French pop

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Jane Birkin, 1985
Julien Clerc (2008)
Les Rita Mitsouko (2007)
MC Solaar at the Jazz des Cinq Continents Festival, Marseille, July 2009
Rachid Taha (2007)
Benjamin Biolay (2010)

French Pop (sometimes also: French Pop Music) is a collective term for pop music that comes from France . As a rule, French pop titles are in the French language ; however, there are exceptions here.

Definition

In contrast to the French-language chanson with its centuries-old tradition, French pop is a fairly young term. As an alternative term for chanson and as a broader designation for older and newer pop music from France, it is particularly common outside of France. In France itself, the preferred term is still chanson (if it is a song in the broadest sense) - or, if a certain style is meant, the respective genre name ( punk , rock , hip-hop , bossa nova and so on) .

Since the chanson is the dominant song form in France, a clear distinction between chanson and French pop is almost impossible. In practice, the designation French Pop emphasizes the hit character of a piece or the degree of awareness of the performer . In the area of ​​the newer chanson or nouvelle chanson , both terms are used side by side. The French pop “drawer” is particularly practical for music productions that are not related to chansons, for example from the areas of jazz , hip-hop, electronic or world music .

history

On the one hand, the term French Pop emphasizes similarities and parallels to international, Anglo-Saxon-dominated pop music. On the other hand, he focuses on certain peculiarities of French pop music - the language, the music culture of France, which is strongly influenced by chanson, and the peculiarities of French pop music history. In contrast to Germany, for example, rock 'n' roll reached France relatively late. Until the 1960s, jazz was the most important American music import. The French jazz tradition dates back to the 1920s. A well-known star was the dancer, actress and singer Josephine Baker . Born in the USA, she moved to France in the 1920s and took French citizenship in 1937. The jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was also instrumental in the further development of French pop music . In the 1940s and 1950s the French jazz scene was more or less closely related to the philosophical direction of existentialism . The main spokesman was the writer Jean-Paul Sartre ; Boris Vian , another author, was also active as a chanson writer and jazz musician. Existentialism left its mark on chanson, especially in the music of Juliette Gréco , Georges Brassens and the Belgian Jacques Brel . French jazz musicians such as Barney Wilen were best known for their contributions to the music of some Nouvelle Vague films - such as Elevator to the Scaffold (1958) or Dangerous Liaisons (1959).

In the 1960s, French youth became more and more enthusiastic about (Anglo-Saxon) pop music. The Twist and Yéyé wave (after the Beatles' “Yeah Yeah” ) popularized a new generation of artists: Johnny Hallyday , Eddy Mitchell , Michel Polnareff and Jacques Dutronc . The Yéyé Girls, in particular, achieved great success - singers who are strongly oriented towards the current British music fashions and who alternated stylistically between harder beat songs , blue-eyed soul , chanson and international pop. Petula Clark established herself as an internationally known pop singer on both sides of the English Channel. Françoise Hardy , France Gall , Sylvie Vartan and other singers also achieved a level of popularity that reached far beyond the borders of France in the mid-1960s. Not all performers were able to benefit from the Yéyé wave in the long term. Lesser-known performers such as Claude François , Brigitte Fontaine , Adele or the singing ex-model Zouzou were soon forgotten. Others were increasingly oriented towards the Western European hit and light music market. Adamo or Mireille Mathieu started a second career as pop interpreters in Germany. The climax and end point of the Yéyé wave was the second version of the song Je t'aime… moi non plus , written by Serge Gainsbourg and interpreted together with Jane Birkin in 1969 . On the one hand, the piece triggered negative reactions, including radio and TV boycotts. The BBC chart show Top of the Pops, for example, refused to broadcast a number one hit for the first time in October 1969. Despite various airplay boycotts, Je t'aime… moi non plus became a great international success and, in retrospect, one of the greatest classics of French pop.

In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s French pop music increasingly changed its character. The classic chanson was increasingly being replaced by productions for the international pop market. Well-known interpreters of this era were Michel Berger and Julien Clerc . While there was little demand for French pop music in the 1970s, it attracted renewed attention in the 1980s. The parade band of French punk was Téléphone . Indochine also gained notoriety . The duo Les Rita Mitsouko verquickte synth pop and new wave and landed mid-1980 some hits. Other bands like The Dogs , Bérurier Noir or Trust played roots rock , punk or metal . Still others like Les Négresses Vertes , Têtes Raides , the singer Bernard Lavilliers or Mano Negra , the former band of Manu Chao , experimented with French folk punk , with world music variants or reggae . Important musical innovations also came from immigrants from the former colonies. The band Carte de séjour and their singer Rachid Taha fused North African Raï with rock; Alexandre Stellio, Les Loups Noirs , the Moroccan-French singer Sapho and Kassav ' made similar music . Cheb Khaled, from Algeria, became known internationally as a world music artist . Independent innovations also came from French hip-hop . Well-known hip-hop acts are the Senegal- born MC Solaar , Joeystarr and Suprême NTM .

