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Baker's Dozen

From Raw To Clean: Helena Hauff's Favourite Records
Kate Hutchinson , August 1st, 2018 09:37

Ahead of her appearance at this month's Berlin Atonal festival, Helena Hauff guides Kate Hutchinson through 13 favourite records, from Iggy to Serge and Loop to a host of true bangerz

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Serge Gainsbourg ‎– Histoire De Melody Nelson
I'm really into French stuff, like chanson. I'm a huge fan of Léo Ferré and and Jacques Brel – he's Belgian but it's a similar thing – and if you like French stuff, you probably stumble across Serge Gainsbourg quite quickly. I don't know why I find this album so wonderful. I don't think anything sounds like it. It's so well made and every instrument sounds absolutely fantastic, the orchestra sounds fantastic. I think it's probably one of the best recorded albums ever. It's particularly intense album, the combination of quiet and loudness. His voice is so unique and it just always brings me to tears listening to it. I feel like when you hear Serge Gainsbourg's voice, when you hear Iggy Pop's voice – it's got that 'soulful' quality to it that I really appreciate. I hate that word 'soulful'. Another difficult word: 'honest'. And what's the other word? 'Real'. I find those terms quite difficult. [Histoire] just doesn't sound over-policed.