What’s the ideal first hardcore music experience? Where is the best place to hear hardcore? Is it true that ladies don’t dig hardcore as much as guys do? Hear what famed French musician and DJ Manu le Malin has to say in the final part of his interview.

Mario Canonge is one of the most exciting pianists tickling today’s plastic ivories, and Yabla was lucky enough to have caught him in person.

Mario has been influenced by Martinique, and he discusses what it means to represent and build upon French Caribbean rhythms on the world stage.

Meet Melissa Mars: actress, singer, songwriter, storyteller, dreamer, “Martian.” In the first of her interviews with Yabla, Melissa tells us how her career got launched.

Melissa talks about the making of the music video for her second clip “Et Alors!” She was lucky enough to find a director whose vision matched her own. Great minds think alike!

How many singers do you know who could pull off a dress made of origami? Melissa sparkles in renowned director Olivier Dahan’s rock opera full of glitter, color, costumes, and music that shines just as brightly.

Fate works in funny ways. Melissa’s tale of how she came to be in Mozart, l'opéra rock shows us that some things are just written in the stars. We’re glad she agreed.

Melissa Mars talks about her third album, À la recherche de l’amour perdu, and the making of the video for her hit single "Love Machine."

Melissa tells us how the music video for “Army of Love” came to be. She produced and directed it herself, with the help of animator Thomas Guerigen. It was a labor of love—one that paid off!

Melissa’s inner “petites fées du coeur” are unleashed and band together to free two soulmates frozen in time. All the mini-Melissas are there: the warrior, the sensitive type, even the one with her head not quite on her shoulders.

Watch the beautiful Martian Melissa tell those Earthlings a thing or two. It’s nothing a little “so what?!” can’t handle.

Proust was in search of lost time, but Melissa’s in search of lost love, and she’ll travel anywhere to find it.

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.