Amélie-Les-Crayons

Amélie-les-Crayons, an award-winning French singer, songwriter, and pianist, first drew widespread attention through her whimsical stage productions, where the lyrically fantastic characters and stories from her songs materialize via scenery, costumes, and live acting. She adopted the latter portion of her stage name from French actor and singer André Bourvil before launching her performing career in Lyon, France, near the start of the 2000s. Her first recording appeared in 2002 as the self-produced six-track EP Le Chant des Coquelicots, assembled from both home sessions and live captures. Two years afterward she issued her debut full-length album, Et Pourquoi les Crayons? (2004), through the independent imprint Neômme. To promote the record she assembled a quartet featuring herself on vocals and piano alongside Michel Caroline on accordion, Laurent Fellot on contrabass, and Heiko Wilhem on piano, clarinet, and tuba. Their two-hour theatrical presentation, complete with scenery, characters, costumes, and lighting, drew strong audiences, extending the itinerary from September 2004 through August 2006 and encompassing nearly two hundred dates across France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada. Festival appearances during this period included Printemps de Bourges and Alors Chante in Montauban, while a 2005 concert was documented for the DVD Le Tour de la Question, issued in 2006. Following a hiatus from touring, Amélie devoted eight months to writing, composing, and tracking her sophomore album, La Porte Plume (2007), enlisting twelve additional musicians. Like its predecessor, the release brimmed with lyrically fantastic characters and stories, ultimately earning the Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros for Best Chanson Album of 2007. Issued once more via Neômme, it became her strongest commercial showing to that point, reaching number 53 on the French albums chart.