Ears Wide Open: Claude Fontaine
Zane Roessell on
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L.A.’s Innovative Leisure again lives up to its name with the recent signing of Claude Fontaine. Though the ink is hardly dry, Fontaine’s addition stands to be another blue-chip artist in their already eclectic roster (BADBADNOTGOOD, Rhye, Allah-Las, Nosaj Thing, Nick Waterhouse, etc.). Her debut single, “Cry for Another,” is out today, but to get the full story we’ll have to look back to when the L.A. native was nursing a broken heart in London. There, Fontaine found herself stumbling through the fog and smack dab into the legendary purveyor of far-flung wax, Honest John’s. While sifting through the stacks, Fontaine came across classic reggae records from Studio One, Trojan and Treasure Isle and was immediately smitten. To recap: American girl with French name falls in love with Jamaican music in London, England — you still with us? Good.
“Cry For Another” is a heartfelt nod to those very same records Fontaine fell in love with on Portobello Road. Reggae in 2019 could never sounds this fresh, right? Check the liner notes on “Cry For Another” and it’ll all make sense. The top-shelf talent includes guitarist Tony Chin (Althea and Donna, King Tubby), drummer Rock Deadrick (Ziggy Marley), bassist Ronnie McQueen (Steel Pulse) and piano/organ player Jaime Hinckson (Hollie Cook, Daniel ‘Bambaata’ Marley). Heavy hitters aside, it’s Fontaine’s transposition of lilting and breathy vocals that channel the élan of Jane Birkin at her best that seal the deal. In this mode, Fontaine manages to keep the listener riding an intoxicating razor’s edge between seduction and heartbreak, start to finish. “Cry For Another” is a bullet right to the heart of the most die-hard reggae lovers and a testament to Fontaine’s talents.
A full-length is on the way later this year.
||| Watch: The video for “Cry for Another”
||| Live: Claude Fontaine will play Zebulon on April 25. Info.
[…] debuting early this year with the lilting “Cry for Another,” L.A. songstress Claude Fontaine has been infiltrating playlists far and wide with her dreamy […]
[…] the artistic statement. Two of the singles — “Hot Tears” and album opener/set closer “Cry for Another” — were most memorable. They were performed in the lower light of the second set, backing by a […]