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SO FRENCHY SO CHIC
shares EP 1 of
Yé-Yé 2.0
ft. ALI BARTER, MONTAIGNE,
AINSLIE WILLS & NADEAH
+ Previews SO FRENCHY SO CHIC Festivals
in Melbourne & Sydney before announcement next week
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So Frenchy So Chic strengthen the French-Australian cultural bond with a heartfelt collaboration YÉ-YÉ 2.0. Featuring some of Australia’s leading female artists, including Ali Barter, Nadeah, Montaigne, Ainslie Wills (and more to be announced), YÉ-YÉ 2.0 sees these stellar artists put their own spin on the Yé-Yé sound.
Produced by ARIA Award-nominated Alice Ivy (Thelma Plum, E^ST, George Alice), and mixed by multi-Platinum-award winning, John Castle (Paul Kelly, Cub Sport, Vance Joy), YÉ-YÉ 2.0 will see a diverse range of Australian female artists perform new interpretations of iconic French-pop, across a series of EP’s to be released over six-months.
EP 1 features one of Australia’s most profound songwriters, Ainslie Wills, with a delivery so convincing it’s almost as if she wrote the song herself. Ainslie’s arresting vocal style, when married with the sultriness of a song like ‘Mon Amie La Rose’ (‘My Friend the Rose’) by Françoise Hardy, gives genuine tingles.
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Ainslie Wills // Photo – RC Stills
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Ali Barter // Photo – Kane Hibberd
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Ali Barter’s version of ‘Une Jeune Homme Bien’ (‘A Good Young Man’) by Petula Clark (a song best known to most as ‘A Well-Respected Man’ by The Kinks) is an understated delight. The Melbourne-born classically-trained and critically-acclaimed
ARIA-award-winning, enigmatic and energetic art-pop performer, Montaigne brings her interpretation to ‘À Demain My Darling’ (‘See You Tomorrow My Darling’) by Marie Laforêt, best known as ‘The Sha La La Song’ by Marianne Faithfull. Montaigne is the only artist to come to the Yé-Yé assignment with an already impressive handle on the French language. The other featured artists, working closely with Melbourne-born, Paris-raised Nadeah on language and pronunciation throughout the recording process.
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Montaigne // Photo – Jess
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Nadeah
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Renowned for her genre-hopping irreverence and mesmerising performances, Nadeah is a former member of Nouvelle Vague and a longtime friend of So Frenchy So Chic (she also supported the likes of Nick Cave and Franz Ferdinand with the indie-rock group she co-founded, The Lovegods, and has released three solo albums). Always a crowd favourite at SFSC’s festivals, she brings a unique rendition of ‘Ces Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher’ (‘These Boots Were Made for Walking’) by Eileen, made famous by Nancy Sinatra.
Yé-Yé 2.0 will culminate in an exceptional live showcase at So Frenchy So Chic festival in Sydney and Melbourne in 2022, where some of these artists will perform the songs for more than 10,000 Francophiles and music lovers. The full festival line-up will be announced next week.
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SO FRENCHY SO CHIC
2022 FESTIVAL DATES
Sunday 13 Feb
Werribee Park Mansion, Melbourne
Saturday 19 Feb
Bicentennial Park, Sydney
TICKETS HERE
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What is Yé-Yé
Exploding into popular culture during the swinging ‘60s, the yé-yé movement was a celebration of nonchalance and optimism. Inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll sounds emerging from the UK and USA, this musical style embodies retro French cool. Think Serge Gainsbourg, Zouzou, Brigitte Bardot and Françoise Hardy. It was music that brought people together and made them feel anything was possible. It was liberté, fraternité and egalité, set to a beat.
What is SO FRENCHY SO CHIC
For 16 years, So Frenchy So Chic has bridged the cultural gap between Australia and France via a shared love of music, food and conviviality.
So Frenchy So Chic began as Cartell Music, a Melbourne record label founded by French-Australian Jean-Francois Ponthieux, who dreamt of introducing contemporary French pop to Australian music lovers.
2005 saw the debut of the first So Frenchy So Chic music compilation. The yearly compilations sold over 150,000 copies annually and helped break French artists in Australia such as Camille, Nouvelle Vague, The Dø, Lou Doillon, Emilie Simon and more.
In 2012, So Frenchy So Chic in the Park was born; a summer festival in Melbourne and Sydney where fans could watch their French favourites perform live. Over the following decade, the festival hosted and toured more than 40 live acts including Nouvelle Vague, Féfé, Emilie Simon, Camille, Lou Doillon and The Dø.
“We wanted our community to experience the conviviality, energy and excitement of the village parties of my youth growing up in France,” says Ponthieux. “Everyone was invited: kids, teenagers, parents. And everything was superb: French food, French wine, French music. Above all, the sense of community and celebration of culture was a model for now. We live in complicated times. Why not make them simpler and more joyful?”
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Yé-Yé 2.0 – OUT NOW
TRACKLIST
1. Ainslie Wills –
‘Mon Amie La Rose’ / My Friend the Rose
2. Montaigne – ‘À Demain My Darling’ / See You Tomorrow My Darling
3. Ali Barter –
‘Une Jeune Homme Bien’ / A Good Young Man
4. Nadeah – ‘Ces Bottes Sont Faites Pour Marcher’ / These Boots Were Made for Walking
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Follow SO FRENCHY SO CHIQ
INSTAGRAM – FACEBOOK – WEB
SPOTIFY – APPLE MUSIC – YOUTUBE
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My nickname is “The Amnplifier”. Why? Because around here my focus is on being a conduit for providing greater outcomes that people come here for. My day to day “work” is living in the moment, and I love helping others concentrate on finding their connection to themselves through their experiences.
Why start a music environment? The truth is I love music, I love writing, and I love life. I work with musicians every day, and I feel certain that I will be until they put me in the ground. I have been managing people in businesses of some sort for over thirty five years so along the way I have developed some “wisdom” from my regular and constant “observations”.
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