The greatest, most graceful pop music is possessed of an unknowable timelessness; you listen once and are transported to a certain time, you listen again and the journey forges a different path. It’s a quality that enriches the songs of French singer Laure Briard.
The poetic performer makes soulful pop, sounding like if the magnificent Francoise Hardy was a bit more psychedelic. Briard released her new album, Ne pas trop rester bleue, last week, following an intense labour of love effort that lasted almost three years.
For those not French-fluent, it’s a deliciously misleading title: “Don’t stay too blue,” Briard’s album name insists, and the songs contained within it wonderfully take this mission to heart.
For 10 kaleidoscopic numbers, Briard is anything but blue, joyously singing about “travel, introspection and imaginary love.” She effortlessly slips between French and English, sounding just as enchanting in her mother tongue or second language.
The singer-songwriter was largely inspired by her travails around the world, particularly through the U.S. in 2019, and her richly composed arrangements are imbued with a sense of experiential wonderment; Briard has undoubtedly lived a life on her travels, this is to say.
This luminous and romantic collection is another strong release from the ever-reliable Third Eye Stimuli Records (Sunfruits, Joe Ghatt), and to celebrate its release, Tone Deaf caught up with Briard as part of our Get To Know series to find out more about her life and music.
Laure Briard’s Ne pas trop rester bleue is out now via Third Eye Stimuli Records (AU/NZ), PWR Record (Brazil) and Midnight Special Records.
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How did your artist name come about?
That’s my name! Simple and efficient.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
“You know grandma it’s like Francoise Hardy mixed with The Beatles”. Ahah.
Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
‘Magical Cowboy’: I tried to do like Lee Hazlewood by telling a cowboy story.
‘Ciel mer azur’: I wrote about my feelings in the van during my last tour in Brazil.
‘Ne pas trop rester bleue’: I try to be more optimistic cos many good things can happen in life when you don’t expect them.
What do you love about your hometown?
I have my childhood friends right next door and it’s the countryside.
Career highlight so far?
My different tours in Brazil, Mexico and Texas SXSW!
Fave non-music hobby?
Playing and swimming in the ocean waves.
What’s on your dream rider?
Champagne Ruinart.
Dream music collaboration?
Paul Macca, Jorge Ben, Neil Young, Aldous Harding.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In Kingston Jamaica, stoned with dreadlocks (maybe in 20 years instead).
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I always try ‘Hotel California’ but it’s a disaster.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
You must live in the present (but really difficult).
What’s one obsession you have that no one would guess after listening to your music?
I am very interested in the psychology of serial killers.
