Céline Tolosa

I first heard singer-songwriter and actress Céline Tolosa via the pages of Filles Sourires and ever since then I've been waiting for her 60s-inspired and infused EP "Cover Girl" to appear Stateside... And as they say - Enfin - good things comes to he who waits...

The first time you fire up the EP's title track you are immediately transported back to Les Années Soixante and chanteueses and Nouvelle Chanson; the light, frothy sound of Yé-Yé and that rich musical songwriting heritage from Legrand to Gainsbourg... It's totally infectious tune; Céline is the cover girl of the song - laughing, crying, pouting. A Lolita or a Femme Fatale (more on this score later) - able to turn on the charm at the click of the shutter - the song's bubblegum pop is a perfect metaphor for the superficial lifestyle...

"Tu es fantastique" is another song that is so deliciously retro that it should be driving around in a Citröen DS and smoking Gauloises Caporal. There are again touches of Yé-Yé, swirling keyboards, and an incredibly catchy hook. With these two tracks Céline illustrates that she's more than capable of following in the footsteps of Mademoiselle Nineteen and Grenadine -  artists from opposite sides of the Atlantic divide - who've mixed musical influences of the sixties but added contemporary twists and production values to create modern and clean sounding radio-friendly pop (and when it is as good as this, 'pop' is not a dirty word...) 

But there's a melancholy and softer, introverted side to our Parisian chanteuse as is ably demonstrated by the rest of the EP's quartet of top-tunes. "Fais-moi souffrir" is a tender and poignant, very much in the vein of Stéphanie Lapointe's achingly beautiful "Les amours parallèles" - and while there's that similar nodding respect to the sixties - the end result is a timeless melody that is tinged with the merest hint of melancholy.

And in "Rue Mansart" we have my favourite song on the EP. Outwardly it's a simple two-piece,  Céline's honey-dripped vocals accompanied by piano (with a little percussion in the  background), the song has another achingly gorgeous melody that you never want to end. But listening to the lyrics you find yourself in a world that walks uneasily between day-dream and nightmare. Easily losing yourself to your own private world amongst the streets of old Paris, but all to often spying - or worse - bumping into an ex-lover and trying desperately to hide.



The trouble with this EP is that it leave you want to hear a full-blown album - to which I suspect now is the moment in time a doff of the cap in the direction of Dino Trifunovic - singer, songwriter and producer - who helped create this exquisite showcase - and is also the driving force behind Van Gogh Superstar... which leads us neatly back to Céline as the vampish Cover Girl femme fatale...  Perusing Bandcamp (as I'm want to do) I came across the pair's rather excellent take of the Velvet Underground and Nico's timeless classic "Femme Fatale" (and the phrase 'classic' doesn't do the song - alongside every other track on that seminal album - justice; arguably one of the greatest albums of all time).

Originally written about socialite, actress and model Edie Sedgwick by Lou Reed at the behest of Andy Warhol, I've been enamoured by this song - ever since I first heard it covered by Dolly Mixture - for over thirty years. I'm especially intrigued as to how vocal nuances can create totally different feel to ostensibly the same song; as performed by Nico, the lyrics are cold and matter of fact; the sweet dulcet tones of Dolly Mixture's Rachel Bor (as well as Tracy Thorn's beguiling version) suggest sadness and pity, but equally comfort - you just know that you'll end up collapsing into their arms as soon as the song is finished. Then there's The Chefs / Skat's Helen McCookerybook and a cover that is probably the most lilting version of this song known to (this) man - yes a lot of bands and artists I followed during the early-80s covered Velvet Underground songs! It's a great version - in many respects, very faithful to the original and there are some nice harmonies between Dion and Céline, but it's her accented vocals that make the song's lyrics take on the air of friendly advice.



All of which suggests that Céline Tolosa is an artist to lok out for in 2016. You read it here...

Céline Tolosa
"Cover Girl" (iTunes)
"Femme Fatale" (Bandcamp)