french week - make the girl & chateau marmont

so, lucky new yorkers (or people heading to the big apple this week) - CMJ is once again showcasing tunes and bands in a big marathon of goodness! the husband has long made me jealous by regaling me with his own stories of heading out to CMJ's shows back when he used to work for a label. as for me, i've yet to even GO to nyc, let alone one of these great music showcases. but that's another story entirely.

something cool about this year is there's going to be a block of french artists showcased during france rocks CMJ nights. interestingly enough, the majority of the bands that will be performing on october 19th and 20th tend to sing mostly in english. scotland and sweden tend to get a lot of press and hype for churning out great new music lately (and i'll concur, especially with the scottish bands, because so many of my favorites nowadays are from there), but it's almost a crime that france is getting overlooked far too often. there's a ton of interesting tunes coming from france, ranging from singer-songwriter fare to rock.

case in point, make the girl dance. based out of paris, these electro-producers are making some catchy tunes that will be sure to make you want to go clubbing. have a listen to kill me, which has a nice bit of 80's groove in it to entice:

(mp3) kill me (radio edit) by make the girl dance

here's the video for baby baby baby. yes, there are naked girls in it walking through the streets of paris.



there's also chateau marmont (not to be confused with the infamous yet trendy hollywood hotel, angelinos!).

with a debut LP set to be released in the states early in '12, chateau marmont has a very futuristic sound with dreamy synths and poppy yet heavy (yes, really) beats. i like one hundred realities quite a bit. it reminds me, in a very small way, of fellow french artist m83 (who readers know i totally dig). have a listen:

(mp3) one hundred realities by chateau marmont

and here's a mini video for the song, used in a tour announcement from the band:



want to go check out these bands? head over to NY's hiro ballroom on october 19th and the santos party house on october 20th to see make the girl dance and chateau marmont, as well as the lanskies, hindi zahra, the two, revolver, stranded horse, the inspector cluzo, and zenzile.

did i mention these shows are free? seriously. go. but first, go HERE to learn more about france rocks CMJ nights.

stay tuned for more great french bands featured this week!