- Audio CD (31 Jan 2012)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Import
- Label: EMI
- ASIN: B006WNFJVO
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Vinyl | MP3 Download
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Jubilee Offer: Patriotic Classics for £2.50 |
Product details |
Product Description
Review
Google the words ‘E Volo’ and the first two pages list an ‘e-volo multicopter’ ("a vertically-starting, human-carrying transportation device") and an architectural design magazine. As it turns out, Fránçois Marry’s latest album title is simply a palindrome. But nevertheless E Volo Love has a strong onomatopoeic power, suggesting mystery, enchantment and romance; all properties this terrific and charming record has in spades and shovels.
That Fránçois & the Atlas Mountains are Bristol’s latest sensation adds another layer of intrigue. E Volo Love may be the Frenchman’s Domino label debut but it’s his fourth in total. Moving from Sainted in southwest France to Trip-Hop City in 2003 to teach French, bringing his trumpet along for the ride, he’s played with Bristol’s Movietone and Glasgow’s Camera Obscura while releasing albums on King Creosote’s Fence label. Domino’s interest makes sense given Marry shares a delicate, restless and melodic touch with (fellow Domino signee) Conor O’Brien of Villagers. But Marry is totally his own man, infusing Francophone pop (chanson, Serge Gainsbourg), Afro-pop (his mother grew up in Cameroon; the album was mixed by Tinariwen studio bod Jean-Paul Romann) and indie-pop (the spindly, sweet kind, between Camera Obscura and Tigermilk-era Belle and Sebastian).
So consider E Volo Love as some sort of aural atlas. Africa comes clearest into view on Edge of Town and the album’s bookends Les Plus Beaux and Do You Want to Dance. Glasgow pops up in City Kiss and Slow Love; France is most visible in Azrou Tune, Cherchant Des Ponts and Bail Eternel (recorded in a Sainte church with a celestial coda of Latin choristers). Piscine is a virtual Eurostar trip, from the point where Marry resembles a French Momus to the subsequent (and subtle) impression of UK house. The press release talks up North Africa too, but the view from Morocco’s Atlas Mountains is more of a subliminal effect. Marry also sings in French and English, sometimes echoing Marc Bolan’s warble and precise diction, which adds yet another layer of offbeat beauty. I think I’m falling in E Volo with Fránçois…
--Martin Aston
Find more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
CD Description
The first ever French Domino signings are ready to spread their wings over indie pop's vast international landscape. With vivid looks and a slender body, Fránçois builds up castles in Saintonge, France, with Moroccan mountains, British phlegm and sturdy friendships. After seven years of passionate gigs and road trips across Europe which has seen them tour with Electrelane, Camera Obscura and most recently with Mercury-nominated King Creosote & Jon Hopkins, Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains convey a magnetic presence on stage. A deep sense of lightness and sincerity sets in as voices, keyboards and African percussion blend into instant pop. An open collective, Fránçois & The Atlas Mountains has become a four-piece band over the years. Besides Fránçois who gives the band its name and soul, Amaury Ranger embodies its vibrating body thanks to the sheer intensity of his percussive skills. A new recruit, Scottish Gerard Black made a name for himself playing with Bill Wells and Findo Gask before joining forces with the band and leading an underground dolce vita in Bordeaux. Another Bordeaux stalwart, Pierre aka Petit Fantôme is a local musical treasure.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Francois Marry comes from France but has made his home in Bristol and
with The Atlas Mountains has delivered an alluring album with 'E Volo Love'.
There are eleven songs in the collection and the recording has a warm
and vivid quality and a high feel-good factor. Mr Marry has a frail but
attractive voice which one online reviewer has compared to Marc Bolan
and I can see where they are coming from. His slight wispy warble and
distinctive enunciation does, indeed, sound a tad like he has more than
a few stars in his hair and the ability to sit very still, cross-legged
on an Afghan rug for extended periods with a faraway look in his eyes.
The songs are largely light and breezy in nature and the arrangements
given to crisp percussion and nicely jangly guitar but this does not
mean that Mr Marry is a lightweight. He knows how to construct a good
tune and whether singing in English or French has the ability to melt
our hearts with his naive lyrics and honest sentiments. Take a song like
'Azrou Blue', a composition which has some kinship with Lou Reed's more
tender moments. A pretty blur of late-night saxophone harmonies and a
laconic vocal delivery which wins us over easily with its unaffected charm.
'City Kiss' romps along happily with a well-constructed string and brass
arrangement for company. 'Cherchant Des Ponts' has a delightful sixties
Left-Bank ambience which conjures images of black polo neck sweaters and
the smell of strong black coffee and Gauloises drifting across the terrace
of a Saint Germain cafe on a late summer evening. Enchanting stuff!
'Piscine, too, manages to be that very rare thing : a good French pop song!
For my money, however, 'Edge Of Town' takes the prize for top track. Against
an addictive backbeat Mr Marry delivers both his finest vocal performance and
the album's most distinctive and uplifting composition. A real treat of a track.
Now that the cold really does seem to have settled in for a spell 'E Volo Love'
provides just the kind of antidote to see us through the long, dark Winter nights.
Highly Recommended.
with The Atlas Mountains has delivered an alluring album with 'E Volo Love'.
There are eleven songs in the collection and the recording has a warm
and vivid quality and a high feel-good factor. Mr Marry has a frail but
attractive voice which one online reviewer has compared to Marc Bolan
and I can see where they are coming from. His slight wispy warble and
distinctive enunciation does, indeed, sound a tad like he has more than
a few stars in his hair and the ability to sit very still, cross-legged
on an Afghan rug for extended periods with a faraway look in his eyes.
The songs are largely light and breezy in nature and the arrangements
given to crisp percussion and nicely jangly guitar but this does not
mean that Mr Marry is a lightweight. He knows how to construct a good
tune and whether singing in English or French has the ability to melt
our hearts with his naive lyrics and honest sentiments. Take a song like
'Azrou Blue', a composition which has some kinship with Lou Reed's more
tender moments. A pretty blur of late-night saxophone harmonies and a
laconic vocal delivery which wins us over easily with its unaffected charm.
'City Kiss' romps along happily with a well-constructed string and brass
arrangement for company. 'Cherchant Des Ponts' has a delightful sixties
Left-Bank ambience which conjures images of black polo neck sweaters and
the smell of strong black coffee and Gauloises drifting across the terrace
of a Saint Germain cafe on a late summer evening. Enchanting stuff!
'Piscine, too, manages to be that very rare thing : a good French pop song!
For my money, however, 'Edge Of Town' takes the prize for top track. Against
an addictive backbeat Mr Marry delivers both his finest vocal performance and
the album's most distinctive and uplifting composition. A real treat of a track.
Now that the cold really does seem to have settled in for a spell 'E Volo Love'
provides just the kind of antidote to see us through the long, dark Winter nights.
Highly Recommended.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Bought cd on a whim. I was pleasently surprised that i bought 5 more to pass on to friends and family... What a refreshing album with beautiful harmonies... Magnifique!!!!!
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Listmania!
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
