As the title suggests, April March's "Villerville" album was recorded in the lovely Normandy village on the coast of France.
Here's the scoop...
April March's latest "Villerville," is an album of all original songs recorded in Rouen and Villerville (aka Tigreville) with Norman Langolff, Rebecca Paris, Timmy Rickard, Ben Hilliard, Ben Hampson, Tim Weller, Naz Bouzida and Martyn Baker. Bong Load's exclusive RSD release of 750 copies includes the bonus track "Ta Ta Ta." Check out "Surfing Castafiore," "Blacktop Champion" and "Punk Altitude" after the tracklisting below.
The 4-song April March Sings Kelley Stoltz 12" EP is being released by Agitated Records on April 20th. Read all about it!
April March Sings Kelley Stoltz EP
Four special tracks recorded by April March and Kelley Stoltz, whereby April sings Kelley Stotlz songs in french, and vice versa, a one-off meeting of underground pop legends, and overground garage rock royalty. Mixed & masterd by Warren DeFever at Third Man, issued with two different bagette-enhanced sleeves, and two different colour vinyl options. Blue and Red. Ooh La La! C'est Magnifique!
April March: "I was in Nashville with Olivia Jean on a little break from shooting our "Allons Y" video at Third Man. I got in her car and she cranked up her playlist. Out jumped "Double Exposure". I went bananas right there in the passenger seat. "Kelley Stokes!", she smiled wide. It reminded me of something I'd heard in a dream. I went around singing songs from "Double Exposure" for a few weeks zeroing in on "Are You My Love" and "Your Face". I thought to myself cover-wise there's nothing to add here, they're perfect as is but maybe some French versions would be a kick so I asked for an intro. A few months later I was in San Francisco kicking out the Bonne Mamans with Kelley in his studio. Lucky me and thanks to Agitated Records lucky you too."
Kelley Stoltz: “Like almost everyone in the world I was dazzled by April March's take on "Chick Habit" back in the late 90s. It was such an up feeling and joyful sound in the music and vocals. At odds with the manly wails and bleak outlooks that were standard song fare of those days. You can develop a crush on the voice in your speakers, you know! I did anyway. I was so pleased to hear from her in person and out of the blue, years later, and find out she wanted to do her own versions of my songs. I soon got to re-recording the music bits, and as she asked, stayed pretty true to their original form… maybe even improving on them just a tad. She appeared at my door one day and we instantly hit it off and laughed and sang and climbed on an elliptical machine. We did some recording and then took a walk and ate tacos. She even gave my daughter her first book. We're just friends, but I'll always have that crush when I hear her voice! I hope you enjoy April March Sings Kelley Stoltz as much as I did working on them.”
Tracks: "Es-Tu Mon Amour," "Ton Visage," "Are You My Love," "Your Face"
You can also pre-order a copy of Kelley Stoltz's forthcoming La Fleur album (out June 7th) right here.
April March Meets Staplin will be out on vinyl for Record Store Day, April 22. Listen to "Parti avec le Soleil" below.
Here's the scoop...
April March went to France to record her latest studio album April March Meets Staplin (out May 5th via Velvetica Music) in collaboration with the French duo of Norman Langolff and Arno Van Colen better known as Staplin. Fans of April March will recall that she previously appeared on the Staplin track "Celluloïd" (listen below) off their 2020 debut album Neon Shades (Velvetica Music). Along for the ride this time is drummer Toby Dammit (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, The Residents, Iggy Pop) whose pounding is featured on the lead track "Parti avec le Soleil" cut during a rainy afternoon in Normandie.
The album was recorded at Quasar Studio in Rouen, France, mixed by John McEntire at Soma Electronic Music Studios in Gladstone, Oregon and mastered by Warren Defever (see His Name Is Alive) at Third Man Mastering in Detroit. April March Meets Staplin will be available on vinyl in limited numbers for Record Store Day, April 22 followed by a full release on May 5th. Have a listen following the album track list below.
