Every weekend, the “Tsugi” web radio accompanies the “Libération” music section.
The findings: Nochka, capital spleen
This is called having a follow-through on ideas. At 14, Nolwenn, not yet Nochka, decided that this punchline-like statement, “Paris, capital of solitude”, inspired by Baudelaire, would be the title of her first album. Mission accomplished eight years later for this young woman born in Lyon but who grew up in the Saône-et-Loire countryside and now lives in Paris, the object of a love/hate relationship. A precocious child with an overflowing imagination, author of film scripts at 10 years old. Then, the prose of her diary was transformed into rhymes that became lyrics for her songs. Today, they provide the raw material for this thrilling score, where the powerful breath of the enormous bass notes contrasts with the apparent fragility of the character, hospitalized for three months for depression.
Disease of the century for a shaken youth with troubled bearings and an uncertain future. A disorder shared with a certain Billie Eilish whose influence hovers over Nochka. It is within the walls of the hospital that she rebuilt herself by giving body to this album, released at the end of June, described by her as dark pop. Dark, it is certainly, inhabited by a strong malaise, but also pop by the grace of melodies that are immediately catchy without being (too) racy. Slipped in at the end of the program, five short vocal notes in the form of a break-in into the life and psyche of this Tim Burton fan, are as many winks to a generation that loves to whip out “reels” on Instagram. The one who helped her neighbor’s goats give birth when she came home from high school has given birth to a very beautiful baby of her own.
Night Paris, capital of solitude (French Flair Entertainment)
La playlist
Mira Horse Night Walk
Excerpt from the excellent compilation Hexagonal Club Vol. 5 presenting the stable of the house label Pont Neuf Records. This subtle producer deploys all the sensuality of an ecstatic vocal house. For a dancefloor return.
Winter Family Daughters of Jerusalem
In the heart of the volcano, between France and Israel, Ruth Rosenthal & Xavier Klaine weave a strange (so to speak) tense and powerful reggae-cold wave. We think of Nina Hagen’s African Reggae after party at Berghain.
Gift It’s All Too Fast
Brooklyn is in the house. Charismatic singer TJ Freda’s band pounds out edgy shoegaze with a fiery rhythm section. It’s inspired and vaguely psychedelic.
Paul Heaton Fish ‘n’Chips Supper
Stainless, Paul Heaton turns the UK upside down with his timelessly British pop and everyday stories. Here the impact of fish’n’chips on married life. Somewhere between the Beatles and the Kinks. Safe bet.
Chrystabell & David Lynch You Know the Rest
Between country on Xanax and ambient, the director accompanied by this Texan singer invents a whimsical music of which we do not really know if it is a dream or a nightmare. A bit like in his films.
