Daphné

The winner of the 2007 Prix Constantin award, Daphné is a French pop singer with an alternative style sometimes likened to Kate Bush, Camille, or Björk. Born in Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme, France, she made her full-length album debut in 2005 with L'Émeraude on the label V2 Music. Interweaving orchestral arrangements with electronic flourishes and trip-hop beats, L'Émeraude was a modest success, spawning the single “L’Insoumise” and reaching number 115 on the French albums chart. The follow-up album, Carmin (2007), was a much greater success for Daphné, especially in terms of critical acclaim. More musically organic than her first album, Carmin spawned a couple singles (“Musicamor,” “La Petit Navire”) and reached number 101 on the French album charts, where it logged 22 weeks over the course of 2007-2008. The commercial success of Carmin was bolstered by its generous critical acclaim, in particular the 2007 Prix Constantin, which is awarded in France to the best album by a new artist. ~ Jason Birchmeier