Florence + The Machine

How to describe what I love about England without mentioning British music! Before I came to Brighton, I was obsessed with one thing: to see Florence + The Machine performing live! She is a "superstar" in England whereas we never hear her on French radio (shame on you French people :O). And I finally saw her... but in Paris! The group was touring in England but they were performing on a smaller stage in Paris and I couldn't miss the opportunity to see her in such a good place.

What a show! First of all, I really loved Florence's dress! She was actually playing with it while singing and it was simply beautiful. The only word that could describe this concert would be grace. 

It was the first concert when I was able to feel a special atmosphere and it was fitting completely with the group alchemy. But the cherry on the cake was the moment when some fans in the front asked for a specific song. Florence asked the group to change the original set list to perform one of my favourite song: Strangeness and charm. That was amazing! Anyways, if you haven't seen the group live yet, I would strongly recommend you to go there and enjoy the harmony created between the audience and the groupe during their concerts. Plus, she is very close to her audience so if you're lucky, you might get some eye contacts ;).

http://florenceandthemachine.net/

British bands you need to listen to!

At the beginning of my blog, I was mentioning the quality of British music. I think it is time to mention some bands I particularly love nowadays. I will spare you the speech on all those mythic British bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones or Queen that everyone knows.

First, let me talk about I Blame Coco! Coco Sumner also known as Sting's daughter released her first album in 2010. When you hear it, you can immediately see the link with Sting's music. There is something in common but I could not explain what it is. I'll let you judge with the following video ;). I've seen her live in Paris and it was quite nice! However, she's is into her music and does not communicate that much with her public. But maybe it is related to the French audience, which is a lot less enthusiastic than the British one.

Another artist that I discovered at the same time is Marina and the Diamonds. She's pretty famous in the UK, but unfortunately not enough in France. Her music is very eclectic, going from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo new wave songs. She cited various musical influences such as Kylie Minogue, PJ Harvey or even Nirvana. That is why we can hear very different types of songs in the same album. I really liked the first album (The Family Jewels) but I was disappointed by the change of style of her second album (Electra Heart). It is very pop and electro and the ballads I used to like are missing. I posted below one of her first single I am not a robot. I've seen her live in France and in England, and its confirmed the idea that the British audience is a lot better than the French one!

http://www.iblamecoco.co.uk/

http://www.marinaandthediamonds.com/