Welcome to the ramblings of a man who really should have grown out of listening to "that sort of music" a long, long time ago...A place to share thoughts and photographs on music and related paraphernalia.
The Limiñanas were back in London at Rough Trade East to promote their excellent new LP "Faded" with an hour long set followed by a signing session. The line-up has changed since their last visit with new vocalist Thomas Gorman from Kill The Young and bassist Clémence Lasme joining the familiar guitarist and keyboard player Alban Barate alongside of course, Marie and Lionel Limiñana. I must admit that personally, it was a shame that Mickael, Renaud and in particular, the unique Ivan Telefunken are no longer performing with the band, but rather like a football team, Marie and Lionel are constantly changing and evolving the line-up and Tom and Clémence fitted in very well. The band played a mixed selection of songs which surprisingly only included a few tracks from the new album, instead they treated us to a kind of 'greatest hits' including "Shadow People", "Down Underground", "The Gift" and "Istanbul Is Sleepy" and a searing cover of The Cramps "TV Set". New album "Faded" is a return to the more familiar trademark Limiñanas sound following their more dance-orientated collaboration with DJ Laurent Garnier on the "De Pelicula" album. So it's back to the fuzzed-up guitar chords, hypnotic motorik Krautrock drums, cinematic Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western atmospheres all mixed up with 60's French Yé-yé Pop and grungey Garage Rock 'n' Roll. There's also an eclectic roll call of special guests including Keith Streng from The Fleshtones, Jon Spencer from the Blues Explosion, Anna Jean from Juniore, Pascal Comelade, David Menke, Bertrand Belin and Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream on the brilliant single "Prisoner of Beauty". Here are some photos and videos from the Rough Trade event.
The Limiñanas will play at the Electric Ballrom in Camden on Saturday April 12th, you can get tickets from the venue here. You can check out our features with photos and videos from their last two previous London shows at the Scala Kings Cross and The 100 Club in the archive. Our Retrosonic Podcast episode "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us" in which I look at their some of their many and varied cover versions, influences, side projects and early bands and collaborations is available at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes or direct from our Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud site below.
French superstars Indochine were back in London for an intimate semi-acoustic performance and signing session to promote their new album "Babel Babel" at Rough Trade East record store last week. The event sold out in advance quickly and the band treated the lucky fans who were there to a thirty minute semi-acoustic performance, which included tracks from the new album and some crowd favourites, including "Nos Célébrations", "Kao Bang" and "Un été Français". Here are some photos and videos from a very special evening...
All photos copyright Retro Man Blog 2024. For more videos from the show please check out our Retromanblog65 YouTube channel here and subscribe for free.
Two years after her EP "Hey Right" and a long tour with The Limiñanas, Nika Leeflang
returns with the excellent album "Bad Sunday". "This Record balances between French
and English, calm and storm, melancholy and euphoria, introspection and
the desire to break everything. As always, to make a good record, you
need a good mixer then, good ingredients. Take Kurt Cobain's blond
hair, Kim Gordon's class and flow, add the Bardot/Gainsbarre period, the co-arrangements of Aymeric Severac, Romain Preuss and David
Darmon and finally, PJ Harvey's guitar and you'll get Nika".(Translated from Gaëtan Chapiteau's Bio). "Bad Sunday" will be released on March 19th via
M.A.D. Pias (Mutual Artist Distribution) at all the usual streaming services such as Spotify, Deezer and iTunes and then physical copies will follow via Bandcamp, so please keep an eye on
Nika's official web-site or Facebook pages for news on how to order. The
band's new music video "Good Sunday" will be released on March 15th, but in the meantime, here's a superb video for another track off the record entitled "Broken Bones".
Shouting her Lyrics and Guitar: Nika Leeflang. Hitting
the Drums: Yannick Gomez. Playing Bass, Guitars, Backing Vocals,
Organs: Aymeric Severac. Swinging additional Guitars, Organs, Backing
Vocals: Romain Preuss. All songs written by Nika Leeflang. All tracks were recorded at Vox Studio Montpellier by Jeff Saboy and John Chapman except "Night Call" produced by Ty at Noisy Bay Records.Mixed at Mirador Sound Studio by David Darmon. Mastered at Vintage Sound Studio by Luis Mazzoni. For more information on the official release date of "Bad Sunday" and how to order, please check out the official Nika Leeflang web-site.
