Murcof is the moniker of Fernando Corona, a Mexican born Spanish based electronic artist, who has been releasing work since 2002. His music has so far explored minimalist, austere, glitchy, sample based loops, which draws inspiration from 20th century composers such as Arvo Pärt, orchestral pieces are abstracted and processed through electronics to create elegiac and colossal atmospheres, with each album taking a different perspective. This release is not supposed to be seen as a follow up to last year’s Cosmos, it is the result of a commission for Les Grandes Eaux Nocturnes, a yearly event focusing on sound, light and water held at the palace of Versailles, former residency of Louis XIV and many leaders of la France over the years. Musicians were asked to perform various pieces by baroque composers using 17th century instruments such as viola de gamba, violin and harpsichord, these pieces were then manipulated electronically by Corona. Continue Reading

In 1994 a law was introduced in France by then culture minister Jacques Toubon protecting the French language. One of the outcomes of this globalisation-resisting move was that two out of five songs on French radio must be sung in la langue maternelle. It was a move that was seen by some as a kind of censorship and others as a way of promoting and protecting French talent and culture against a tide of (largely American) English-language influence. But it is no coincidence that successful French artists who have found success abroad in recent times - Daft Punk, M83, Air, for example - have chosen to sing in English in order (I assume) to find a wider audience. This is a shame. While the language barrier may hinder English-speaking fans from appreciating Serge Gainsbourg’s brilliant word play, for example, it shouldn’t stop us appreciating his gifts as a sonic innovator. It is also typical of Anglophone fans to look upon non English-speaking music as simply ‘world music’ - a category that lumps an enormous spectrum of styles into a reductive and condescending pigeonhole. This is changing: music from French-speaking Africa in particular - long-embraced by the French, who have a tradtionally had a more inclusive attitude to the sounds of the African continent - is getting greater recognition in the UK: from Amadou & Mariam’s fusionistic pop to Toumani Diabeté’s soul-stirring blues. Meanwhile, fashionable indie artists (admittedly from the US) from Yeasayer to Vampire Weekend are employing a more pan-global sonic palette. However, French pop itself - cited as an influence on many artists from Feist to Stereoblab - is in a fairly sorry state. I would like to see more French music sung confidently in a language thought by many throughout the world to be the language of love but which is not recognized as such in a globalised music industry dominated by English. Continue Reading