Biography
Singer, songwriter, and French pop enthusiast April March possesses a biography filled with improbable chapters, among them her work as an animator on Pee-Wee's Playhouse and Ren & Stimpy, sessions alongside Brian Wilson, live and studio support for Ronnie Spector, and globe-spanning recordings with an eclectic roster of producers and musicians that ranges from Jonathan Richman to Tony Allen. Her career began in the early 1990s when she revived the classic French yé-yé style, scoring an immediate breakthrough with the track “Chick Habit,” later featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, and issuing her first full-length album, the 1999 release Chrominance Decoder. From there she explored garage punk alongside the Makers, jangly indie rock with Los Cincos, orchestral pop on 2002’s Triggers under Bertrand Burgalat’s guidance, and surf-psych on 2008’s Magic Monsters with Steve Hanft. Across every setting, March’s instinctive elegance and beguiling delivery remained a constant, whether immersed in swirling psychedelia on 2013’s April March & Aquaserge, Afro-pop on 2021’s In Cinerama, or assorted retro soundtrack idioms on 2023’s April March Meets Staplin.
Born Elinor Blake on April 20, 1965, March first encountered French language and culture in nursery school through a puppet instructor named Monsieur Hibou. Her affinity deepened during a 1978 junior-high exchange that briefly placed her in France. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover in 1983, she returned to New York City and began working as a comic artist for Archie Comics. In 1984 she advanced to the animation team for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and contributed to Madonna’s “Who’s That Girl” video.
Early in 1985, Blake assembled her initial group, the Pussywillows, a garage-rock-meets-girl-group trio that also featured vocalists Lisa Dembling and Lisa Jenio. The project paused while she spent a year in Disney’s character animation program; upon completion, the band issued the 1988 EP Spring Fever!. Its period authenticity and girl-group spirit led to an invitation to provide backing vocals for Ronnie Spector at Madison Square Garden late in 1989, and the trio also recorded an EP with Marshall Crenshaw that remained unreleased for several years. Following the Pussywillows’ 1990 dissolution, Blake joined the Shitbirds, a band steeped in 1970s punk. She was subsequently hired as an animator and writer for The Ren & Stimpy Show, prompting a relocation to Los Angeles. Once settled, she adopted the April March moniker and released the 1992 Kokopop single “Voo Doo Doll”/“Kooky.” During her Ren & Stimpy tenure she met power-pop figure Andy Paley, who arrived for a soundtrack meeting; the two connected immediately, and she soon contributed vocals to his demos and productions. Through Paley she met Beach Boy Brian Wilson and participated in recording sessions with him. She also began working with Jonathan Richman, an admirer of French music, who played guitar on material Paley, Blake, and the Shitbirds cut for the French label Eurovision. Those recordings surfaced as the 1994 Gainsbourgsion! EP and the 1995 Chick Habit EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry, both underscoring her deep engagement with French pop refracted through a girl-group prism. She continued with the Shitbirds until their 1995 debut album Famous Recording Artists, after which the group disbanded; material from the earlier Paley/Richman/Shitbirds dates was later compiled on the 1996 collection Paris in April.
French producer Bertrand Burgalat, impressed by Blake’s April March output, invited her to record together. The resulting sessions, held in Paris and London and featuring guitarist Louis Phillipe plus backing vocals from Thee Headcoatees, yielded Superbanyair, issued first in Japan and France. During breaks in that schedule, March joined SFTRI labelmates the Makers for the raw garage-rock set April March Sings Along with the Makers and cut a noisy cover of ESG’s “Moody” plus the punk-blues track “Microscope Feeling” with the Bassholes for a 1996 SFTRI single. The Burgalat collaboration emerged as a seamless fusion of March’s passion and his refined arrangements, evoking an undiscovered late-’60s French pop artifact.
She next joined California indie-rock outfit Los Cincos for two 1998 albums: April March and Los Cincos, issued by SFTRI and marked by a smoky nocturnal atmosphere, and April March and Los Cincos featuring the Choir, released on Japan’s Horen label and distinguished by a looser, ’60s-oriented approach that incorporated vintage keyboards and psychedelic harmonies from Bennett, Maya Rudolph, Petra Haden, and Tanya Haden. A 1999 reissue of Superbanyair added previously unheard tracks, changed the title to Chrominance Decoder, and moved the project to Ideal Records, an imprint connected to the Dust Brothers’ Nickel Bag Records; the Brothers themselves supplied remixes of “Sugar” and “Nothing New.” March also contributed to the Dust Brothers–produced X-Files soundtrack, wrote and sang a track for Orgazmo, and supplied “Piscine Couverte” for Election after director Alexander Payne could not license Brigitte Bardot’s “La Madrague.”
