Oui oui! They are French, love cheese and wine (particularly wine from the Minervois area in Languedoc, South of France) and are based in Sheffield, UK.

From torch songs to comedy via techno, trash pastiche and all points in between, Marion Benoist and Fred de Fred have created something strange and rather wonderful. Massaging your ears with their cheeky bossa-nova grooves and sultry Gainsbourg-and-Bardot-esque vocals are French duo The Lovers.

Their music has attracted a rapidly growing audience, reaching from the duo’s adopted home of Sheffield to all over the UK, France, The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore.Their recordings have graced TV adverts and art installations and are even being used as a grammatical teaching tool by Linguascope, and the French Board of Education.

Cheeky and lustful tete a tete, amusing, romantic and at times achingly sexual. If ever there was music that was created to inspire a feeling of romance, paired with a sparkle of lust, then this is surely it. Fred and Marion have had some stunning experiences so far, some strange, all of them intriguing - from smuggling to bunny girls, Roisin Murphy (Moloko) to Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), who wrote 3 songs on their first album.

If debut album The Lovers got the press hot under the collar - NME described it as “A record so seedy it would make Serge Gainsbourg blush”, just put it down to British reserve. As playful as a swingers party at Salvador Dali’s house, it was also, as Mojo pointed out, packed with “peculiar pop songs with an electronic twist.”

Anyway, to Pardon My French. Here, The Lovers are back where they love to be - back in the speakers, recounting their sensual adventures. The tunes are bigger, the lyrics even more cheeky (‘John (With The Magic Corkscrew)’), their wine-fuelled bid for entente-cordiale more forcused. When they’re cheeky (Friends”, “Chickaboom” ) they’re irresistible.

When they’re steamy, (“Reverie De Lolita”, “Striptease For Beginners”) you’ll be wondering why all pop isn’t this smart and sassy. Don’t believe us ? Pour yourself a glass and move purposefully towards the cd player. Don’t be nervous - Fred and Marion are expecting you.

Love & Wine !

The Lovers 2nd album “Pardon My French” produced in Austin Texas by Grammy Award Gabe Rhodes (Beth Nielsen Chapman, Willie Nelson, Kimmie Rhodes, Billy Joe Shaver etc…)

 

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