My First Record in 10 Years
What You Don't Know About my Recent Paris-Themed Album
This is the story of my involvement with the Earful Tower, a popular podcast all about Paris. And because of it, I got to do something last week that I haven’t done in over 10 years: listen to a CD of my new music.
Let me take you back. It’s summer, 1996. I’m 16. It’s after midnight. I’m in a dorm on the campus of Cité Internationale Universitaire de Paris on Boulevard Jourdan in the 14th arrondissement.
The window is open. Summer air sits heavy. Earlier in the evening, I met a busker outside a café. He gave me his cassette tape, and it’s winding its way through my walkman.
Fast forward. It’s 2002. Brittany, France. My aunt and uncle have a cottage there. Aunt Caryl has a Charles Trenet CD on repeat as we lounge in the garden.
Later, I’m in the car with my uncle, Craig. It’s raining. He recalls the opening line or two from Trenet’s “Il pleut dans ma chambre.” He la-la-la’s his way through the rest.
Later, he and I sing Aznavour’s “Tu t’laisse aller” along with the radio. In a few days, we get to Paris. I buy as many Trenet and Aznavour CDs as I can afford.
Fast forward again. It’s 2011, and my wife and I are strolling the Seine. There’s a little group playing on the quai. Drums and tuba hit a groove. They’re attracting a crowd.
Later, I play the piano upstairs at Shakespeare and Company. This is something I will do often on future visits.
Here’s the point. When I think of Paris and France, I think of music. Those core memories have stayed with me more than some trips to museums and monuments. And every time I’m back in town, I seek music.
Here’s a clip from an evening at Caveau de la Huchette just last December.
In March of 2022, an email with the subject line “unexpected question” sits in my inbox. It’s from Oliver Gee. He wants to know if I’ll send just 40 seconds of music on short notice for a podcast episode.
I’m an avid listener of Oliver’s show, the Earful Tower. It’s an award-winning podcast about Paris and France featuring special guests who make the City of Lights shine. The New York Times ranked it among the world’s “most transportive” podcasts. There have been 300 episodes and over 2 million downloads since the launch in 2017.
To hear the full story on what happened after that email exchange, listen to our podcast episode about the soundtrack of Paris. But here’s the long-story-short: that 40 seconds of tunes turned into over a year of music and a really fun and fulfilling creative partnership.
And that partnership has led to my new record. The Sound of Paris. It’s the soundtrack to the Earful Tower’s “Paris Countdown” season. If you’re unfamiliar with it, here’s the gist: every week, Oliver and his wife, Lina, spent 24 hours in each arrondissement (or district) of Paris. Each district is numbered. They started in the 20th, and worked their way all the way down to one.
As they documented their travels across town, I provided the music. For each of the 20 episodes, Oliver and I tried to think of songs that would complement the neighborhoods. So, this CD is twenty tracks. One for each.
The liner notes explain the thought process behind each track.
But the liner notes don’t tell all. So, here are 3 things that we haven’t revealed about the CD.
1. I made all the music in my home studio.
”Studio” is a loose term. It’s a section of my basement void of anyone’s attention but mine. If you want to see the space and see the instruments used on the podcast, then I made this video just for you:
2. This CD has exclusive tracks.
By the time Oliver reached out with his “unexpected question” email, he’d already published podcasts for the 20th, 19th, and 18th arrondissements. So when we finished the season, I went back to make music for the first three neighborhoods that would match the body of work from the rest of the season.
Choosing music for the 20th was obvious. It needed to be Edith Piaf. She owns Belleville (musically). I arranged a version of “Sous le ciel de Paris,” a song you hear in the podcast episode performed at the charming restaurant, Vieux Belleville. The singer, Gosia, was also featured at our Christmas party, where I had the pleasure of accompanying her live.
Here’s a rehearsal recording we made on the morning of the party at her studio space out in Montrueil.
For the 19th, Oliver and Lina visited the Paris Philharmonic. Since there was no obvious musical choice to match the 19th, I offered to create a rendition of something they heard at the show. “That might be hard,” Oliver said. “It was all classical.”
Undeterred, I found the program online from the night of their visit. I worked up my version of “O Traurigkeit, O Herzeleid.” It’s different for sure, but the groove is solid. It actually wound up being one of my favorites on the record.
For the 18th, Oliver chose La Boheme by Charles Aznavour. He asked Lina’s dad to record it on piano, and that’s what you heard in the episode. After the season was over, I recorded my own version of the song. However, I didn’t want to lose Lina’s dad’s role.
So, on the CD, the solo piano intro is still the clip that Lina’s dad recorded. He and I have never met, but we’ve exchanged several “Hey man”s and “Hey dude”s through Oliver. I hope I get to meet him someday.
Anyway, the point is this: tracks 2, 5, and 19 can’t be heard anywhere other than on the CD.
3. There’s more off the CD than on it.
Over the past year, I’ve written many original songs for the Earful Tower. Some can be heard in clips on the podcast, and some can be heard on the youtube channel. I’m usually inspired to title the song after something Oliver or Lina have said or have seen.
Songs include “A Tall Tale,” “Boujin’,” “Nostalgia Bomb,” or my tribute to their former mode of transportation, “Red Scooter.” Those tunes and more will be heard someday. Maybe that’s my next album.
There is also a decent amount of music from the Paris Countdown season on the cutting room floor. I learned more Piaf, Trenet, and Aznavour than we wound up using. Also, I recorded parts on Irish flute, fiddle, harmonica, and slide trumpet that never made it into tracks.
And if you have never heard of a slide trumpet, take my word for it. It’s weird. It looks like a drunken welding accident. But man, it sure does wail. Maybe it deserves its own post some day.
So there you have it. In the title of this send, I said it was my first record in ten years. And it is. My first physical record in 10 years. My LA-based indie band made an album back in ‘06. Then I had two solo singer-songwriter records. One in ‘09ish and then one in ‘12 or so.
But then, I stopped being a singer-songwriter. Don’t get me wrong, I can still play a bar stage or backyard party with the best of them (and I will this weekend).
But my listening has changed in my 40s. And with that, so has my playing. I’ve exchanged singing for vibe. Challenging myself as a player and producer.
My 2020 album, Inpianopolis, reflects that. But it never made it to physical media. It’s only available on select digital platforms.
So in summary, I’m so proud of the work put into The Sound of Paris. I haven’t mentioned it yet in this post, but it’s an extremely limited release. If you’re a Patreon member of the show, then you have heard all about how to get a copy.
If you are not a Patreon member, here are a few ways to hear some of these songs:
Oh my! Arrived today and I love it! Thanks so very much! I truly appreciate your efforts working with Earful Tower! Peace, Annemarie 😊
My favourite CD release this decade!