Search - Helena Noguerra :: Fraise Vanille

In 2007, chanteuse/actress/novelist Helena Noguerra released Dillinger Girl, a Tucson, Arizona recorded, Quentin Tarantino-like musical ode to the notorious American criminal Baby Face Nelson, with Little Rabbits guitarist/vocalist Federico Pellegrini (AKA the French Cowboy). But for her new Sunnyside recording, she comes back to her chanson roots with Fraise Vanille, her spectacle tribute to the Iranian/Russian/French, poet/author/painter/composer/lyricist Serge Resvani, formerly known by his nom de plume Cyrus Bassiak, with special guests Vincent Delerm, Marie France, Phillippe Katerine, Sebastian Martel, and Resvani himself!

On this project - her fifth as a leader Helena salutes Resvani s best loved works, some of which were featured in several classic Nouvelle Vague/French New Wave films, including Francois Truffault s Jules and Jim, and Jean-Luc Goddard s Pierrot le fou. Recorded in France with an intimate assembly of top-flight musicians including Benoit Delbecq, who worked on her debut CD, Azul, pianist Julien Baer, vibraphonist Bertrand Burgalat, and her father, Alberto, on kazoo! The familial connection is further augmented by Helena s memories of her mother singing Resvani s melodies to her as a child (the title refers to her childhood pronunciation of one of Resvani s songs). The impetus for this CD sprang from her reading of Resvani s Le Testament amoureaux, and from a Resvani tribute she co-organized in October 2007 in Paris at the Maison de la Poesie, where Resvani himself sang with Helena.

Helena s airy and aching vocals float above the nineteen, plectral-centric, spare and serene tracks with nostalgia and novelty, from the waltzy, carousel cadences of Le tourbillion, Resvani s most famous song, sung by actress Jeanne Moreau in the Jules and Jim, to Jamais je ne t ai dit ... from Pierrot le fou with special guest chanteuse Marie France in a dynamic duo. Other impassioned co-vocals include Les mots de rien, with Vincent Delerm, La Becasse with Phillippe Katerine, and with Resvani on Nous vivions deux. Helena sings solo on the rest of the tracks, showcased by a new song written for this date by Resvani, Caresse moi j adore ca.

The ability to interpret Resvani s music in a myriad of moods and grooves comes easily to Helena, a master of five languages. Born on May 18, 1969 in Brussels to Portuguese immigrant parents (her sister Lio is also an accomplished singer), she grew up on the music of Jacques Brel. She relocated to Paris, where she embarked on a successful modeling career as a teenager, and as an actress and a radio/television personality. She also wrote her first novel, The Enemy is on the Loose, in 2002. Her musical career began in 1989 with the release of her first single, Lunettes Noires. In 1998, she joined the group Ollano, and sang two songs on their first album, Latitudes and Partir Revenir. Projet: Bikini, her first album as a solo artist, was released on Warner Bros. in the same year. French songwriter/musician Katerine, who worked on that album, collaborated with Helena on her first Sunnyside release, the bossa nova-tinged Azul (2001). Its follow-up was Nee Dans la Nature (2005), which featured Helena s cover of Kylie Minogue s Can t Get You Out of My Head. Two years later, she released Dillinger Girl.

Which brings us to Fraise Vanille, a musical love letter inspired by a child s melodious memories, and interpreted by a woman s adventurous artistry.