In Episode 37 of Retrosonic Podcast, Steve from Retro Man Blog takes a look at the Blog's "Band(s) of 2019" The Limiñanas and their collaboration with Anton Newcombe and the French actress Emmanuelle Seigner in the project L'Épée. We look at The Limiñanas other collaborations with Étienne Daho, Peter Hook, Bertrand Belin and Pascal Comelade, pick out some great previous and related bands and play some originals of the various cover versions they have recorded over the years. Featuring great songs by The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Gentlemen, Wanda Jackson & The Cramps, The Kinks, Echo & The Bunnymen, Lords of The New Church, Jay Reatard, Michel Polnareff. The Beach Bitches, Les Bellas, Toxic Farmers, The Llamps, Hair & The Iotas & Les Wampas. Here's the track-list, please click on the highlighted links to find out more information on the bands and how to order their records. Enjoy!
You can subscribe to Retrosonic Podcast at iTunes or listen direct from Soundcloud...
Retrosonic Podcast has a valid PRS licence. Cover photo courtesy of Alain Bibal, you can check out more of Alain's excellent photography here. Please check out The Limiñanas excellent on-line store Migas 2000 at Etsy for lots of Limiñanas and related albums and merchandise.
The much anticipated second LP from those ferocious francophiles Les BOF! has finally arrived, courtesy of Dirty Water Records, following a break of no less than 8 years. I for one was delighted to hear that news, and being an Edinburgh resident, I’ve been lucky enough to see them play live locally more than a few times over the last couple of years, and of course headline at last year’s Beatwave. 'Voila!' serves up a selection of raw ‘60s beat and garage that is as fine and as pungent as an expensive Fromargerie. There’s a balance of well chosen covers and originals. The opening track is a cover of a much loved rock and roll standard. ‘If ever the Devil’s plan was made to torment men...’, Monsieur Mombel vocally expresses his disdain, it certainly sounds more angry and passionate sung in French. I can almost see him stamping his foot, tossing his head, chin jutting out - he leaves the listener in no doubt that it was indeed you, 'Jezebel'. 'Vie De Chien' is definitely my bag (haha) with to-die-for ‘66 fuzzed-out riffage, as is 'Leberes Moi'. Standouts of the originals are 'Fin Du Monde', 'Drogue & Roll' - not only because it features a Vibraphone and Stylophone, it’s also deliciously Dutronc and a bit genius; and lastly short but sweet instro 'Port St. Louis'.
Les BOF!
The overall mood is stylish, aloof, smart and very dance-able, all of which encapsulates that distinct Ravencraig Studios magic - the recording has clarity, and the equipment that is, without a doubt utilised here, produces a sound that (no matter what anyone else says) cannot be reproduced using digital equipment. It’s both warm and sharp, authentic, and it’s the NOW sound!! Should you purchase this LP? Yé-Yé! Les BOF! Launch their LP
'Voila!' in Edinburgh on Friday June 7th at La Belle Angele, Edinburgh
with support from Thee Girl Fridays (not that I’m biased, but this is
going to be a killer show) and you can buy tickets here.
Then on Saturday 8th June the band will play The Finsbury, London with
support from The Liquorice Experiment and The Cretins, more details here.
Les BOF! at last year's Beatwave - photo Retro Man Blog
Ms Sheringham-Boom is the bassist with Thee Girl Fridays - their debut EP 'Love Witch' is available from Spinout Nuggets. A version of this review was first published in the Muso's Guide.
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
This was my first live experience of The Limiñanas and I was curious to find out how the Perpignan based duo of Lionel and Marie Limiñana would recreate their studio sound on stage. Each album features a somewhat bewildering cast of guest musicians and vocalists whose names have become more familiar as their reputation grows. Anton Newcombe from The Brian Jonestown Massacre guested on the excellent single “Istanbul Is Sleepy” and has gone on to produce their latest outstanding LP “Shadow People”. French actress Emmanuelle Seigner sings on that album’s title track and Joy Division and New Order’s Peter Hook adds his instantly recognisable trademark bass to "The Gift", following up his appearance on their last album "Malamore". The Limiñanas are the band that have everything, everything except cymbals that is. The first thing I see as I walk into the 100 Club is a huge bass drum resplendent with the band’s logo, pushed right to the front of the shallow stage. There’s also a floor tom and a snare drum but there's not a cymbal or Hi-Hat in sight, just a tambourine fixed to the floor tom for added percussion and that’s it. The Limiñanas sound is based on Marie’s pounding hypnotic Mo Tucker style. She is a remarkable drummer; how she can keep that rhythm up throughout the show without being exhausted, I just don’t know.