April March – April March Meets Staplin (Velvetica Music)
April March's RSD 2021 release In Cinerama is being issued in an expanded digital version with two previously unissued songs.
Here's the scoop...
April March has quite the resume: an animator on Pee Wee’s Playhouse and for Madonna’s “Who’s That Girl” video, and collaborating with Brian Wilson, LL Cool J, Ronnie Spector and Bertrand Burgalat. But she also has an acclaimed recording career, heavily influenced by French pop music.
She named her English version of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Laisse tomber les filles” “Chick Habit,” and Quentin Tarantino featured it in his 2007 film, Death Proof.
Following a quarter century of recording, March unveiled In Cinerama as a vinyl-only release for Record Store Day in 2021. It was an unprecedented success, selling out of its small run before most could hear the magic. In Cinerama has a wide sonic span from Nigeria to California, with Fela Kuti’s drummer Tony Allen at the helm and The Beach Boys’ Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford by his side, as well as talented friends ranging from the French underground to Nashville; The 11 tracks, co-written and co-produced by Mehdi Zannad, recall the 5th Dimension, Belle And Sebastian and even your favorite Gainsbourg or Curt Boettcher productions but stand on their own just as fresh and contemporary as the waves of Malibu or a Parisian Uber.
Omnivore Recordings will issue a revamped In Cinerama on CD and Digital on March 18, 2022, with updated artwork, new liner notes (both in English and en Français), printed lyrics, plus two previously unissued bonus tracks (“Goodbye” and “Friends Peculiar”).
As Christophe Conte writes in the notes: “In Cinerama is an active medley of images and sounds inherited from pop’s golden age, made not into a nostalgic mirror of times gone by but a vital, vibrant material. In the movies as in music, time stands still. Actors and actresses, singers, musicians, and moments fixed in wax and celluloid exist forever. They are the stuff of our mythologies, both personal and communal; they live in greater, more beautiful, and more exhilarating countries than any real ones we will ever visit… April March, Mehdi Zannad, and their magnificent entourage give us one such stationary voyage, an ideal map to admire down to the tiniest detail, a world we dream of inhabiting.”
The updated In Cinerama is the perfect way to get acquainted with this influential and important artist. But, mostly, it’s a way to experience one of 2021’s most acclaimed releases. Pre-order April March's In Cinerama right here. Watch the release trailer below.
"Allons-y" is off April March & Olivia Jean's split Palladium 7" EP out now on Third Man Records.
Here's le scoop...
April March and Olivia Jean's split 7" Palladium EP is out now. The pair has recorded three renditions each of the same tune, with April March singing "Allons-y" in French and Olivia Jean singing "Let's Go" in English. Each track is presented in a different musical style (with Olivia Jean taking the English versions and April March taking the French) for a total of six tracks.
Watch the Brad Holland directed clip for "Allons-y" below.
Get a copy of the Palladium EP by April March & Olivia Jean via your platform of choice right here.
April March joins Olivia Jean for the Palladium spilt-single for Third Man out March 5th. Listen to "Allons-y" below.
Here's the scoop from Third Man... April March and Olivia Jean are excited to announce the split 7" Palladium EP due March 5 via Third Man Records. The pair has recorded two renditions of the same tune, with Olivia Jean singing "Let's Go" in English and April March singing "Allons-y" in French. The EP is comprised of three different versions of this song by each artist, each one in a different musical style (with Olivia Jean singing in English and April March in French) for a total of six tracks. Pre-save the EP and pre-order it on black vinyl right here.
The 7" vinyl release will contain side A en Francais "Allons-y" and side B in English "Let's Go," though all six versions will be available digitally. Listen to a clip of April March's "Allons-y" right herefollowed by the digital track listing. Check out clips for Liz Brady's version of "Le Palladium" and The Sparkles' "The Hip" on which it's based.
April March & Olivia Jean - Palladium EP (digital)
