Monday 23 December 2013

Charlotte Gainsbourg: Hey Joe

A new track by Charlotte Gainsbourg, from the soundtrack of her forthcoming film Nymphomaniac.

The track was produced by Beck, who has been a regular collaborator with her since he worked with her on her 2009 IRM album.

Like much of her work, it is in English, and while the song is well known to the English-speaking music world through the Hendrix cover, there have also been many other versions over the decades, including interpretations by Deep Purple, Love, The Byrds and Patti Smith.

Meanwhile, there is also a well-known (In France at least!) French version was recorded by Johnny Hallyday.

Charlotte Gainsbourg's version also makes a musical nod towards one of her father's works, the track Cargo Culte from his 1971 Histoire de Melody Nelson album.

Her new film is by Danish director Lars Von Trier, and it is the third time she's featured in one of his films, having starred in 2011's Melancholia and 2009's Antichrist. Much of his work features sexually explicit scenes and this new film is seen as the third part of what has been referred to as his "Depression trilogy", a sequence of films that centre on characters suffering the consequences of depression of grief.

This film features her as the main character - named Joe -  recounting her life of erotic encounters. It has already been met with the kind of controversy that her father would no doubt have relished.

Von Trier's earlier 2000 film Dancer in the Dark featured Bjork, and won a Palme d'Or at Cannes, Bjork also getting a nomination for an Academy Award for best song for the track  I've Seen It All.

Charlotte has of course enjoyed the success in cinema that eluded her father. She has been working as an actress since 1984, and her career has so far seen her win a César in 1985 and five nominations since, including four for best actress. She also won the Cannes film festival award for best actress for her performance in Antichrist.

Her last full music release was the 2011 Stage Whisper double CD set.

Nymphomaniac is due to be released in January.

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