Danielle French – July/August 2003
by Rod Christie
Who: Danielle French
What: Eclectic Pop
Where: Okotoks, AB
To Contact: Scarlet Raven Productions, (403) 607-8553, .
Cruising through the ether with fellow artists like Jane Siberry, singer Danielle French is possessed of a diverse and slightly surreal talent. Piece is her second album (her debut, me, myself & I, was released in 1995), written and recorded over the course of four years and finally released in 2003. Produced by French with help from Chris Brett, the album has a wide-open sound, with loose arrangements and soaring vocals, drawing a line amongst all the obvious influences but creating a wholly original work.
Written between 1993 and 1998 by French, with the exception of a song from Howard Redekopp and a cover of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill”, Piece features contributions from Burton Cummings (guest vocals on the moody To The Death), ex-Rheostatic Don Kerr on drums and Paul McLeod (the Skydiggers) on vocals. French has played an opening slot at Lillith Fair, appeared on television show Rita And Friends, won awards for her songwriting and even written, directed and danced in her own short film, Avalon. She has also recorded and toured as part of Grrrls with Guitars, and informal group that performs in a “songwriter-in-the-round” format and has released a compilation CD.
French often shows up for tours in her customized Dodge minivan, which she has converted into a camper. At last year’s Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert, NV, she pulled up, dropped green Astroturf, a mailbox and a white picket fence and puttered around in a housecoat all day, much to the delight of the assembled revelers of the ephemeral city. With her sense of humour, French is truly a strange and unique talent.