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
They are certainly an unorthodox band, Lionel attacks his guitar and cranks out some excellent riffs but doesn't sing at all during the show, his microphone is only used to say thank you every now and then. What Marie and Lionel have done is to assemble a quite superb band around them to realise their sound and vision perfectly. Each member has their own distinct character and personality and there's a great chemistry between all of the musicians on stage; this is certainly not just a bunch of session musicians thrown together to do a tour. Ivan Telefunken almost steals the show despite being set up behind Marie’s drums. He is a constant blur of motion. If he’s not swaying along to the music or adding backing harmonies, he’s playing a small keyboard or throwing his guitar and ukulele about with abandon. One minute he’s attacking his guitar violently with a bottleneck slide and the next it’s a violin bow. At one point, he even bangs it alarmingly with a large metal spoon. All the tools of his trade are brightly painted with multi-coloured polka dots and it makes a great visual contrast as the rest of the band are decked out all in black. Renaud Picard takes on the main male vocal parts and acoustic guitar and behind him is Alban Barate on guitars, ukulele and keyboards. The lead female vocals are handled by Nika Leeflang, who also bashes away on a tambourine, often half hidden behind her swirling hair. To her side, Bassist Mickey Malaga looks cool with his low-slung Fender Precision bass, Paul Simonon and JJ Burnel style, just as any good bassist should.
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
The Limiñanas are not only a visually impressive live band; their sound is also extremely cinematic. Throughout their albums and indeed tonight’s show, they drop in instrumental interludes such as “Tigre du Bengale” that mix exotic Eastern, Turkish and Moroccan motifs. Overall, their sound is infused with Ennio Morricone’s Spaghetti Western soundscapes and John Barry’s Spy movie and TV theme tunes with twanging surf guitar riffs and an impressive sense of dynamics. Ivan coaxes weird feedback and noises out of a strange contraption and this adds layers of distortion and depth to the proceedings. This evocative approach is also to the fore in their spoken word vignettes such as “Dimanche”, which are obviously heavily influenced by Serge Gainsbourg’s classic “Histoire de Melody Nelson”. One of my favourite songs on the new album is the title track “Shadow People” which in the recorded version features vocals by the actress and musician Emmanuelle Seigner. It reminds me of The Soundtrack of Our Lives “Midnight Children” in which the Swedish Psych Rock legends invited Jane Birkin to duet with their singer Ebbot Lundberg. The good thing is that, rather like TSOOL, The Limiñanas take their varied influences and twist them into something totally unique. You can sense that they are enthusiastic music fans but they are certainly not trapped by their inspirations and do not fit easily into any particular genre. After all, Lionel has gone on record as saying that The Limiñanas basic rule is to “respect no dogma”. This is apparent in some of the cover versions they have recorded by acts as diverse as The Beach Boys, Jay Reatard, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Kinks and Lords of The New Church. Actually, I was disappointed they never played LOTN’s “Russian Roulette” even though it was down on the set-list as a possible encore. Nouvelle Vague have already recorded a Bossa Nova version of “Dance With Me” and with the new Stiv Bators documentary, maybe The Lords of The New Church will finally get a well-deserved reappraisal!
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
Two unfamiliar numbers really stand out, “Dreams” and “Last Picture Show” turn out to be unreleased songs from a new project called L'épée which features Lionel and Marie along with Anton Newcombe and Emmanuelle Seigner. I’ve been told they have an album’s worth of material already recorded and that will definitely be something to keep an eye on. Despite incorporating some challenging, discordant elements into their music, The Limiñanas never lose that all-important sense of melody, particularly on the fuzzed up riffs of their debut single “I’m Dead” and my personal favourite “Funeral Baby”, both of which, despite the rather morbid titles, are as catchy as hell. Nika’s voice really shines on these two numbers and her breathy, sultry style is the perfect match. It wasn’t a surprise to discover that she is also a singer songwriter in her own right with two excellent EP’s out under the name The Nika Leeflang Project. One of the highlights of the gig for me was “Crank” which was a blast of raw Garage Rock adrenaline. I didn’t know this song at all but after a bit of research found out it was from one of Lionel’s old bands, The Beach Bitches. Trying to track down more information led me to discover Renaud’s band Crank who were so inspired by The Beach Bitches song that they named themselves and their debut album after it as well as recording their own version. I must just add that the Crank album is superb and the fact that they mention The Prisoners as an influence earns them extra points.
