PARIS, FRANCE
We’re En Attendant Ana, a Parisian pop band. We released two albums so far and are about to put out a third one, on Trouble in Mind, a label based in Chicago. Here are our best addresses in Paris (and around) to go out and see some gigs, buy an album or… record one! We decided to mention mostly places run by people we love and admire, and, according to us, that are essential for the independent music scene in the Parisian region.
VENUES
La Pointe Lafayette This is probably the smallest venue in Paris! Nick Wheeldon (an amazing musician who comes from Sheffield) is in charge of musical programming here. This is a great place to come and discover bands out of pure curiosity or meet friends. - Le Café de Paris As La Point Lafayette, Le Café de Paris is originally a bar with a beautiful cabaret-like room. It is run by a bunch of collectives and associations that host various gigs, from experimental music to pop, folk, and post-punk…
La Boule Noire It’s a very old club based in Montmartre and attached to La Cigale, another mythical venue. A friend of ours is the promoter there and he’s been doing an amazing job for a few years now. We were lucky to be able to play at La Boule Noire in 2020, just before lockdown and since then, we saw great shows with international bands (Black Midi, Kiwi Jr, Pearl and the Oysters) or French ones that we love (Biche, Belvoir…).
Petit Bain It’s a long love story between Petit Bain and En Attendant Ana. They have been supporting us for years. We had the chance to play and work there multiple times. We’ll celebrate the release of our next album at Petit bain next March. We cannot wait!
FESTIVALS
There are so many festivals in Paris and around, all year long: music, dance, theatre, cinema… We decided to focus on MOFO, which takes place during winter and La Ferme Electrique, which usually occurs in July, on an old farm, one hour away from Paris. Both of them defend strong musical ideas without being stuck to specific aesthetics. Lineups are always thrilling, teams are great and the audience is the best!
RECORDING STUDIO
We won’t be a hundred per cent objective on that point but STUDIO CLAUDIO is the place we recorded both "Juillet" and "Principia" and it happens to be Vincent and Margaux’s working place… Anyway, this is a great studio to compose, arrange and record an album. It is based in the middle of the forest, less than one hour away from Paris, disconnected from the rest. Alexis, Paul and Vincent (in-house engineers but also musicians) really know how to be of service to the bands they work with, being attentive, giving great advice and understanding their hopes, expectations and anxieties. The recording of Juillet is one of our best recording experiences and it probably marked a turning point for En Attendant Ana!
RECORD STORE
There are some great shops in Paris but let’s mention Pop Culture Shop, based in Bastille, which sells a terrific selection of pop (in the largest sense possible) records, vintage comics etc. AROUND PARIS We spent a lot of time in Paris of course but we share a special bond with a nearby town: Montreuil (that you can see in the video of Principia, which we shot in Montreuil last summer). There are multiple places to go out and lots of alternative and militant places.
To finish, here are some links to listen to bands we mentioned above:
NICK WHEELDON: https://nickwheeldon.bandcamp.com/album/gift-lp
PEARL AND THE OYSTERS: https://pearlandtheoysters.bandcamp.com/track/sonhando-com-nosso-amor
BICHE: https://bichemusic.bandcamp.com/album/la-nuit-des-pers-ides
BELVOIR; https://belvoir-cool.bandcamp.com/album/nouvel-anormal
En Attendant Ana’s new album, Principia, is out 24th February on Trouble in Mind Records.
