da-eYe is back rue de Verneuil. But this time, virtually. When Serge Gainsbourg died on 2 March 1991 of a heart attack, I was among the ones who came at his home rue de Verneuil in Paris and wrote or drew graffiti on the outer wall of Serge Gainsbourg’s house. I drew a da-eYe and it was one of the last time I did. I have always considered Gainsbourg ... More
I love Jazz music. From bebop to jazz fusion, ragtime to free jazz, acid jazz to Afro-Cuban jazz. But also reggae, Gypsy and Klezmer music. I enjoy listening to any style of music as long as I find it entertaining, and French band Les Yeux Noirs definitely is. First time I heard of them was in 2002 when they released their album ‘Balamouk‘. If ... More
On this sunny Sunday afternoon, I was in the mood to listen to some relaxing music. The kind of music you can listen to all day long. My friends at The Sama Gazette sent me an email the day before about Seahawks Friday Download 18, a 62 minutes mix by Jon ‘The Captain’ Tye titled ‘Exploring The Galaxy‘. Quite an adventure, right? If ... More
It was the end of the 1980s and everything was going to change for me. We used to meet in the lobby of the building, the smooth floor was perfect for teenage boys (and some adventurous girls, obviously) to glide and moonwalk. They were also slipping and tripping, a boombox was jamming out hip hop music before we decide to go ‘find a wall’. At ... More
Updated: Leon Botha died from complications of progeria on 5 June 2011. My post about it here. South Africa: enough about football (BLK JKS, Amadou & Mariam and Angélique Kidjo live from Soweto) let’s talk about Art. A few days ago, as I was starting to write my new blog post about the 1980s, I visited the website of South African group Die ... More
I think everyone knows that by now: FIFA World Cup will start on Friday, June 11 2010 and end on Sunday, July 11 2010. Even if I am not a big football fan, I will watch some matches. But World Cup 2010 is not only about football: the world’s biggest superstars will come together live on VEVO on June 10 from Soweto/Johannesburg, South Africa for the ... More
Leonard Cohen holds an important place in my life, from an early age. I clearly remember ‘Hallelujah’ and even if at this time, I didn’t understand a word of what he was saying (my mother tongue is not English), I was already fascinated by Cohen’s voice. His tenor, half-octave voice perfectly fits his music and the meaning of his ... More
I often talk about Jazz, I also mention Hip Hop, Rap and R&B but the truth is I like all kind of music (check the Music Archive) because it inspires me to write and create. You may already know my interest for Africa and for the incredible richness and diversity of the people, their history and their culture. If everyone knows the issues some of the ... More
Movies and music, but also design and art; for each I have my preferences I share with you on this blog. This time it is about two French artists with strong personalities and their one-of-a-kind creative world. If I tell you Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep and more recently Be Kind Rewind? I hope you think Michel Gondry right ... More
First time I heard Hugh ‘Peanuts’ Whalum was a year ago, autumn 2006. I already shared with you what I felt when I first heard him sing: ‘I’ll Close My Eyes’ (When I heard Hugh “Peanuts” Whalum, I closed my eyes…), and I mentioned several other (mostly jazz) singers I use to listen to. Among them are Dinah Washington, ... More
