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If someone had told me that one day I would hear Emilíana Torrini singing in French, I would not have believed it and yet, today it is done with a beautiful duet between Albin De La Simone and Emiliana. Obviously, we are still a French website to begin with, this is a twice as exciting for us and it's a wonderful track. But before talking about this song, let's focus first on the man who made this duo possible ... It's quite a perfect timing too, as today is the release day for his brand new album "Un Homme" (A man).

Photo by Serge Leblon

Un Homme

Albin De La Simone is a French singer, born 14 December 1970 in Amiens, France. He has released three solo albums: "Albin De La Simone" in 2003, "Je Vais Changer" in 2005 and "Bungalow" in 2008. He also made numerous collaborations with artists such as Vanessa Paradis, Alain Souchon, Keren Ann, Arthur H, Mathieu Boogaerts, JP Nataf, Iggy Pop, Alain Chamfort, Salif Keita...

"Un Homme" is the fourth solo album by Albin De La Simone, released today February 18, 2013 under the label Tôt Ou Tard. The new album, combining fiction and real life stories, talks about - among other things - a funeral, a wedding, a dying love and even, sleep, all of this to give us a delightful mix of pop and song writing.

A duet with Emilíana

The surprise of this album is the duo Albin/Emilíana with the song "Moi Moi". But what was even more unexpected was Emiliana singing it in French, and the result is pretty amazing! Emiliana manages to surprise us once more, very at ease with the French and its prununciation... The song, meanwhile, is a little gem of mixed feelings when a man and a woman sees their relationship weakened by bad communication when everything is about "me, me, me..." and not about the couple. The chemistry between Albin and Emiliana is clearly there though, and alive through this song and it's a perfect and touching duet. We want more!

You can listen below a short excerpt from the song "Moi Moi".

Little interview with Albin

Albin De La Simone was kind enough to answer some of our questions about the song and his new album, and how we are both fans of Emilíana.

The song you sing with Emilíana is "Moi Moi", where she also sang for the first time in French. Can you tell us a bit more about this song and how was working together with Emiliana, especially with the French singing?

It's wonderful talking to you ... Emilianafans, we definitely have something in common!
This song, "Moi moi," I wrote it for myself at first, but after thinking about it, I realized that it became stronger if performed by a man and a woman. Suddenly, the words told a different story: instead of the lament of a man who feels helpless, it was about how it's really difficult to communicate in a relationship. How our need for attention make it difficult to listen to the other, sometimes.
I then started wondering about who I would love to sing it with, ideally, without limiting my choices to people I know. And ideally, my perfect choice was Emiliana! I have listened to her albums a lot and saw her live. I know her music so well that I feel like it is permanently installed in me, even when I'm not listening to it. It is a relationship that I rarely have with another artist.
I did not know her personally but I had an opportunity to get in touch with her, and miracle, she found the idea interesting! After that, recording wasn't a hardship, as you know how talented Emiliana is, and especially since she speaks thirteen languages fluently, including French. I even had to insist that she kept a slight accent in the song! Hmm ... AH! Just kidding, I hope you didn't believe me. Joking aside, the record was a wonderful time for me, peaceful and easy. Emiliana is very generous and incredibly talented, she just went for it and sang in French and it worked wonderfully.

"Un Homme" is your fourth solo album, how would you describe the new album?

This is probably a more balanced album, maybe a bit more of a cool, chill one, both in my songs and in the lyrics, but also in his music itself: I tried to keep the style and vibe constant through the whole thing.
Talking about making an album this way, "Fisherman's Woman" (note: Emiliana second album released in 2005) has always been an example. I wanted to follow this same idea of listening to an album, entering a specific universe created by the singer, and not being thrown away from it by changes of styles, or sounds, etc. No big slap in the face! The mood is constant. We can let go.
The trick is to find a way to do this without being overpowering! For this too, the presence of Emiliana was symbolically important for me. And also, on a more personal note, because Emiliana's voice is what my wife used to listen to when she was pregnant, that's what my daughter heard during nine months!

I imagine that you will be presenting the album on stage very soon, do you have any live dates planned already?

Yes of course. I sing (electric piano accompanied by a violin and a cello) every Tuesday from mid-March to end-April at Ciné13, a lovely Montmartre theater in Paris, and of course on tour. There will be dates in the Spring, and it will be more intense in the fall. But I'm kind of discovering my schedule as I go.
For this I would strongly recommend that you subscribe to my Facebook page ... This is the best place to keep up to date!

See you soon, and like you guys, I'm also eagerly waiting for Emilíana's new album!

Thank you to Albin for the time he gave us and his kindness. As for us, we recommend listening to his wonderful new album "Un Homme."

Un Homme
Albin De La Simone
2013

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