In the wake of the political unrest that defined late-'60s Paris, Maxime Le Forestier would, ironically, emerge as France's pre-eminent protest singer following a period spent immersed in the idyll of California. But if his signature 1971 ode to hippie living, “San Francisco”, is inevitably tethered to a specific era, Le Forestier's folk-schooled aesthetic has evolved considerably over the years, as he's applied his personal-is-political perspective to synth-smoothed balladry and tough blues-powered funk alike.