January 30th, 2008
While Listening to…Tricot Machine Teach Me to Play Endearing French Folk-Pop
As I’ve said numerous times, while primarily a digital guy I still really enjoy having my favourite albums on vinyl. The reason I’m mentioning this again now is because listening to Tricot Machine’s fantastic self-titled debut brings up a similar dynamic when it comes to language. You see, I’m an anglophone who rarely ever leaves my English-speaking environment, but I still take pride in a working knowledge of French. Unfortunately, much like my turntable, my French-speaking ability is in a slight state of disrepair.
This idea of wanting to rehabilitate my limping knowledge of Canada’s other official language gives me an immediate interest in French indie music, though I unfortunately don’t usually get access to all that much of it. Thankfully for me, Tricot Machine’s debut recently fell into my lap and I couldn’t have asked for better.
Lighthearted and fun, with witty and endearing lyrics (“Je voulais être l’Homme de 6 millions/Mais à 15 000 par année/Je suis mieux de pas trop dépenser”*) Tricot Machine’s piano driven folk-pop is just what I needed to get my French on. In fact, as if a tuneful album full of addictive songs like “L’ours” (which won the ECHO songwriting prize) and “Pas Fait en Chocolat” wasn’t enough, Tricot Machine’s comprehensive liner notes actually include the chords required to play the songs on the album as well!
So, not only do I get to hear great tunes, but I get to flex my French muscle and learn to play a few new songs at the same time. If I can only get it on vinyl then I could die a happy man (though a new needle for my turntable would be a good start as well).
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Here’s the song I want to take a crack at first (from which the above lyrics were taken) as well as the previously mentioned ECHO award-winning track:
Tricot Machine - Super Ordinaire
Check out the colourful video for “L’ours” here and hear some more tunes at Tricot Machine’s Myspace page. Also, grab a digital copy of the album here (with complete artwork) and jam along.
* “I wanted to be the 6 Million Dollar Man, but at $15, 000 a year I’m better off not spending too much” - A very rough translation…
January 30th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Love Tricot Machine. Good choice !
March 10th, 2008 at 10:45 am
So… in looking for some interesting new French Canadian music to help my high school students get their french on, I came across this posting. L’ours is exactly what I’m looking for.
I’m happy to see that there’s support, even in super anglophone toronto, for upcoming French canadian singers.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:28 am
Hey there,
Great blog! I’m a student from Gatineau, Quebec (just across the river from Ottawa) and am discovering some great tracks on your blog. I’m not particularly into Tricot Machine although I’m certainly getting interested in their lyrics now that you’ve mentioned them — but here are some other great, great French-language bands that you might have missed on :
- Malajube play a nice variant of lo-fi indie/power-pop - you’ve probably heard about them, they’ve actually enjoyed some measure of success in the English-speaking world. You get bored after a while, though.
- Karkwa, on the other hand, are not that known in the Anglosphere, but they are great musicians and songwriters, I can’t recommend them enough. Try “le solstice”, there’s a great version of it on Youtube with Plants & Animals on live TV.
Enjoy!