Francofolies Esch

Part of Parisian hip-hop collective known for their polished image, Sexion d’Assaut, Maitre Gims’ breakaway career has spawned a collection of singles, most recently ‘Zombie’, ‘Bella’ and ‘You Lose’ off 2013’s Subliminal. He’s made an impression in France and Benelux, playing a whole host of solo shows to promote Subliminal, and making number 2 in the French charts and number 1 in the Belgian French charts. After commercial success, the album was extended with a bonus six tracks under the new name, Subliminal: La Face Cachee. The bravado and intensity of Sexion d’Assaut tracks is offset by a sort of sensitivity in Maitre Gims’ solo work, which is instilled with a kind of old school balladry. He pours his brooding heart into the soaring ‘Bella’, ‘J’me Tire’ (‘I Withdraw Myself’) and ‘Ça marche’ ft. Shin Sekaï. With glitzy vocal equalisers and carribean reggaeton beats, Maitre Gims’ romantic entreaties make for an exotic mix of tropical cadences. He’s recognisable for always hiding behind Kanye-esque, broad-rimmed shades. An appearance without the shades in the clips, live shows and interviews is unheard of.

A pretty name to go with a gorgeous face, this girl is a Megan Fox look-a-like with the addition of fiery red hair. She was born in the UK and raised in Australia. As a young girl, Helen learned how to play piano and cello, however her current musical prowess lies in a genre of music few females venture to go: the world of EDM. She has garnered international success, spinning at the ULTA music festival in 2013 and blowing up the Vegas clubbing scene.
You can tell Helena enjoys her work and wants everyone to be having a good time. Her red hair flies as she spins tracks and she dances to her own beats the entire set, encouraging everyone in the audience to be as carefree as she is. Take her track “Levity ft. Shawnee Taylor” which is a feel-good song that has everyone pumped up with lyrics like ‘we just want to be free from every tragedy/can’t you feel the levity.’ I feel unstoppable on my evening jog listening to my fave Helena track “Girl From the Sky ft Mr. Wilson.” Helena’s energy is contagious and her music addictive. I can’t wait to hear what track she will drop next.

Being a pop star, many people assume that you have your songs written for you, and can’t play any instruments, but Christophe Mae isn’t your average fabricated pop star. The musician who learned to play the violin at age 5, and taught himself the guitar and harmonica at 16 is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter. Starting out his professional career as a lead character in a touring musical, Mae was able to get a glimpse of the way the industry worked from the inside.
From the moment he came on stage, he was totally in command of his audience. It was evident that he’d worked in theatre from his confidence on the stage, and the way that he interacted with the audience with such ease and enthusiasm. The show was predominantly to promote Je Veux Du Bonheur, however he did play some of his hit singes from over the years. He opened the show with Dingue, Dingue, Dingue, which got everyone singing and dancing along.
Although French isn’t my first language, I found the songs easy to understand through his great acting and narrative performance. His dancers were great at keeping the audience energised, and it was great when Mae joined in with the dancing too!