One went to The Residents' Ralph Records, one to New York no wave stronghold Ze Records and the other to Les Disques du Crépuscule, a cosmopolitan Brussels imprint whose address they found on the sleeve of a Tuxedomoon record. They performed at Métro stations across the French capital, pulling together enough money to buy synthesisers and other equipment, before recording demo tapes that would be sent to three labels. Given the fitting (if not simplistic) label of "electro-samba" by the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, who worked as a journalist for Smash Hits at the time, the French-Belgian outfit predated the motorik-meets-tropicália stylings of Stereolab and Saint Etienne by more than a decade.Īntena's story begins the previous summer when Powaga, fresh from a stint working as an au pair for Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman, returned to Paris and convinced close friends Sylvain Fasy and Pascale Moiroud to start a band. A daring marriage of two disparate worlds, the five-track mini album unites the exotic bossa nova rhythms of João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim with Kraftwerk's cold, primitive synth pop. One of the most peculiarly captivating records of the post-punk era, Camino Del Sol stands out as Powaga's most enduring musical contribution. The French artist is in high spirits as she answers the call from her holiday home in rural Portugal, greeting me warmly before asking if I can wait while she fixes herself "a little glass of something." Now in her 60s, Powaga has enjoyed a fruitful career in music: first as a founding member of Antena, then a solo artist following the group's disbandment and, finally, "a second life" as a DJ in Goa. "There was a real feeling amongst us that we were pioneers," says Antena lead singer Isabelle Powaga, reflecting on the band's debut album, Camino Del Sol.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |