On the program this week: the first solo album from the Hyphen singer Hyphen and a South African duo.
Santa – Start me again
The electro-rock group Hyphen Hyphen has been combining its very energetic formula on record and on stage for several years. Led vigorously by singer Santa, the Nice band is an ideal festival attraction. Which does not prevent the thirty-year-old from approaching a more personal repertoire as she does today with a first album under her name, Start me again. A sort of new beginning for the young woman, passionate about music since her childhood. If she grew up in a strictly Anglo-Saxon musical universe, Santa was also immersed in the influence of radio and French song. Which made him want to express himself for the first time in the language of Michel Berger. We often think of France Gall, the composer’s muse, when listening to Start me again. Santa, a very good singer, has great conviction in the interpretation of her songs. Stripped and intimate, the ballads of the record – starting with Salted popcorn, already a standard – hit the mark. Sometimes, Santa mentions Celine Dion, another of his models. Its formula could well trigger the enthusiasm of an international audience. This summer, Santa will be performing at many music festivals. There is no doubt that we will hear for a long time about this young freed woman, who signs here a beautiful declaration of independence.
Start Me Again (Parlophone/Warner)
Msaki & Tubatsi – Synthetic Hearts part 2
A year after an exciting first volume, the two South African voices are happily continuing their collaboration. A folk and acoustic base, on which the singer Msaki and the singer and multi-instrumentalist Tubatsi Mpho Moloi superimpose their singing parts with beautiful virtuosity. Clément Petit’s cello, combined with fine pop and electro arrangements, contributes to the singularity of the project. Recorded in Johannesburg, this collection of love songs shows artists truly inhabited by their art. Both minimalist and lush, the careful production of Clément Petit and Frédéric Soulard places the sovereign voices of the two performers at the heart of the project. These respond to each other, complement each other, assert each other with delicacy. The melodies avoid any mawkishness by focusing on the essential: the raw and stripped expression of visceral feelings. Magic often operates on this album which we owe to the researchers of the remarkable label No Format!, who makes each of its references a learned and haunted exploration.
Synthetic Hearts part 2 (No Format)
