Phantom feat. Marie France Compact Disc

What Edie Sedgwick and Nico were to Andy Warhol’s Factory, Marie France was to Le Palace in Paris. From the early seventies in Saint-Germain-des-Prés she was a muse, fascinating a lot of artists, from Marguerite Duras to Serge Gainsbourg, underground french innovators such as Pierre Clementi, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Jean-Jacques Schuhl, Pierre et Gilles, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and international stars passing through like Nico herself or Chrissie Hynde.

Her impersonation of Marilyn Monroe at Jean-Marie Rivière’s Alcazar gave her a first taste of fame. She then made some appearances on film, André Téchiné’s “Barocco” remaining her most treasured memory.

Music always was the love of her life. She recorded an album with rock band Bijou (Gainsbourg backing band in the late seventies) and another one with former Taxi Girl members Daniel Darc and Mirwais (yes, Madonna’s collaborator). She also was invited to perform a duet with Marc Almond, who later wrote a couple of songs for her.

Her first effort was a punk single in 1977 on Romantik Records, “Déréglée”. And thirty years later, here she reunites with the man who wrote her first song, Belgian songwriter Jacques Duvall, known for his work with Jane Birkin, Etienne Daho and others including Sparks and The Runaways. The man in charge with this project is another mad man from Belgium, Miam Monster Miam. He’s providing some minimalist rock’n’roll, phantom blues and existential country music. Marie France rants over these tracks like a parisian Ronnie Spector, with carefree sex appeal and yet an almost painful sense of tragedy. Marie France is an ambiguous character, her life is a spicy comedy and a mysterious melodrama at the same time. It all shows in this record mixed and mastered by the legendary Kramer (Bongwater, Half Japanese, Ex bassist of Butthole Surfers, Galaxy 500 producer..)