Chilly Gonzales is as renowned for his intimate approach to the piano through the SOLO PIANO album trilogy as he is for his showman talent, performing in European philharmonic halls in slippers and a bathrobe, or for his collaborations with internationally acclaimed artists such as Feist, Drake, Jarvis Cocker, and Daft Punk.
In 2023, he takes a new artistic direction. FRENCH KISS is Chilly Gonzales's first album written and performed in French.
Before settling in Germany, Chilly lived in Paris for nearly 10 years. Recently, he started spending time in France again and immersed himself in French literature. The album's eponymous first track, FRENCH KISS, announces the reasons for his renewed interest. It's a text with very precise references to French culture, ranging from Molière to Benjamin Biolay, including Virginie Despentes, Emmanuel Carrère, François Mitterrand, Makala, and Thomas Bangalter.
To produce this album, Chilly Gonzales connected with the new generation of French talent, mixing them with long-time friends and one of his heroes to whom he cedes the piano, for the first time. On the FRENCH KISS album, Bonnie Banane and Juliette Armanet, Arielle Dombasle and Teki Latex, and then Richard Clayderman are featured together.
Gonzo does not, however, abandon his solo piano. He reinterprets giants such as Gabriel Fauré and Michel Berger, and engages in an instrumental duet with Christine Ott and her mysterious Ondes Martenot. A brief interlude recounts his equally brief collaboration with Charles Aznavour. And to make us dance, FRENCH KISS offers us a cover of Mr. Oizo's Cut Dick and the Cut Dick Remix by Myd.
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