Music News

Here's Five: Madeira

Wednesday 23rd November, 2016 3:28PM

Synth-pop artist Madeira is back on home turf after a decent jaunt around the States touring and promoting her debut solo EP, Bad Humours. With a Christchurch show ticked off, the multi-talented musician - who is a former member of Yumi Zouma - is heading to Auckland for a show this Friday and then to Wellington on Saturday. To learn a little bit more about what makes Madeira tick we asked her to share some of her favourite songs, and she dug deep into the digital crates to find some fantastic tunes you may have forgotten (or perhaps never heard)...

1. Jacque Dutronc - 'Le Cactus'
Ahhhh Jacque - the swarthy French Howlin' Pelle from the 60s... who can resist his charm? Especially when he sings of cacti in such an appealing way... Who knows if he's actually referring to the world being a cactus, or simply to his own *cough* cactus. All I know is, it's in French so sounds good either way. The ridiculous yet simple video mirrors the comical nature of the song - Jacque crawls around on his hands and knees navigating his way through vaguely sharp objects half of the time and the rest looking cool and knowing it. Catchy and addictive.

2. Stereo Total - 'I Love You Ono'
From one cactus to another - Stereo Total are a whimsical German-French duo comprised of Françoise Cactus and Brezel Göring. This is that quirky song that gained fame from a sync in a Sony advert - back when CD walkmans were a thing. So this song feels pretty nostalgic and silly in a good way. Sometimes I forget how good lo-fi music like this is.

3. Suzanne Vega - 'Solitude Standing'
Strangely enough, I hadn't properly listened to Suzanne Vega until this year when my vocal teacher mentioned her. I developed a strange fascination with this song and video, like everything about it is so perfectly 90s - the key runs, the guitar stabs, the outfits. It's so simple but beautiful, and isn't Suzanne magnificent?

4. Saint Etienne - 'Only Love Can Break Your Heart'
I keep forgetting how good original Saint Etienne is. I'm such a fan of Moira singing in SE - she didn't get enough credit. This was one of their first releases, a Neil Young cover - though in truth, they are like two complete different songs. SE's version is lighter and groovier - like a summer holiday driving through the south of France. Mmmm.

5. Flight Facilities - 'Foreign Language'
Lately I keep trying to talk to people about Flight Facs and I kept getting blank looks, so it's high time to revive this gem. I saw FF at Austin City Limits last month and they were pretty cool, with a bit of a Daft Punk vibe going on on stage. I figure the more I talk about them, the more likely one of them will hear that I want to sing with them - and then take me on tour. Ha! 'Foreign Language' is one of my absolute favs, the track is groovy and textural - and the video is like you are watching an old James Bond film / Charlie's Angels episode. The violin stabs are so Jamiroquai too - another old fav. I believe it's impossible not to enjoy this song.