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Jane Birkin ‎
Birkin Gainsbourg
Le Symphonique

Parlophone

Regular price
$50.00 SGD
Regular price
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$50.00 SGD

About

Birkin was already a prolific actress, model, and singer when she met Gainsbourg, famous as a singer as well as for his relationship with Brigitte Bardot, in 1968, during the filming of Slogan. They began a storied 13-year romance, which included the birth of their daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, several record collaborations, and an artistic relationship that lasted long after their split as a couple. Birkin’s career as a singer and model went on hold in 2013, after her daughter Kate Barry died at the age of 46. “It was the reason why I didn’t do anything for two years,” Birkin confessed in a recent conversation at New York’s Standard Hotel. “I stopped all the shows and just shut myself out.”

But Serge’s words, and the encouragement of Birkin and Serge’s directeur artistique, Philippe Lerichomme, got her back on stage a few years later, in June 2016. Honoring the 25th anniversary of Serge’s death, she did an a cappella reading of his lyrics on stage at the Montreal Symphony House. “I started reading Serge’s words without any music at all in a theater with the wonderful Michel Piccoli and Hervé Pierre,” Birkin reminisced.

One journalist suggested that Birkin could pair the lyrics with classical music, and though Birkin thought the idea seemed “a little pretentious,” she accepted an offer to perform with the Montreal Philharmonic. With music from the composer Nobuyuki Nakajima, Birkin said, “it wouldn’t be boring, pretentious, or the sort of thing people do when it’s their last lap of their career.”

The result is Le Symphonique, a record that focuses on Serge’s early career, orchestral versions of songs he penned for Birkin like “Jane B” and “Baby Alone in Babylone,” and the music they made after they separated. “I haven’t stopped in a year,” Birkin said of touring with the record. The concert has become the musical she always wanted but never had. Now, she’s booked for the next year and a half on tour, which seems unfathomable from the one to two dates that were slated initially. But it’s a relief considering the stagnant place she was in just a few years back. “It’s taken me along,” she said of the shows. “Serge has been much in my mind—he’s helped me out.” - Vanity Fair

Label: Parlophone ‎– 0190295851910

Format: 2 × Vinyl, LP, Album

Country: France

Released: 24 Mar 2017

Genre: Pop

Style: Chanson