Natalie Sarkic-Todd / 06 Sep 2022
Life Under Gorbachev
The End of the USSR
When Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR in 1985, I was studying Russian at university.(...)
Paris
Charlie Bertsch / 10 Aug 2022
Post-War Youth
400 Blows After Netflix
François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is one of cinema’s all-time classics, the 1959 film that demonstrated how deftly a new generation of French critics could transform themselves into the filmmakers of la nouvelle vague.(...)
Natalie Sarkic-Todd / 25 Mar 2020
Remembering the Brussels Attacks
Molenbeek and Diversity
Four years ago extremism came to Brussels. It exploded in the airport and metro, and in our hearts. Although we knew it could happen here, we didn't expect it. (...)
Charlie Bertsch / 22 Jan 2020
Banlieue Noir
The Suburbs of TripleGo
How you respond to the work of Paris rap duo TripleGo may well depend on your knowledge of the context that produced them. If you know it well, you will likely understand why they have received so much praise for the subdued, yet propulsive tracks on their two 2019 albums, MACHAKIL and Yeux Rouge(...)
Charlie Bertsch / 08 Jan 2020
This is What France Sounds Like
Acid Arab’s Jdid
Acid Arab’s second album Jdid is a blast. Like its 2016 predecessor Musique de France it draws equally from different electronic dance subgenres of the 1980s and 1990s and a wide range of vocal and instrumental music from North Africa and the Middle East. But this time, the portmanteau aspect of their tracks feels less random. (...)