WhatListen is an independent music magazine covering the whole spectrum: the tracks taking over TikTok, the albums that outlive their decade, the French songwriting canon, and the outer edges of the independent scene.
What WhatListen is for
Since 2018, WhatListen has set out to tell music rather than merely announce it. Album releases, singles, tours and comebacks are placed back into a context: a career, a moment, a sonic aesthetic, a personal or collective story.
Whether it is the song of the summer, a Justice record, a conceptual project from Oneohtrix Point Never or a jazz classic on ECM, the aim never changes: hand the listener a way in, spark curiosity, and add a little depth to a news cycle that rarely slows down.
Wide by design, demanding by habit
The range is deliberately broad, from the top of the charts to the far end of the catalogue. The sections reflect it:
- Pop, rock, rap, R&B, French variété — the artists holding the charts, the long-awaited returns, the albums that define a year.
- Jazz, contemporary and classical — landmark labels, essential records, reissues and overlooked gems.
- Electronic, indie, psych, dub — alternative scenes, singular projects, sound that refuses a format.
- Playlists and music for screen — film and series scores, themed selections, listening journeys.
- Portraits and discographies — long-form focus on major figures and on quieter ones who mattered just as much.
The site favours pieces that are built, sourced and actually written, a long way from a rewritten press release. Every review, every close reading of a track, every discographic detour is meant as an invitation to hear the music differently.
What you will find here
- Reviews of new records — from Hyperdrama by Justice to the latest in French rap and pop.
- Close readings of landmark songs — “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, “Teardrop” by Massive Attack, and the tracks that made Talk Talk, Isaac Hayes or Air.
- Returns to legendary albums — Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales, Paul Bley’s Open to Love, or fifty years of ECM told through ten tracks.
- Artist portraits and career turning points — from established names to the faces arriving now.
- Pieces written from the gut — the songs that become obsessive, the albums that sit alongside a period of a life, the discoveries stumbled on in a playlist or at a gig.
Some articles follow the news as it breaks. Others take their time with older work that still resonates.
A point of view, between criticism and storytelling
WhatListen writes from a position. Reviews move to the first person when the subject is a genuine favourite, a memory of a gig, or a song attached to a period of a life. Other pieces take an analytical turn to unpick a record, a sound, a way of writing.
This is neither an exhaustive encyclopedia nor a scoring machine. It is closer to a critical notebook, fed by attentive listening and by a lasting interest in albums, tracks, labels and the shape of a career.
An independent publication
WhatListen is published by Mail-Studio (Simon Janvier) and operates independently. Articles are written without input from a label or a marketing department, including when the release is a heavily promoted one.
The site may be funded in part by advertising, notably through Google AdSense, as stated in the legal notice. Where a partnership or a specific operation applies, it is disclosed plainly.
Who is behind WhatListen
Most articles are signed Simon Janvier. Over the years the site has become a place where several sides of the same interest meet:
- a lasting appetite for the history of albums, labels and scenes;
- a standing curiosity about new releases, whatever the genre;
- the wish to pass on a listening experience — including the more personal obsessions.
Whether the subject is a Bruce Springsteen classic, a Taylor Swift tour, a cult record or an unlikely guitar-and-harp duo, the same rule applies: respect the music, respect the listener, and make someone want to press play.
Who it is written for
WhatListen is for anyone whose relationship with music goes past “like” and “don’t like”. Readers here tend to be:
- listeners who want more than a ranking of hits;
- followers of particular artists looking for analysis and bearings;
- people who care about jazz, electronic music, rock, soul or French songwriting and want the albums actually told;
- anyone hunting for something new to play.
If you recognise yourself in any of that — or if you landed here looking up what a famous lyric actually means — you are in the right place.
A French magazine, read internationally
WhatListen was founded in France and much of the archive is in French. The English edition carries the international coverage and the Music Business guides. Where a piece deals with a French artist, the context that a French reader takes for granted is spelled out — that background is often the most interesting part.
Something to say, or to suggest?
Use the contact page to send a message. Album suggestions, discoveries worth sharing, corrections, clarifications, ideas for longer pieces: reader feedback is always welcome.
Welcome to WhatListen, and happy listening.