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
The Limiñanas at The 100 Club - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog
One of the best things about having a “new favourite band”, especially one with such an eclectic musical palette, is that you can happily embark on a voyage of discovery, looking into what each member was up to before, along with any side projects, collaborations and unknown cover versions. For example, before The Limiñanas Lionel and Marie were in Les Bellas and they have an excellent compilation album of early releases called “Belladellic” which is well worth getting hold of. So I’m now on the trail of Pascal Comelade, Bertrand Belin, Ultra Orange, The Toxic Farmers and The Llamps and I’ve even managed to get hold of a compilation of Perpignan based Garage Rock bands. Oh, and I just noticed Hair & The Iotas too so it looks like I have a lot of listening to do. Anyway, back to the gig and a totally wired version of Can’s “Mother Sky” hints at yet another side of the band and that hypnotic driving rhythm certainly makes sense. By coincidence, I bump into The Undertones Damian O’Neill who also plays in the The Everlasting Yeah a band who merge Can’s motorik beat with Television's Richard Lloyd/Tom Verlaine entwined guitar style to great effect. Damian is as enthusiastic about the show as I am and it’s nice to see him shake hands and congratulate bassist Mickey at the end of their set. Up next is the excellent “Betty & Johnny” from their second album “Crystal Anis” and they encore with a raucous sing-along version of “Gloria”. This segues into a manic instrumental and as the song implodes and the set ends, the band look genuinely touched by the warmth of the reaction from the crowd. I am so pleased that I got the chance to be there, right down the front of the packed out 100 Club as I have a feeling that the band will be selling out a much larger venue next time they come to play in London. However, the most exciting thing of all is that musically The Limiñanas have not set themselves any boundaries, they can evolve in any way they choose. So as a fan, it will be fascinating to continue following them on the journey that lies ahead.
For more information on The Limiñanas please check out their official web-site or their Facebook page. Nika Leeflang's music can be found at her Nika Songs website. For more of our photos of the 100 Club gig please head on over to the Retro Man Blog Facebook and there are more videos at our YouTube channel.
Les Kitschenette's at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
It was great to see our friends Les Kitschenette's over from France again, it seems such a long time ago since they played their very first U.K. gig at one of our Retro Man Blog Nights at The Half Moon Putney and tonight they were back, headlining another superb Weirdsville, which had the added attraction of the excellent DJ Tracey ScreamCheese. There has been a line-up change since I last saw them with only dual vocalists Ludo Kitsch and Lucille and drummer Claude remaining but the new members take to the task perfectly and they sound as good as ever. Some of my own personal highlights of a thoroughly enjoyable set included a fuzzed up "Psycho!" with Lucille on the flute and Ludo on a stylophone and a great version of Serge Gainsbourg & France Gall's "Dent de Lait, Dents de Loup". Then there's covers of Andre Verchuren's quite bonkers "Le Jerk à Pépé" and that timeless classic by Delphine "La Fermeture Eclair" with its stinging guitar riff intro which sends a shiver down the spine, all given that unique Les Kitschenette's twist.
Les Kitschenette's at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
Les Kitschenette's at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
Les Kitschenette's at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
However on their latest EP - the snappily entitled "C'est pas d'la Physique Quantique, du Chant Grégorien, ou du Lapon" which is the third in a series of 10" red, white and blue vinyl releases (a tricolore-trilogy I suppose) - they break with their usual tradition of mining the vaults of 1960's French Yé-yé to include some English language originals all given a Gallic twist. These include a rockin' "Route 66" ("Jusqu'en 66"), The Kinks classic "Well Respected Man" ("Un Jeune Homme Bien") although Petula Clark got in there first with that one, and Shocking Blue's "Send Me a Postcard" ("Envoie-moi un Sexto"). Ludo teases us, "you might know the words to this next one, but do you know them in French?" If they were ever to make a French remake of Austin Powers, Ludo would be nailed on to play the lead role, with Lucille as his glamorous side-kick and as if to reinforce my idea they play a cracking version of Ming Tea's "BBC" from the Austin Powers movie as their final encore. A very fitting way to end a truly uplifting performance.