For her next album March reunited with Burgalat and an ensemble of French players to pursue a less nostalgic sound incorporating drum machines, strings, and horns. Three widely spaced sessions produced the 2002 album Triggers, released by Tricatel in France and PIAS internationally. March and a live band then embarked on a six-week European tour. Following a period of relative quiet, she resurfaced in 2007 when “Chick Habit”—her 15-year-old reinterpretation of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Laisse Tomber les Filles”—appeared in Tarantino’s Death Proof. The 2008 collaboration Magic Monsters with video director Steve Hanft merged surf- and skate-derived psychedelia, relaxed disco, and requisite French pop; Tom Chasteen produced, with contributions from Elliott Smith, DJ Swamp, Tanya Haden, and the Radar Bros.
After appearing in two films by French experimental filmmaker Marie Losier—Slap the Gondola! (2009) and Cet Air La (2010)—March guested on Laetitia Sadier’s solo debut The Trip and on Fugu’s first French-language album Fugue. Keyboardist Julien Gasc of Aquaserge participated in the latter project; he and March had previously met when he played in her Paris backing band. They decided to collaborate, exchanging material between Aquaserge’s rural French barn and March’s New Jersey apartment. The resulting April March & Aquaserge, mixed by John McEntire and released in 2013 by Freaksville, stands as the most dreamily psychedelic entry in her discography. She subsequently wrote songs and sang backing vocals with Burgalat, taking the lead on “Step on the Gas” for the Dynamite! soundtrack to Bertrand Tavernier’s Quai D’Orsay. A 2014 single with Schoos, “J’ai Essayé de T’Aimer,” followed; she also began songwriting with Mehdi Zannad (Fugu) and provided illustrations for Jack White’s 2017 book We’re Going to Be Friends, which included a single of her cover of the White Stripes song that inspired the title. Further appearances include the 2019 album Rouen Dreams by Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe & Friends and the 2021 Palladium EP with Olivia Jean, on which the two vocalists reinterpret the same songs in English and French across three stylistic variants.
Concurrently, March worked on an album with producer Mehdi Zannad, assembling an extensive cast that reunited earlier associates Andy Paley, Petra and Rachel Haden, Danny Frankel, and Bennett Rogers while adding drummer Tony Allen, vocalist Lola Kirke, and Marilyn Rovell Wilson of Spring. The 2021 release In Cinerama revisits girl-group and French-pop textures from later in the 1960s while incorporating confessional soft rock, lilting Afro-pop, string- and horn-laden orchestral pop, and abundant vocal harmonies, resulting in her most stylistically varied statement to date. A 2022 reissue added bonus tracks; by then March had already begun her next project with the French duo Staplin, whose 2020 album Neon Shades had featured her vocals. Joined by Bad Seeds drummer Toby Dammit, the trio crafted a densely layered sound that is simultaneously cinematic and wistfully melancholic, alternating between French- and English-language songs. April March Meets Staplin appeared on Velvetica in May 2023.
Born Elinor Blake on April 20, 1965, March first encountered French language and culture in nursery school through a puppet instructor named Monsieur Hibou. Her affinity deepened during a 1978 junior-high exchange that briefly placed her in France. After graduating from Phillips Academy Andover in 1983, she returned to New York City and began working as a comic artist for Archie Comics. In 1984 she advanced to the animation team for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and contributed to Madonna’s “Who’s That Girl” video.
Early in 1985, Blake assembled her initial group, the Pussywillows, a garage-rock-meets-girl-group trio that also featured vocalists Lisa Dembling and Lisa Jenio. The project paused while she spent a year in Disney’s character animation program; upon completion, the band issued the 1988 EP Spring Fever!. Its period authenticity and girl-group spirit led to an invitation to provide backing vocals for Ronnie Spector at Madison Square Garden late in 1989, and the trio also recorded an EP with Marshall Crenshaw that remained unreleased for several years. Following the Pussywillows’ 1990 dissolution, Blake joined the Shitbirds, a band steeped in 1970s punk. She was subsequently hired as an animator and writer for The Ren & Stimpy Show, prompting a relocation to Los Angeles. Once settled, she adopted the April March moniker and released the 1992 Kokopop single “Voo Doo Doll”/“Kooky.” During her Ren & Stimpy tenure she met power-pop figure Andy Paley, who arrived for a soundtrack meeting; the two connected immediately, and she soon contributed vocals to his demos and productions. Through Paley she met Beach Boy Brian Wilson and participated in recording sessions with him. She also began working with Jonathan Richman, an admirer of French music, who played guitar on material Paley, Blake, and the Shitbirds cut for the French label Eurovision. Those recordings surfaced as the 1994 Gainsbourgsion! EP and the 1995 Chick Habit EP on Sympathy for the Record Industry, both underscoring her deep engagement with French pop refracted through a girl-group prism. She continued with the Shitbirds until their 1995 debut album Famous Recording Artists, after which the group disbanded; material from the earlier Paley/Richman/Shitbirds dates was later compiled on the 1996 collection Paris in April.