In the new millennium, French pop made a name for itself primarily through productions in the field of electronic music. The classic chanson took its own further development. From the 1990s, a new generation of performers experienced breakthrough and success. Just like the generation before her, she is also internationally oriented. A bilingual or even multilingual song repertoire is typical for many artists of the Nouvelle Chanson. In Germany and other European countries, the terms French Pop and Nouvelle Chanson increasingly became synonyms for contemporary French pop music - this music can be classical chanson as well as drum and bass , neo-bossa nova, hip hop, rock or even world music. Well-known artists are primarily electronic formations such as Daft Punk or Air , chanson performers such as Benjamin Biolay , the pop group Nouvelle Vague , the film music composer and musician Yann Tiersen as well as singers such as Matthieu Chedid , Émilie Simon , Agnès Bihl , Aṣa , Irma , Hindi Zahra , Zaz , and Nolwenn Leroy . In addition, there is a broad scene that is less clearly exposed stylistically and which pursues different musical paths.

Styles

Compared to the term chanson, which puts more emphasis on a specific historical tradition, the genre designation French Pop encompasses a number of different styles and musical genres. The common denominator is usually that the music is made by French musicians or is produced in France. The following genres are strongly represented in French Pop:

  • Jazz. In particular, the post-war styles of jazz - bebop , cool jazz and hard bop - have left lasting traces on the French musical landscape. French jazz musicians such as Barney Wilen played a key role in the film soundtracks of the Nouvelle Vague.
  • The classic chanson. In many cases, the spotlight is focused heavily on the swinging sixties and the decade that followed. CD compilations on the subject of French Pop often include well-known chanson performers such as Charles Aznavour , Gilbert Bécaud or Édith Piaf .
  • Yéyé, sixties and seventies pop. The French version of the swinging sixties is particularly popular with retro compilations and oldies channels.
  • World music and French folk productions. All genre productions that come from France or were recorded by French-speaking musicians are relevant here. Another unique selling point besides the language is often the reference to specifically French folk music traditions.
  • Rock, punk, new wave and metal. The music of French productions differs little here from international ones. The main unique selling point is the language. However, relevant bands tend to be perceived more as part of the international rock, punk or metal scene and less under the aspect of origin.
  • French hip hop. Internationally, the French hip-hop scene is considered the largest after that in the USA. Language, everyday French culture and the specific situation of migrants play an important role. As in other countries, hip-hop culture and hip-hop music are a relatively separate area. Logically, they are subsumed under the label French Pop on a case-by-case basis rather than regularly.
  • Electronic music. Electronic styles like Bossa, Lounge , Drum and Bass and Ambient have had a strong influence on Nouvelle Chanson. In addition, there is an innovative, highly differentiated electronic scene in France. Crossover productions, in which both electronic musicians and interpreters of the Nouvelle Chanson take part, are a typical feature of modern French pop music.
  • Neo-Chanson or Nouvelle Chanson. The term is usually used to describe the new generation of song-oriented interpreters coming after Polnareff, Hardy and Gainsbourg. Stylistically, the Nouvelle Chanson (another term: Nouvelle scène de française) includes both classical chanson interpreters and artists who are more influenced by electronic music, rock or folk. Although only to a limited extent can be attributed to the Nouvelle Chanson, the retro and cover band Nouvelle Vague is one of the internationally best known representatives of this direction.

Dissemination and media coverage

The labeling of French Pop plays a role in four areas: in the marketing of new artists, as a genre designation in pop music reporting, as a retro genre term for the marketing of past hits and artists (especially those from the 1960s) and as program labeling for radio programs that send predominantly or exclusively French pop music. Due to a quota imposed in 1994, French broadcasters are encouraged to give preference to national productions. Francophone pop music is particularly present in the programs of RTL 2 , Europe 2 , Radio Nova , Chérie FM and Radio Isabelle FM ; The Internet radio station Radio Yé-Yé! has specialized in French music from the 1960s . . Special French Pop channels are also found in some Internet radio providers like Last.fm and Laut.fm .

