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**Zaz - Zaz ★★★★☆**

In an age when French chanson seemed destined for the dusty shelves of history, along came Isabelle Geffroy – better known as Zaz – with a voice that could resurrect Édith Piaf herself and make her weep with joy. Her 2010 self-titled debut arrived like a Gallic thunderbolt, proving that traditional French music could still pack a punch in the digital age, provided it was delivered with enough passion to melt the Eiffel Tower.

The story begins in the jazz clubs and street corners of Montmartre, where Geffroy honed her craft busking for coins and performing in smoky venues that reeked of Gauloises and unrequited love. After years of grinding it out in bands and backing vocal gigs, she adopted the moniker Zaz (childhood nickname courtesy of Zazou, the character from Disney's Aristocats) and began crafting a sound that would bridge the gap between café culture and contemporary sensibilities. Her breakthrough came when she caught the attention of Kerredine Soltani, whose production nous would help transform street-corner serenades into radio-ready gems.

Musically, *Zaz* is a delightful mongrel that refuses to be house-trained by genre conventions. At its core lies classic French chanson, complete with accordion flourishes and that distinctly Gallic melancholy that makes you want to smoke cigarettes you don't even want. But Geffroy and her collaborators aren't content to simply genuflect at the altar of Piaf and Jacques Brel. Instead, they inject healthy doses of jazz, blues, and even hints of world music, creating something that feels both timelessly French and refreshingly contemporary.

The album's masterstroke is undoubtedly "Je Veux," a swaggering anthem that became France's unofficial theme tune for anyone fed up with modern materialism. With its infectious accordion riff and Zaz's gloriously raspy vocals declaring her desire for "love, joy, and good humour," it's impossible not to be swept up in its joie de vivre. The song became a European phenomenon, proving that in an era of manufactured pop, authentic passion still had the power to move mountains – or at least shift serious units.

"La Fée" showcases another facet of Zaz's artistry, with its delicate waltz rhythm providing the perfect vehicle for her more tender vocal stylings. Here, she channels the vulnerability of classic chanson while maintaining her distinctive edge, creating something that feels like discovering a lost Amélie soundtrack gem. Meanwhile, "Port Coton" demonstrates her range with a more contemporary arrangement that wouldn't sound out of place in a trendy Parisian bistro frequented by philosophy students and heartbroken poets.

The album's emotional centrepiece is arguably "Ni Oui Ni Non," where Zaz's voice cracks with the weight of romantic uncertainty over a sparse, jazz-inflected arrangement. It's a masterclass in restraint, proving that sometimes the most powerful moments come from what isn't sung rather than what is. Throughout the record, her voice – simultaneously fragile and powerful, like fine crystal that could shatter glass – remains the constant that binds these diverse musical explorations together.

What makes *Zaz* particularly compelling is its refusal to pander to either traditionalists or modernists. This isn't museum-piece chanson, carefully preserved under glass, nor is it French music with its soul surgically removed for international consumption. Instead, it's a living, breathing document that honours the past while confidently striding into the future, accordion in one hand and smartphone in the other.

More than a decade on, *Zaz* stands as a watershed moment in French popular music. It spawned a minor revival of chanson-influenced artists and proved that there was still a substantial international audience hungry for music with genuine emotional heft. The album went multi-platinum across Europe and established Zaz as France's most successful musical export since Air decided to soundtrack everyone's dinner parties.

While subsequent releases have shown artistic growth and experimentation, none have quite captured the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of this debut. *Zaz* remains a perfect entry point for anyone curious about contemporary French music, and a reminder that sometimes the most radical thing you can do is simply sing from the heart. In a world increasingly dominated by algorithms and focus groups, that feels more revolutionary than ever.