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Gavin B. · 05-21-2013, 11:36 AM

Title: April March and Aquaserge
Artist: April Smith, Aquaserge
Release Date: May 13, 2013

One of the unexpected musical delights among the new releases in May is April March and Aquaserge, musical collaboration between the idiosyncratic indie pop vocalist April March & the electronica group Aquaserge. The membership of Aquaserge includes former Stereolab member Julien Gasc, Tame Impala drummer Julien Barbagallo, and Melody's Echo Chamber collaborator Benjamin Gilbert. Aquaserge, like Stereolab is a loosely formed collective of musicians with rotating cast of secondary players.

Photo: Indie pop chanteuse April March

April March (born Elinore Blake) is an American singer who has been fixated on the classic '60s style French pop. She has released seven albums over almost two decades and she sings (often in the French language) in the sultry seductive style of a " yé-yé" girl protegee of the iconic French pop songwriter & producer Serge Gainsbourg during the heyday of French pop.

April March began her adult career as an animation artist who worked in the animation department for the television show Pee Wee's Playhouse. She graduated to doing animation for pop music videos including Madonna's Who's That Girl . In the late '80s March founded the post-punk girl group the Pussywillows. March's short lived all girl trio recorded one album, Spring Fever, in 1988.

In the early '90s she left the Pussywillow and relocated from New York to L.A. to work as an animator on The Ren & Stimpy Show. In 1995, she released her debut album under the name of April March, Chick Habit which became cult favorite because of April March's campy French pop style. March's vocals were an ironic take on former French pop vocalist France Gall and her repertoire was nearly all French pop standards associated with '60s era French pop icons like Gall, Françoise Hardy & Serge Gainsbourg.

Over the years March has released a string of albums at the leisurely rate of around one every three years to positive critical reviews. April March and Aquaserge is the album most unlike all of her previous releases but the music on Aquaserge touches on nearly every element of April March's trademark musical style on her earlier albums. The reason why Aquaserge is so different is that April March has a lot more musical talent to work with than on her previous albums.

The fingerprints of one time Stereolab member, the multi-instrumentalist Julien Gasc are all over this collaboration. Gasc also played most of the instruments and did vocal arrangements for Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier's two solo albums. The French/British musical collective, Stereolab is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential bands of the modern day electronic music genre.

Photo: April March and Aquaserge

April March is adroit at adapting her vocals to fit the sharp turns and the woozy off-tempo electronic beats of Aquaserge. Gasc's talent for arranging highly textured electronic music combined with his skill for arranging intricate choral parts add a lush dimension to March's normally minimalist album productions. The album's opening song, Black Bars almost sounds like an outtake from the recording sessions for Stereolab's 1994 album Mars Audiac Quartet.

05-21-2013, 11:36 AM	#18 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Title: April March and Aquaserge Artist: April Smith, Aquaserge Release Date: May 13, 2013 One of the unexpected musical delights among the new releases in May is April March and Aquaserge, musical collaboration between the idiosyncratic indie pop vocalist April March & the electronica group Aquaserge. The membership of Aquaserge includes former Stereolab member Julien Gasc, Tame Impala drummer Julien Barbagallo, and Melody's Echo Chamber collaborator Benjamin Gilbert. Aquaserge, like Stereolab is a loosely formed collective of musicians with rotating cast of secondary players. Photo: Indie pop chanteuse April March April March (born Elinore Blake) is an American singer who has been fixated on the classic '60s style French pop. She has released seven albums over almost two decades and she sings (often in the French language) in the sultry seductive style of a " yé-yé" girl protegee of the iconic French pop songwriter & producer Serge Gainsbourg during the heyday of French pop. April March began her adult career as an animation artist who worked in the animation department for the television show Pee Wee's Playhouse. She graduated to doing animation for pop music videos including Madonna's Who's That Girl . In the late '80s March founded the post-punk girl group the Pussywillows. March's short lived all girl trio recorded one album, Spring Fever, in 1988. In the early '90s she left the Pussywillow and relocated from New York to L.A. to work as an animator on The Ren & Stimpy Show. In 1995, she released her debut album under the name of April March, Chick Habit which became cult favorite because of April March's campy French pop style. March's vocals were an ironic take on former French pop vocalist France Gall and her repertoire was nearly all French pop standards associated with '60s era French pop icons like Gall, Françoise Hardy & Serge Gainsbourg. Over the years March has released a string of albums at the leisurely rate of around one every three years to positive critical reviews. April March and Aquaserge is the album most unlike all of her previous releases but the music on Aquaserge touches on nearly every element of April March's trademark musical style on her earlier albums. The reason why Aquaserge is so different is that April March has a lot more musical talent to work with than on her previous albums. The fingerprints of one time Stereolab member, the multi-instrumentalist Julien Gasc are all over this collaboration. Gasc also played most of the instruments and did vocal arrangements for Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadier's two solo albums. The French/British musical collective, Stereolab is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential bands of the modern day electronic music genre. Photo: April March and Aquaserge April March is adroit at adapting her vocals to fit the sharp turns and the woozy off-tempo electronic beats of Aquaserge. Gasc's talent for arranging highly textured electronic music combined with his skill for arranging intricate choral parts add a lush dimension to March's normally minimalist album productions. The album's opening song, Black Bars almost sounds like an outtake from the recording sessions for Stereolab's 1994 album Mars Audiac Quartet. __________________ There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff. Townes Van Zandt Last edited by Gavin B.; 05-22-2013 at 04:26 PM.