Stéphane Pompougnac / Hello Mademoiselle

The Frenchman, mostly known from his Hotel Costes compilations, released his second album on May 2007. His debut album “Living on the Edge”, in 2003, didn’t meet gross success but “Hello Mademoiselle” is here to shout that this guy is not just a DJ or remixer. The fact that the album’s two most catchy songs are remakes is not a reason to let you down as his touch on them is apparent. Firstly he converted one of the most mediocre and colourless Morricone’s songs (“Here’s to You”) to a fascinating tune. In his second experiment he managed to bequeath to a great but dusted 60’s blues a modern electro-jazz style (“On the Road Again”). As regards the rest of the content, it is without doubt equally elegant where its variety of sounds and styles make it difficult to categorise.

While listening to the album for the first time, I caught myself saying that these rhythms would be nice on a beach, laying down, doing nothing… I’m not sure whether it was due to my holiday mood that specific day, but after a closer look I realized that these melodies will accompany my summer this year.

In a phrase, it is certainly an album that won’t pass unnoticed!