French producer Bertrand Burgalat, impressed by Blake’s April March output, invited her to record together. The resulting sessions, held in Paris and London and featuring guitarist Louis Phillipe plus backing vocals from Thee Headcoatees, yielded Superbanyair, issued first in Japan and France. During breaks in that schedule, March joined SFTRI labelmates the Makers for the raw garage-rock set April March Sings Along with the Makers and cut a noisy cover of ESG’s “Moody” plus the punk-blues track “Microscope Feeling” with the Bassholes for a 1996 SFTRI single. The Burgalat collaboration emerged as a seamless fusion of March’s passion and his refined arrangements, evoking an undiscovered late-’60s French pop artifact.
She next joined California indie-rock outfit Los Cincos for two 1998 albums: April March and Los Cincos, issued by SFTRI and marked by a smoky nocturnal atmosphere, and April March and Los Cincos featuring the Choir, released on Japan’s Horen label and distinguished by a looser, ’60s-oriented approach that incorporated vintage keyboards and psychedelic harmonies from Bennett, Maya Rudolph, Petra Haden, and Tanya Haden. A 1999 reissue of Superbanyair added previously unheard tracks, changed the title to Chrominance Decoder, and moved the project to Ideal Records, an imprint connected to the Dust Brothers’ Nickel Bag Records; the Brothers themselves supplied remixes of “Sugar” and “Nothing New.” March also contributed to the Dust Brothers–produced X-Files soundtrack, wrote and sang a track for Orgazmo, and supplied “Piscine Couverte” for Election after director Alexander Payne could not license Brigitte Bardot’s “La Madrague.”
For her next album March reunited with Burgalat and an ensemble of French players to pursue a less nostalgic sound incorporating drum machines, strings, and horns. Three widely spaced sessions produced the 2002 album Triggers, released by Tricatel in France and PIAS internationally. March and a live band then embarked on a six-week European tour. Following a period of relative quiet, she resurfaced in 2007 when “Chick Habit”—her 15-year-old reinterpretation of Serge Gainsbourg’s “Laisse Tomber les Filles”—appeared in Tarantino’s Death Proof. The 2008 collaboration Magic Monsters with video director Steve Hanft merged surf- and skate-derived psychedelia, relaxed disco, and requisite French pop; Tom Chasteen produced, with contributions from Elliott Smith, DJ Swamp, Tanya Haden, and the Radar Bros.
After appearing in two films by French experimental filmmaker Marie Losier—Slap the Gondola! (2009) and Cet Air La (2010)—March guested on Laetitia Sadier’s solo debut The Trip and on Fugu’s first French-language album Fugue. Keyboardist Julien Gasc of Aquaserge participated in the latter project; he and March had previously met when he played in her Paris backing band. They decided to collaborate, exchanging material between Aquaserge’s rural French barn and March’s New Jersey apartment. The resulting April March & Aquaserge, mixed by John McEntire and released in 2013 by Freaksville, stands as the most dreamily psychedelic entry in her discography. She subsequently wrote songs and sang backing vocals with Burgalat, taking the lead on “Step on the Gas” for the Dynamite! soundtrack to Bertrand Tavernier’s Quai D’Orsay. A 2014 single with Schoos, “J’ai Essayé de T’Aimer,” followed; she also began songwriting with Mehdi Zannad (Fugu) and provided illustrations for Jack White’s 2017 book We’re Going to Be Friends, which included a single of her cover of the White Stripes song that inspired the title. Further appearances include the 2019 album Rouen Dreams by Jean-Emmanuel Deluxe & Friends and the 2021 Palladium EP with Olivia Jean, on which the two vocalists reinterpret the same songs in English and French across three stylistic variants.
Concurrently, March worked on an album with producer Mehdi Zannad, assembling an extensive cast that reunited earlier associates Andy Paley, Petra and Rachel Haden, Danny Frankel, and Bennett Rogers while adding drummer Tony Allen, vocalist Lola Kirke, and Marilyn Rovell Wilson of Spring. The 2021 release In Cinerama revisits girl-group and French-pop textures from later in the 1960s while incorporating confessional soft rock, lilting Afro-pop, string- and horn-laden orchestral pop, and abundant vocal harmonies, resulting in her most stylistically varied statement to date. A 2022 reissue added bonus tracks; by then March had already begun her next project with the French duo Staplin, whose 2020 album Neon Shades had featured her vocals. Joined by Bad Seeds drummer Toby Dammit, the trio crafted a densely layered sound that is simultaneously cinematic and wistfully melancholic, alternating between French- and English-language songs. April March Meets Staplin appeared on Velvetica in May 2023.
Albums
April March Meets Staplin
2023
In Cinerama
2021
Magic Monsters
2008
April March & Los Cincos
1998
April March Sings Along With The Makers
1996
Paris In April
1996
Chick Habit
1995
Gainsbourgsion
1994
Singles
