nightclub from a 1966 film.

We learn about the origins of the name (and all manner of other stuff) in a Q&A that follows the set. The trio are civilly interviewed; it’s polite, informative and engaging. Christophe is the main songwriter and Benoit the gifted producer who uses analog and digital methods of production to conjure up the fresh sound from a studio and music shop in Avignon. The lyrics are written by two of Christophe’s English-speaking friends because he wants to avoid any sense of Franglais. Julie’s voice is pretty English-sounding we all agree. Meadow Lane Park is (rather disappointingly) not an homage to Notts County, the oldest football team in the world, but rather a reference to a children’s park in the USA.

I make a note of Le SuperHomard impending date in Brighton for The Great Escape and add their set to my growing list of must-sees. “It’ll be livelier as a five piece”, promises Christophe to an audience that has already been converted. 

 

 
03.01.16
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The Liminanas – Garden Of Love

Many years ago now, I caught a flight to Perpignan. It was a ‘make or break’ holiday for a relationship which, in truth, was already broken. There were four of us and we’d hired a large tent on a posh campsite to keep us cool for a couple of weeks. 

The South of France was sweltering under unprecedented levels of heat. My young son (for he was one of us) flagged even though he wore a hat and drank lots of water. In truth, I didn’t fare much better, although I was drinking wine and beer rather than water. It wasn’t the best holiday ever though the green of the campsite, endlessly watered grass, sticks in my memory still.

The Liminanas are from Perpignan. Marie and Lionel have just released a video for their song ‘Garden Of Love’, the first track to be released from their forthcoming album, Malamore. Significantly perhaps, this track features Peter Hook doing his bass thing. Hooky also offers up some mumbling backing vocals to add to the atmosphere. 

I love it. There’s a definite Serge Gainsbourg thing going on within. It’s got a seductive edge, a dreamy breeze and a shimmering, sunny centre. As lips, glossed with bright red lipstick, mouth the words, other images from the ‘Garden Of Love’ flicker in and out of view. 

Commenting on the forthcoming album, The Liminanas say, “The main idea is a story with a start and an end, which can be linked even if they exist in different universes. Everything here is about love stories – thwarted love, aborted passions, funny or dramatic.”

The campsite could have been my garden. It wasn’t but I’m pleased to tell that story of aborted love.