Chanson Du Jour: Vas-tu Freiner?

Chanson Du Jour 11/9/2016: “Vas-tu Freiner” by Nevche

“Vas-tu freiner?” by Nevche, is a haunting French chanson that serves as effective antidote to post-Arcade Fire noise (Monsters and Men, Lumineers, The Lone Bellow …Bellowing Monsters, The Lone Lumineer, etc.)

Is there a barefoot accordionist prancing about Nevche as he sings? No – but there is a very cool sounding Senegalese fiddle called a riti.

The track is from 2015 Retroviseur album which was recorded in Dakar, Marseille, Paris and Réunion Island.  Nevche (formerly known as Frédéric Nevchehirlian) makes music that is moody and magical – a sound that would fit in a Sergio Leone’ spaghetti western where the barefoot accordion player gets killed by a stray bullet fired by hombre Lee Van Cleef. (The shooting was unintentional, as the bullet was meant for the banjo player. Not the main banjo player, the additional one who doubles on timpani.)

Is This Man the Dr. Frankenstein of Beer? 

In a Belgium lab, one scientist is tweaking a more efficient, super-powered yeast — but brewers are turning their backs

Through the winding hallways of the centuries-old University of Leuven in Flanders, Belgium, past the sterile black counters in biological laboratories, buried in the depths of freezers, and suspended in cryogenic slumber, there sleeps a creature feared by the masses.

It’s small — microscopic, in fact — but it packs a punch. The creature is barred from entering certain laboratories in the United States to safeguard against contamination. It’s feared by the general public as an abomination of nature, an organism whose critics say it was created by the hands of man playing god. The creature is the target of lobbyists and NGOs that would like nothing more than for it to be destroyed. But, is this creature — actually a manmade strain of yeast, a single-celled organism humans have been cultivating for at least 7,000 years — just misunderstood?

Read the Full Story at: Is This Man the Dr. Frankenstein of Beer? – Eater

US election seen from France: America’s ‘angry white men’ – 

With Election Day tomorrow, we take a look at the French view of the US vote. France’s right-wing newspaper L’Opinion wonders how the USA – a country built on immigration – fell victim to “xenophobia and protectionism” while the left-wing Libération is alarmed at how Donald Trump has tapped into the USA’s “angry white men”. Join FRANCE 24 as we go through the day’s papers.

Source: US election seen from France: America’s ‘angry white men’ – France 24

10 of the best foodie retreats in rural France

These charming B&Bs, guesthouses and gîtes offer comfortable pitstops on a French adventure, but with their mouth-watering regional food and wine they may prove hard to leave

Le Mas des Grès, Provence

Ideally placed for a visit to the antiques markets of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and the “perched villages” of the Luberon, Nina and Thierry Crovara’s Provencal mas is the epitome of rural Provence. The couple met at hotel school in Switzerland and Thierry later trained under Anton Mosimann at the Dorchester in London. The meals Thierry cooks depend on what catches his eye at the market each day. Often appearing in pink braces over a pink shirt, he chats to guests before disappearing into the kitchen to prepare dishes such as red snapper and basil, Mediterranean meatballs, fried courgette flowers, rabbit with garlic and thyme or sea bass with ratatouille. Their cat, Rokey, spends most of the day sunning himself on the terrace, where two huge trees acts as giant parasols for outdoor meals. The mas is in the heart of peach, melon and honey country, so buffet breakfasts are delicious and there is always a fridge full of drinks beside the pool. The couple also run cooking courses in March and October.

• Doubles from €120, +33 4 90 20 32 85, masdesgres.com

READ ALL 10 at SOURCE: 10 of the best foodie retreats in rural France | Travel | The Guardian