Girls (Who Run The World)*

Once again I'm back after a pretty long period of void. Many things happened in my life recently.
First of all, I moved back to Paris. I must admit that however I really wanted to go home when I was in Seattle, I'm actually missing the States. That experience really changed me and the way I interact with people. I'll make sure to be back sooner than later.

Also, right after I moved back to Paris, I started a summer-job at the best Parisian indie label and record store, Fargo, which means that I have to respect real working hours.
I will talk about Fargo in a following post. You can still check out the website if you're craving for some info (I know you do!): http://www.fargorecords.com/

Therefore I would like to apologize for my silence. That being said, let's go back to today's topic: girls in music. Indeed, lately, I've been listening to a lot of music made by talented young chicks and even better, I've been able to see some of them perform live.

I will mainly focus on the last three I've seen and who really amazed me.

The first artist I'd like to focus on is the well know Swedish popstar Lykke Li (see picture above) who played at the Showbox on May 26th. I knew her since her first album but her second one, Wounded Rhymes, which came out in March, really turned me on her work. I was very excited of seeing her perform live and I was wondering if and how she would recreate that kind of mystic atmosphere characterizing her music. I must say that I wasn't deceived... The configuration of the scene (big black pieces of fabric were hanging from the ceiling down to the stage), a lot of haze was used, and the main performer's appearance and behaviour on stage really helped. Lykke Li was wearing a long monachal-like black outfit which wouldn't allow us to see anything but her face and hands, her hair was tied in a very tight bun, her make up was very dark and so were her facial expressions. While performing, she would make tribalish dance moves maintaining a very serious expression on her pretty face, which was very disconcerting. Musically speaking, Lykke Li and her band did a very good job: the sound was good, her particular voice sounded clear and strong. The whole thing was very entertaining to watch and hear. Of course, all this matches with what you would expect. When reading some interviews of Lykke Li, you can understand that she is a serious girl and a hardworker. I'm looking forward to hearing what she will do next.

The second artist I'm really into right now is the Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten. I had heard some of her songs from her first record, Because I Was In Love, last year but after seeing her at the Sasquatch festival on Memorial Weekend with a dear friend, I cannot stop listening to her new record, Epic. She might not have the most amazing voice you'll hear in your life and no, she's not inventing something new, but she has things I really look for in people: sincerity and purity.

Her melodies transport me and her lyrics are honest, not always happy, but always about real life, real feelings, without the fear to say too much. Although she is pretty young, Sharon, who plays the guitar, sometimes sings with a lascivious voice which makes me think she is an old and mature soul.

Sharon Van Etten is nothing like Lykke Li and you will probably not see her on the cover of Vogue Magazine (never say never, I know, but you know what I mean) but I truly respect her and I wish her all the best for her carrier. Hopefully she'll play in Paris soon...

To finish, I'd like to talk about the last artist I saw perform in Seattle on June 1st: Anna Calvi.

Anna Calvi became huge in Europe in a few months. In the US, she is barely known. When I listened to her one and only album so far for the first time (and the following too) I didn't understand. Her album actually never caught me. Let's be honest. Not that it is bad, I just don't understand the construction of the songs, they lose me.

However, I wanted to see her live and try to understand. And gosh, I understood.

The energy Anna Calvi conveys to the audience had me forget that the Crocodile was half empty that night. She is a petite beautiful and discrete woman who plays the guitar like an old rocker and who sings with a very determined and strong voice. What lost me that night was the mix of her voice, the magnetic look in her eyes and the very sensual way she played the guitar.

What was also very surprising to see was that once a song was over - some songs were VERY powerfull - she would briefly say something to the audience but you couldn't hear a word since she would whisper. The discrepancy between the musician and the person (and you can see from interviews that she is very shy and low-profile) is very interesting to be pointed out.

Anna Calvi is a real performer and I advise every person who didn't like her album to go and see her on stage, she's stunning.

*Oh yeah, Beyoncé, you can be proud!

A.C.