Who doesn't remember their carefree summer holiday drives in the backseat of their parents' car? On your way to a campsite, hotel, apartment, mobile home or chalet.
Most of us here at SUSAN BIJL grew up without an electronic device streaming our personal music taste. So we were at the mercy of our parents' musical taste. In the worst case, this would mean no music but arguments between my parents because my mother gave wrong directions at The Boulevard Périphérique in Paris. A huge paper road map scattered all over my mother's legs trying to make sense of all the options to drive to the south of France and avoid the centre of Paris.
"In the worst case, this would mean no music but arguments between my parents because my mother gave wrong directions at The Boulevard Périphérique in Paris."
But there were also good moments, singing along to the music my father played on the cassette and later the CD player in the car. Luckily for us, the Beatles were always part of his collection.
It was also a time when people listened to FM radio in the car. And the radio in another country in a foreign language sounds exotic and instantly brings you to a summer holiday state of mind.
While scanning FM radio in the car while driving through France a few years ago, I discovered a program that instantly drew my attention and created the perfect French holiday atmosphere with excellent music. I believe it's a program especially made for the summer season as the name is 'Retour de plage', which means 'Back from the beach'.
"With a focus on genres like French 'Chansons', Cinema Music, Bossa Nova..."
Retour de Plage is a radio show on the channel France Musique. With episodes of just under 2 hours, Retour de Plage highlights a specific musical subject and broadcasts music you do not often hear on a national radio station. With a focus on genres like French 'Chansons', Cinema Music, Bossa Nova, Tango, (Latin) jazz, great vocalists, and a specific record label such as Impulse Records, they handle a wide variety of subjects. Vinyl records are digitised by the teams of the Radio-France discotheque and thus are hard to find on the more well-known digital streaming platforms. Even when you don't understand the French language in between the songs, it will add up to the perfect holiday vibe, as if you were driving through France. However, I'm also listening to this station in other countries or at home. The advantage of modern technology..!
Some of our favourite episodes;
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Girl Power (2/2)
The second episode of two about female artists, Thierry Jousse continues his declaration of love to Marianne Faithfull, Dolly Parton and Aretha Franklin! Honour to women: "A Change is Gonna Come"! -
Cher Lee Hazlewood...
Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth saw in him: "A genius. One of the most daring lyricists that American song has ever known". A look back at the many facets of singer-songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood.
Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth saw in him: "A genius. One of the most daring lyricists that American song has ever known".
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Charles Trenet, la joie éternelle
Disappeared 20 years ago, Charles Trenet is still very much alive. Retour de Plage pays homage to his incomparable talent with a journey where classics, rare songs, covers and some relatives of the great Charles come together. -
Chanson française et musiques brésiliennes
Retour de Plage invites you today to celebrate the links between French song and Brazilian music during a walk between Paris and Rio in the company of Pierre Barouh, Georges Moustaki, Claude Nougaro and a few others who are not bad either...
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Retour de plage de Laurent Valero ... Neal Hefti, trompettiste, compositeur & arrangeur
"A journey into the rich musical universe of Neal Hefti, one of the greatest American composers and arrangers. He is the author of famous themes such as Girl Talk or lil 'Darlin' but also a remarkable arranger and composer of film music. " -
Brian Wilson, beach boy et génie californien
Author, composer, performer and producer Brian Wilson is featured in this episode of "Return to the Beach", a gifted musician and founding member of the Beach Boys. -
Exclusivement Jobim
Today, Laurent Valero offers us a very Brazilian return to the beach thanks to the music of the great Antonio Carlos Jobim, nicknamed Tom Jobim, the undisputed master of bossa nova. Let's draw from his rich discography but also from that of his great performers! -
Gal Costa, diva de Bahia
Retour de Plage is opening a Brazilian series exploring the beautiful career of the tropicalist diva, Gal Costa. A very great Brazilian singer who has just published an album, Nenhuma Dor, where she revisits her repertoire in the company of the younger generation...
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Donald Byrd, du hard-bop au jazz funk
Legendary jazz trumpeter, Donald Byrd will take us on a journey back from the beach.
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Les sortilèges de Yusef Lateef
Flutist and saxophonist, musician and composer Yusef Lateff is a true legend in the world of jazz. His inimitable style, largely influenced by oriental music, has notably inspired the greatest, such as John Coltrane!
Explore all the episodes for yourself here