A new sound, a new chapter.
Text: Bruno Moonbyrd
Translation: dilettante
CHARLOTTE FOREVER
Charlotte Gainsbourg is not considered as a classic French beauty, but her talent (being a Gainsbourg) is unquestionable. A Cannes award-winning actress (with ‘Antichrist’), Charlotte has been gaining recognition for her acting in recent years. In comparison, music always seems to be her side project. With French pop icons Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin as parents, it is only a matter of time when Charlotte takes to her music. She debuted with ‘Charlotte Forever’, the tailor-made album written by Serge Gainsbourg (Charlotte only fifteen of age at the time) includes controversial issues such as electra complex, pedophilia and incest. It was well received but did not exactly launch Charlotte to a mainstream music career.
Instead, Charlotte went on to establish herself as a professional actress, working on one after another film. It was only two decades later that she released the long-due second album ‘5:55’ — with an ‘all-stars’ production, no less. Produced and composed by French electronic duo Air, the lyrics are written by Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) and Neil Hanno (The Divine Comedy). Just to top it up, the album is also co-produced by Nigel Godrich (known for being Radiohead, Beck and Travis’s producer).
BECK
The third album did not take another two decades — a comparatively short period of four years. It was not long after a major surfing accident (which took place in 2007) that post-recovery-Charlotte found partnership in Beck. Titled ‘IRM’, it is derived from MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) — the therapy that cured Charlotte. Parted with injury, the sound stayed put in her head and became the core of the new album. Charlotte and Beck met at The White Stripes gig, when they shared a conversation on the subject. ‘To me, this sound represents mental chaos. There goes my first contribution on this album.’
It is no surprise that ‘5:55’ is filled with Air flavour, on the other hand, Air is influenced by the Serge-French-Pop-Era. In fact, Beck sampled Serge’s ‘Melody Nelson’ in his track ‘Paper Tiger’ (in ‘Sea Change’ album). ‘Beck kept encouraging me to create, but I feel pressurized by the knowledge of my father’s talent.’ This project is not meant to be a Beck product sung by Charlotte, but a genuine exchange and collaboration.
IRM
Charlotte’s voice speaks ‘fragility’ and even more so after tip-toe-ing on the edge of the darkness called death. The first single ‘Heaven Can Wait’ is an acoustic sound with a melancholic connotation — ‘She’s sliding… down to the depth of the world.’ The tribal ‘Master’s Hand’ is refreshing, but title track ‘IRM’ is the shiny gem of this album. With mechanic percussion as its base, the experimental lo-fi sound sums up the chemistry between Charlotte and Beck. Somewhat like ‘Devil’s Haircut’, but even more distant. ‘Tricky Pony’, ‘Green Mean Time’ and ‘Looking Glass Blues’ are down right dirty, with electric guitar making a major appearance. The broken and romantic ‘Le Chat du Cafe des Artistes’ and ‘In the End’ is dedicated to the French sound.
