In this second instalment of our new series Music Cycles Around The World, themed around “cities and music” and inspired by the idea of travelling the world through music on two wheels, we turn our attention to France — in celebration of the 2025 Tour de France, which kicks off on 5 July from the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Though it’s been nearly 20 years since my last visit, I travelled to France many times throughout the 1990s and 2000s. My first trip to Paris was 33 years ago, when I spent every waking hour scouring the city for records — especially French cinema soundtracks. That trip played a key role in inspiring me to open my own shop, Café Après-midi. Later, in early summer 1999, I ret […]