Les Kitschenette's at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
Les Kitschenette's at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
Beforehand, The Voo-Dooms opened proceedings with a superb show that was befitting the launch of their excellent debut album "Destination Doomsville" which has just been released by the Trash Wax label on suitably splattered coloured vinyl. I'm a bit surprised they didn't hang back a bit to get it out on Halloween as it's a deviously fiendish collection of mighty fine horror-tinged tunes. However, copies of the LP sold like hot cakes on the night and there was an abundance of Voo-Dooms T-Shirts being proudly worn by their sizeable following. Not bad at all for a band that only formed in January earlier this year by Mick Cocksedge on lead vocals and guitar, Dave Prince on drums, ex-Milkshake current Masonic Bruce Brand on bass and guitarist Kevin Smith, who you might recognise from The Baron Four. The spooky "Teenage Ghoul" is followed by the equally danceable "Doing The Plague" which you can hear played in the latest episode of our Retrosonic Podcast.
The Voo-Dooms at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
The Voo-Dooms at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
I thought they were much tighter since I first saw them at the Beatwave weekender back in July and they seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as we were in the crowd. It's not all death, gloom and horror though - "Meet Me Here" is a heartfelt country-tinged number and "Come On and "Von Devil's Girl" are classic examples of catchy Rock'n'Roll. They up the pace again with a great version of Shel Naylor's 1964 stomper "One Fine Day" which is powerful enough to raise the dead. There's a sudden crisis though, "Oh no, I've dropped my shrunken head" says Mick, "you don't hear that every day in Camden do you?" and someone in the crowd replies "actually, you probably do!" So, all in all a great set from a band that promise a lot more ghoulish fun to come in the future - get doomed!
The Voo-Dooms at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
The Voo-Dooms at Weirdsville - Photo by Retro Man Blog
You can check out more photos of the gig at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here and there are some more videos at our YouTube channel here. You can also hear a track from the Voo-Dooms new LP in the latest episode of our Retrosonic Podcast, which you can stream or download below:
Thanks to Mr A & Alex for yet another great night of Weirdsville entertainment! Don't forget to check out the You Got Good Taste web-site for what's up next! You can order The Voo-Dooms album "Destination Doomsville" from Trash Wax Records or signed copies direct from the band at their Facebook page here.
The wonderful Paris-based Modernist Pop band French Boutik headlined a most enjoyable evening put on by SBD Promotions at the Water Rats in Kings Cross last night. It was fitting to help them celebrate Bastille Day and they put on a superb show which proved that the band are on top form right now. Indeed with each release and each gig that I see the band just seem to get better and better. The release of their long-awaited debut album "Front Pop", the new "Essential" compilation on Detour Records and their regular trips over here have rightly earned them a growing army of admirers on this side of the channel, I remember they went down a storm at our first Retro Man Blog Night of 2016 supporting The Senior Service. Tonight's excellent set is packed full of their super-cool sounds that merge together classic Sixties Soul and the cinematic influences of film-noir and spy movie soundtracks and mix them all up with French Ye-Ye, Mod and a nice edge of New Wave.
The current line-up, tonight expanded to a six-piece, is also superb and there is a great chemistry between all the band-members that lifts everyone in the room and creates a really warm and enjoyable atmosphere. Vocalist Gabriela is a charismatic focal point and she has a fine soulful voice that really comes into it's own on stage. Guitarist Serge is French cool personified and his impressive Rickenbacker work adds a nice edge to the sound. He takes over lead vocals on a couple of tracks including the stand-out "Mieux Comme Ca" backed by Gabriela and the quite wonderful vocal melodies of drummer Zelda. Bassist Jean-Marc in his sharp suit also spins out some impressive riffs on his Rickenbacker and at one point keyboard player Olivier Popincourt stops to admire his colleague. Olivier adds some excellent Hammond organ to proceedings and as I have done on the Blog before, I must recommend you check out his own album "A New Dimension To Modern Love".
Added to this is Graham Lentz on percussion and acoustic guitar who seems to be having the time of his life at the back. I'm sure he'd be in the crowd down the front of the stage if he wasn't in the band! They played a great selection of songs including some personal highlights such as "Je Regarde Les Tigres" and "La Vie en Colouers" and encored with my favourite track "Les Chats de Gouttière". They will now head off to Manchester and Shrewsbury, where they will play with The Backbeat Three on Sunday July 16th and they also have a gig at Les Disquaires in Paris with The Sha La-La's on September 02nd. For more information on their tour dates and how to order "Front Pop" please check out their web-site here. We've played lots of French Boutik in various episodes of Retrosonic Podcast too which you can search in the archive here. Here's a video of one of my favourite tracks from the new album entitled "Le Casse" filmed at the show.
You can also see more photos of the gig over at the Retro Man Blog Facebook page here.
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