SONIC REDUCER / CARL HANNI

By Carl Hanni

Digging (in) France

So, I found myself scouting records in Nantes, France. Nantes is a beautiful, old-new city that also happens to be home to a band (French Cowboy), a DJ (French Tourist) and a label (Havalina Records) that have numerous connections to my home, Tucson, AZ. The genesis of that connection is a pretty interesting story, but not really relevant to today's topic of record digging in France...

France is not a cheap place to record shop in, new or used, but nonetheless I managed to come away with a short stack of treasures, 7 and 12 inch both. Here are some of the highlights, all of them French, all on vinyl.

Serge Gainsbourg, Aux Armes et Caetera. When urged to buy national hero Serge Gainsbourg's reggae album my first reaction was skepticism, but Aux Armes et Caetera is absurdly good. Recorded in Jamaica (thank god) in 1979 with Sly & Robbie, the I-Threes and other roots reggae aces, Aux Armes... is smooth, sexy and completely believable, which is more than I can say for most any other white-guy-in-Jamaica record I can think of. The French' unceasing attachment to Serge Gainsbourg makes me strangely happy.

Serge Gainsbourg,  Anna soundtrack. Starring Anna Karina and Jean-Claude Brialy; Gainsbourg wrote the music and is also one of the stars, along with Marianne Faithful. This is a fabulous collection of cinematic French pop, circa swinging 1967. Buy it if you can find it.

Ben & The Platano Group, Paris Soul. Bought on the insistence of French Tourist, Paris Soul turns out to be a DJ's dream find. First released in 1972, Ben & The Plantano Group mix up French funk, Latin Jazz and more, sometimes sounding like French version of vintage, Hammond organ driven El Chicano. Understandably highly sought after by collectors and DJs, I found a fine re-release from the original label,  Barclay Records.

Starshooter: the first release (1978) from this French punk rock band tears it up and down. Working out of Lyon, they managed a huge European hit in 1978 with "Get Baque" before running into some legal trouble with it. Previously unknown to me, now I'm all over it.

Francoise Hardy: the fifth record, from 1965, by the popular French chanteuse with the dreamy voice and sexy bangs. Includes a cover of "When I Get Through with You"  ("Quel Mal Y A-T-Il A Ca") first recorded by Patsy Cline in 1962 and the hit "L'Amitie."

Manset: Another one courtesy of French Tourist, who gifted it my way. I'm still getting a grip on this one from 1972. Intense singer/songwriter/rock/pop. He swears it's a masterpiece. I'm feeling the language barrier on this one. 

Francois Rabbath,  The Sound of a Bass. The most unexpected and off the wall of all my finds. Wildly inventive double-bass and drums jazz excursions from a Syrian-born, Paris-bassed (sorry!) player, originally released in 1963. With just his own bass and drummer Armand Molinetti, Rabbath concocts a head-altering series of compositions/themes, with descriptions that include "Ironical jazz in the vein of present day life" ("Creasy Course"), "Magic transposition of the ambiguity of every day life" ("Kobolds") and my favorite, "Malicious dissonances over five octaves" ("Basses en Fugue"). The latter has to be heard to be believed; that's a bass making all those eerie, other-worldy sounds, apparently. 

Whizz Vol. 2, Psychodrama Francias 1966-70. Note: that's Psychodrama, not Psychedelic. Not knowing what they are singing about, I'm left to infer/make up what these fifteen tracks of demented, whacked French psychodrama might be all about.  Rock, psych, pop, cinematic bits and the pleasingly unclassifiable all stand and deliver...something. The music is fabulous; the prevailing feeling is one of giddy hysteria. Gifted by Benjamin in Paris. 

I also scored choice ones by Bohannon, Santa Esmeralda and David Murray and a fabulous compilation of psychedelic funk from around the world called Psych Funk 101. On seven inch, I picked up some choice jazz singles by Art Blakey ("Moanin' pts. 1 and 2'') and Jimmy Smith ("When the Saints Go Marching in" b/w "Prayer Meetin'"), hip hop by Phase II, Technotronic, Tidee-T ("Sequential Groove") and Joe Bataan ("Rap-O Clap-O"), Timmy Thomas' classic "Why Can't We Live Together" (w/the great "Funky Me" on the flip) + the 80s dance classic "Bustin' Out" by Material w/Nona Hendryx and two vintage Manu Dibango singles, "Soul Makossa" and "Super Kumba." A real find was a three song single by the recently deceased Lizzy Mercer Descloux, including "Fog Horn Blues" w/Chet Baker on horn. Score!

Thanks for scouting help to Laurent Marescal, Julia Butault, French Tourist, Anthony at Melomane Records and that guy in the market in Nantes who cut me a deal on all the vinyl and singles. Also thanks for all the CDs that came my way, especially the Serge Gainsbourg 3-fer from Laurent.

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You can leave comments below or e-mail them to me directly at modmedia@theriver.com .

Carl Hanni is a music writer, music publicist, disc jockey, book hound and vinyl archivist living in Tucson, AZ. He hosts an occasional concert and film series at The Screening Room in downtown Tucson, "The B-Side" program on KXCI (Tuesday nights midnight - 2 a.m.) and spins records wherever and whenever he can. He currently writes for Blurt, Tucson Weekly, and (occasionally) Goldmine and Signal To Noise.