Following the recent passing of French singer France Gall, people share their reactions and thoughts about her songs and her life. She belonged to an older generation, but young people also enjoyed her songs.

From Scratch is not only the name of Neïmo’s first album, it also sums up their ethos. Original and full of energy, Neïmo is a distinctive part of a rock and roll trend: made in France but sung in English! According to the band, rock and roll is best done in its original language. Hear about how they mix their inspirations and influences with their innovation.

DJ Mike, from the electronica band NoJazz, tells us about one of his teachers, who suffered from two rather unfortunate problems…

Nicola Sirkis, head of Indochine, the new wave French rock band that’s been popular since the 1980s, has a few things to say about some of his fellow artists. (Could he mean megastar Johnny Hallyday?) Nicola’s strong voice (in many senses) is clearly one of the reasons Indochine has so much staying power.

Oldelaf's "Bérénice" is a beautiful love song with a somewhat tragic (but very comical!) ending. You'll both laugh at and be moved by Oldelaf's poetic language and soulful crooning.

Enjoy Oldelaf's quirky humor, as displayed in his introduction to his two backup musicians who come from wildly different backgrounds, to say the least. Then listen to his satirical song "Vendredi" (Friday), where he describes a typical weekend for the average bored (and boring?) French guy.

French-Canadian singer-songwriter Pascale—who prefers to introduce herself in verse rather than give the usual “hello my name is”—tells us of the importance of maintaining optimism and lightness in the face of hardship.

We hear a bit more from the lovely Pascale: on her beginnings in the musical world (she started early), her new album, and her music’s special combination of rhythm and soul.

Singer-songwriter Phil Cambron talks about the “chanson vivante” scene in Montreal, his musical tastes and his ambitions.

Sophie-SongJa Lévy takes us into her music workshop, SongJa Flûtes. She is a transverse flute (concert flute) specialist who will show you the different parts of the instrument and teach you a few technical terms.

In his brilliant song "Papaoutai" (Dad, Where Are You?), Stromae depicts the endless game of hide and seek that some children play with their fathers. Stromae (né Paul Van Haver), who was raised by his mother, lost his own father in 1994 to the Rwandan Genocide.

The original lyricism, the striking rhythms, and the fragile melodies of up-and-coming singer-songwriter Buridane have made her career take off. She’s now launching a tour all over France and has been asked to perform at several big music festivals.

The members of the Lyon-based group Instinct Lyrical are into “intergenerational” rap—rap they hope will have a message for their neighbors of all ages.

Why not bring the orchestra to the people instead of the people going to the orchestra? That's exactly what the Lyon Villeurbanne Symphony Orchestra did. They brought the opera Carmen to the bowling alley in the town of Mornant so that people would not have to travel hundreds of miles to enjoy the show.

Hardcore techno musician Manu le Malin [Wild Manu] is one of the oldest regulars at the Astropolis Festival in Brittany, which just celebrated its twenty-year anniversary. Its attendance has swelled from two thousand to ten thousand participants, but the rave-like spirit of the festival remains the same, and it keeps drawing big crowds every year.