“Honestly, we’re no Georges Brassens, Jacques Brel or Félix Leclerc ... As artists who sing in French, I feel like there’s a certain amount of pressure to move people to tears, when we just really want people to dance, to belt out our hyper poppy choruses. If you think of “Voyage Amoureux”, there’s nothing very deep about it, but it’s fun! Our chief concern is making things sexy, chic and moody.”
Laurence Giroux-Do, Noisey, 2015
Le Couleur (The Color) is a French-Canadian electro/disco/pop act that comprises of vocalist Laurence Giroux-Do, guitarist/keyboardist Patrick Gosselin, and drummer Steeven Chouinard. While Montreal tends to be dominated by folk and rock music, Le Couleur have infused the scene by injecting some of the electro-disco sonicscapes that have been a stalwart in the French music scene since the 1990s.
The trio have been gaining new audiences across Francophone Europe since they debuted in 2010, and its easy to see why. Their lyrics may not be particularly profound, but their sound - which puts a futuristic spin on 1980s disco and exudes a light, pleasant sultriness with each beat - is almost instantly infectious.
Its isn't strictly necessary to know what the lyrics of 'Femme' mean; its enough to know that the track is a perfect evocation of a "distinctively feminine nature". It exudes that je ne sais quoi that the Anglosphere often associates with French cuisine, fashion and art.
But knowing the lyrics does add another layer of meaning to the song, since they can be interpreted as being auto-biographical. Is Giroux-Do singing about her experience of being an Asian-Canadian?:
You speak about my lifeYou talk about where I come from.Who I amI am a woman of colour.
I come from where the sun shines,Where people speak to each other without knowing each otherThe wabes echo the sound of life,And the birds sing at the windowThe scent of freedomThe child with the mixed faceWho looks at his fatherTo see how to do things,Good adviceWho will make of him the big brotherThe hot sand which warms heartsSimple words to speak of happinessThese memories which make you smile again,The desire for singing my memories to you.
Refrain:You speak about my lifeYou speak about where I come from.Who I amI am a woman of colour,I have my island at the bottom of my heartGotta speak about it, speak about itYou speak about my lifeYou speak about where I come fromWho I amI am a woman of colour.I have my island at the bottom of my heartGotta speak about it, speak about it
I come from where the sun shines,Where people speak to each other from the heartThe island winds made my lifeAn ocean of colorsCultivate the differenceMove away from intolerenceFace my fears while thinkingNone with softness while singingThe hot sand which warms heartsSimple words to speak of happinessThese memories which you smile againThe desire for singing my memories to you.
Keep at the bottom of your memoryWho you are, where you come from.I kept at the bottom of my heartThese images which make good
Source: LyricsTranslate.com
