The ethnic violence that devastated the central African states of Burundi and Rwanda in the 90s claimed the lives of more than a million people and created many more refugees. One of them was Gaël Faye, a French-Rwandan rapper who expresses his feelings toward his birth country in this beautiful song.

First sung by Alain Souchon in 1993 and performed here by Fréro Delavega, "Foule Sentimentale" (Sentimental Crowd) denounces society's materialistic attitude.

Rock and roll, garage, hard-core, street punk — from Black Flag to Agnostic Front to Crisis, Frustration isn’t just a sentiment, it’s a way of life! With Frustration, “Your life will be sadder, but it’ll be more lucid.”

Singer-songwriter Elea Lumé gives us an enchanting live performance of her song “Diesel.” Under the stage lights, Lumé is luminous.

The Parisian band Duel, formed by Julien Boulfray and Brieuc Carnaille, takes us from the Champs-Élysées to the Caribbean atolls in this energetic music video.

Parisian duo Julien Boulfray and Brieuc Carnaille sing a colorful song, "Hey, tu ne me manqueras plus" ("Hey, I won't miss you anymore") from their album "Vertiges." Enjoy their quirky retro pop/rock/electro style of music.

Enjoy Duel's spooky new single "Vertigo," set against a particularly impassioned, vengeful scene from an old film. It will definitely give you the chills!

Celebrated French rapper Disiz La Peste (Dis Is The Plague) began his acting career in Dans tes rêves (In Your Dreams), a film that relates the story of a young rapper trying to make his way in the music industry.

Miss Acacia is a character in the novel La Mécanique du Cœur (“The Mechanics of the Heart”) by Dionysos lead singer Mathias Malzieu; in it, the protagonist falls madly in love with her.

“Neige” is another fantastical number from French rock band Dionysos. The group, which has been together since high school, lists several film directors among their influences, and it’s not hard to see the impact of one in particular, Tim Burton, on the dark, whimsical stylings of this video.

“Tes lacets sont des fées” is an upbeat tune by rock band Dionysos, accompanied by singer Olivia Ruiz. This animated clip transports us into an inferno of love and innocence.

Debout Sur Le Zinc is a seven-member group that plays a unique fusion of rock and traditional French, Irish, and Gypsy folk music. The band’s name (which means “standing on the zinc,” as in the zinc countertop of a bar) comes from the Jacques Prévert poem “Et la fête continue”—and indeed DSLZ is the perfect music for a fête!

Dahlia formed in 1999 in the province of Brittany in northwest France as a collaboration between guitarist Guillaume Fresneau and cellist Armel Talarmain.

Grab your bottle of rum, your peg-leg, and your black flag and sail the seas with Cré Tonnerre. Cha Cha Cha!

After finding early success in his native Rwanda in ’93, Corneille was forced to flee his country. “Comme un fils” (“Like a Son”) is representative of his soul roots and affinity for emotional melodies.