Abroad, especially in Germany, the interest in pop music from France has grown noticeably since the turn of the millennium. Features journalists, media critics and music reviewers regularly cite the quality and expressiveness of the Nouvelle Chanson as a trigger. The success of the film The Fabulous World of Amélie (2001) as well as the success of the new wave cover band Nouvelle Vague are further triggers . The FAZ wrote: “As spirited as in the Nouvelle Scène has not been experimented, quoted and mixed for a long time. With the Nouvelle Scène, but also with Air, Daft Punk and Alizée, Manu Chao and the old music fighting group Noir Désir, whose new hit 'Le vent nous portera' is now also appearing on German stations, France is also musically becoming that new center of the present, the it has long been in literature with Michel Houellebecq and Frédéric Beigbeder or in the cinema with the film 'The fabulous world of Amélie'. "

In Germany, current pop music from France was made accessible to a broader group of interested parties , primarily through the activities of the Cologne label Le Pop . A side effect of this interest was that interpreters from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s also met with renewed interest - such as Juliette Gréco and Françoise Hardy, who looked back on their careers in Spiegel interviews. On the occasion of the release of the sampler Le Pop 3, the Cologne label pointed out in a press release that even in France, even pop music “à la Française” is in increasing demand. Quotation from the text: “The not so new 'Nouvelle Scène Française' is spreading on the shelves of the large chains Fnac and Virgin Megastores , where the 'Varieté Française' fans are now as big as HipHop or Alternative. The stars of the neo-chanson take up just as much space there as the classics of past decades. And when old stars like Jane Birkin, Françoise Hardy or Juliette Greco record new records, they naturally fall back on the skills of the young songwriters and composers, who have brought so much fresh air and still do. "

The ability of French pop music to change and adapt has also been a recurring topic in the music press. The journalist Dorin Popa dealt in a lengthy contribution to the French chanson with the question of what could still be called chanson and what was already pop hit, and answered it as follows: “Even the reviewer's trick, the authorial attitude, you will hear it out , if it is a chanson, sometimes falls short. It often works: Sheila , who was one of the first singers in the 60s with hits like 'Pendant les vacances' no longer became known on stage, but rather via radio, television and records, certainly left the genre when she did later in the 70s when Sheila & Les B. Devotion made hit history with disco songs like 'Spacer'. Conversely, Donna Summers 'Isn't It Magic' becomes a flawless chanson as soon as it is adapted by Alain Chamfort or Isabelle Antena as 'Le temps qui court'. Other French music icons, such as Mylène Farmer , Les Rita Mitsouko, even the great rapping sniper, merge the chanson with rock, pop and hip hop rather than completely dismissing them from its tradition. "

  • Yann Tiersen, 2007

  • ZAZ (NRJ Music Awards, January 2011)

  • Irma (2011)

  • Nolwenn Leroy (NRJ Music Awards, January 2013)

French pop compilations (selection)

  • French Cuts 1-3 (1999-2005; Hobby De Luxe / Panatomic Music Co.)
  • Le Pop 1–6 (2002–2010; Le Pop)
  • Le Tour - The Best in French Alternative Music (2003; Local Records)
  • Années 80 (2004; EMI Twogether Series)
  • Le Tour 2–7 (2004–2013; Local Records)
  • French Pop Hits (2005; Sony BMG)
  • La belle époque - EMI's French Girls 1965–1968 (2007; EMI Records)
  • Le Pop - les filles (2008; Le Pop)
  • Swinging Mademoiselles - Groovy French Sounds from the 60s (2008; Silva Screen Records)
  • Haute Couture - French Lounge Session (2009; Audio Lotion Recordings)
  • Paris - Classic French Songs (2009; Cleopatra Records)
  • French Classics (2009; Sony BMG)
  • Francomusiques (2010/11; Cornelsen Verlag)

swell

  1. ↑ a b c French Pop ( Memento of the original from May 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Genre dictionary at Musicline.de , accessed on February 26, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.musicline.de
  2. ↑ Jazz legend Django Reinhardt: From Catastrophe to Art , Ralf Dombrowski, Spiegel Online, January 23, 2010
  3. ↑ Jazz in Ile-de-France  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , www.neues-paris-ile-de-france.de, accessed on February 26, 2011@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.neues-paris-ile-de-france.de  
  4. ↑ a b c French Kisses - A Century of French Music ( Memento from September 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) , Pirate's Choice music blog, April 25, 2010 (English)
  5. ^ Songs to relax and seduce , Juliane Lutz, Handelsblatt , September 6, 2003
  6. ↑ a b Vive la Chanson ( Memento from August 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Dorin Popa, Sono Plus, December 2010 / January 2011 (PDF; 2 MB)
  7. ^ The courage of the birds in the icy wind , Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, November 3, 2002
  8. ↑ "I was never normal". Interview with Juliette Gréco , Romain Leick, Spiegel Online , November 17, 2003
  9. ↑ Chanson legend Françoise Hardy: "When I was 17 I didn't know where the babies came from" , Christoph Dallach, Spiegel Online, June 28, 2010
  10. ↑ Le Pop 3: Les Chansons de la Nouvelle Scène Française ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Press release of the label Le Pop for the publication of Le Pop 3, 2006 (PDF; 190 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lepop.de

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