ARTE Concert

Friday is fun because it’s about music, with links and playlists galore. Today, the French/German channel ARTE.TV and its concert streams…

Have you heard of ARTE.TV and ARTE Concert? You have now! It’s a French/German collaboration — a European arts channel that is now available via YouTube, Facebook, etc — or you can of course go directly to the source and cast from your phone, tablet, or laptop to the big screen in your home.

I don’t know much about ARTE — but I know that I like it!

It arrived in my face, as a relentless concert-seeker on YouTube. As I’ve said, many times before, YouTube is my favourite TV network, and the best radio station in the world. I listen to and watch YouTube more than any other service. I’ve been paying for Premium for at least a decade. Money well spent. No ads. Saved folders and playlists. It is the wallpaper when I’m listening to other music sources, and it’s how I consume most of my news, documentaries, podcasts, and a lot of old (weird) films as well.

Anyway, ARTE.

I have become obsessed with Fever Ray lately. I guess, I have been a fan since the first Fever Ray album, about 15 years ago now. And I don’t think this is how ARTE came into my life, but I do know that the Fever Ray concert is amazing.

I’ve watched this show a bunch! (It won’t let me embed that one, but click that link to check out Fever Ray).

As recently as a few days ago, a brand new Sebastien Tellier performance dropped. Again, I’m a huge fan — been listening to him for the best part of two decades, and there’s a new album. So here’s your introduction to him if you didn’t know about him already, or it’s your intro to his new material at any rate:

The “Passengers” Series on the ARTE channel features unique performances in unconventional locations — the Fever Ray show is at Les Hauts Fourneaux d’Uckange. Other concerts including museum and church performances. There’s even electronica in a rose garden.

You can catch Festival Highlights — Damon Albarn, Iggy Pop, for instance. There’s a brand new one (again, very recent) of Sting with longtime guitarist Dominic Miller recorded in Amsterdam. There’s a lot of banter, song explanations, re-written/re-arranged versions, and depending on your tolerance for Sting it’ll either be the best or worst thing you’ve ever seen. (I felt like it was both, and sometimes simultaneously). It’s certainly got some pomposity about it.

I am blown away by both the range of styles and artists, and the consistent quality.

It’s got to the point where I’ll watch almost anything with the ARTE name attached.

Film composers like John Williams and Alexandre Desplat, jazz legend Michel Legrand, and seemingly everyone’s Replacement Leonard Cohen — Nick Cave. Geez I did my best to Bah-Humbug about Cave’s recent visit, without attending of course. But the reports just kept coming back about how great it was. I’m half-joking by the way. I know Cave’s great in concert, I’ve seen him a few times. I was really happy for anyone catching him for the first time. I understood the appeal of going again for many. It just wasn’t for me. I don’t care for the new material, and I find the fans are a little too CELEBRATORY — he’s kinda Musical MooreWilsons at this point. Anyway, I say all that, and of course I snuck a watch of the same tour on ARTE (Again, this one won’t embed).

And, basically, fuck me it was good!

Here’s Moby giving Play a 25th birthday a couple years back. Playing all sorts of stuff besides. This was one of the first ARTE shows I saw, and it got me hooked on Moby again. For a bit.

Here’s genius pianist/composer Nils Frahm — another of the early ones for me. And another artist I’ve been obsessed with for some time.

More recently, Marcus Miller will be a nice salve if you missed him here last year, or maybe it’s time to revisit…

You can use it as part of your ongoing “Gig Research” too. Baxter Dury is here in NZ soon, but why not see how he went on the ARTE channel just last year — probably some clues as to how he’ll sound and look on stage here:

Beth Gibbons from around the release of her first solo record in ages was another treat:

And, well, of course it’s all about what you’re into. But there’s a veritable grab-bag. A treasure-trove.

There are “boiler-room” styled DJ sets too — some two and three hour workouts that you could have on in the background at work on one of your screens if that was your particular cup of tea:

I didn’t know French79 until I saw this set on YouTube.

This Jamie xx is a blast of course — (no embed once again), and here’s what I mean by some long-play techno/DJ music:

There’s also a world of classical music. Some amazing shows and works. I’m so deep into classical music right now, and YouTube has been a huge friend there. And the ARTE channel in particular.

Some great soundtrack stuff too — I mentioned John Williams and Alexandre Desplat, but how about this Tribute to Barry Lyndon:

Sublime.

And if, like me, you sometimes like to work with piano-based ambient/classical crossover stuff in the background, then ARTE’s Piano Day series is perfect:

That clip above is all of the Piano Day shows from last year in one 3-hour supercut. It’s wonderful. They are all available separately.

For instance, earlier this week I gushed about Hania Rani’s music — in the context of her soundtrack for the film Sentimental Value, which I reviewed —

well, Hania’s Piano Day concert is an absolute must! And one of my most-watched. And you know how it works with these things (Algorithms and wotnot), next thing I’m getting recommended all sorts of similar/likeminded artists and sounds. Wonderful. All of it. Or almost all of it. Certainly none of it is bad. It’s all just variations on good-to-great, with some extraordinary moments.

And there’s more than one Hania show (see here).

But I knew nothing about this artist (below) before watching this because it was in my queue. And I felt changed after! This is just mind-blowingly good. Let me know what you think!

I could drop in dozens more. But that’s a starter for you for your weekend. Plenty there to get on with. And from clicking on any of those links you’ll of course get all sorts of other options, reckons, and recommends as a result. Which is the YouTube way.

Any of you already ARTE fans? Or is this brand new to you? See and hear anything you like so far? And maybe you have a particular favourite from the channel? It’s seriously enough to live on, musically. At least for a while…

While writing this and searching up the clips, I listened to and watched this:

And it was amazing. You’ll see a recent Tribute to David Bowie on there if you search. And an even more recent (three days ago) Tribute to Joni Mitchell.

Aren’t we blessed by so much wonderful music. Imagine the National Party investing in a free channel like this rather than boasting everywhere about bringing back Linkin Park, and that chimp, Robbie Williams.

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Right, you’ve probably “Seen” enough with all that lot, it’s time for something to (just) listen to. So I got you. It’s the Friday playlist. Which is chill vibes. Definitely. Definitely. Go into your weekend with this one and you won’t be mad.

Happy weekend. Thanks for reading. And for listening. See anything there above you like, or have already heard and seen? And don’t forget to share any ARTE favourites of your own below.

Also — bonus Fever Ray content, since they’re just so fucking great!