Noir Desir Biography

You are in : HOME : N : Noir Desir : Biography

Biography Noir Desir

Noir Desir


Noir Désir is a French rock band from Bordeaux. During the 1990s and early 2000s they were generally regarded as France's biggest rock band. The band currently consists of Bertrand Cantat(vocals, guitar), Serge Teyssot-Gay(guitar), Jean-Paul Roy(bass guitar) and Denis Barthe(drums).

History

Early Years: 1983-1991

The band was formed in Bordeaux as Noirs Desirs in 1983 by singer Bertrand Cantat, drummer Denis Barthe, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay and bassist Frédéric Vidalenc (replaced in 1996 by Jean-Paul Roy). They removed the two s's from their name after being signed to Barclay Records in 1985. In 1987 they released their first album, Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde ?. However their first critical and popular success came two years later, in 1989, with their next album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient). It became recognised as one of the best French rock albums ever made, and produced a very popular hit single: "Aux sombres héros de l'amer", a sea-shanty-like harmonica-driven ballad that uses the metaphor of sailors "lost in the sea" to speak of the 19th century "poètes maudits" and other fellow navigators of existential emptiness. However the group were dismayed that many people had missed this double meaning of the song, and interpreted it as merely a meaningless sea shanty. They were also worried that people would judge them based on this one song, without listening to the rest of the album, which had a much harder, punk rock oriented sound.http://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/musique-article/article/noir-desir-qui-a-fait-sauter-le-pont/. In their next two albums the band would return to the harder sound of Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde ? and develop it even further. This development was largely a reaction to their worries about the success of the single Aux sombres héros de l'amer.

Post Success: 1991-2003

Their third album Du ciment sous les plaines (1991) received lack luster success in comparison to their previous album, but still spawned the popular song En route pour la joie. In May 1991 a concert in Besançon was cut short after four songs when Bertrand Cantat collapsed on stage, resulting in the band taking a break from touring until the release of their next album, Tostaky. Unlike Du ciment sous les plaines, Tostaky was released to much acclaim and popular success. In January 1994 the live album Dies Irae was released, showcasing the frenzy of the band's performances. However the touring took its toll on Cantat, who eventually ended up in hospital for an operation on his vocal cords. After this gruelling tour the band decided to take a year's break, both from playing and from each other. During their break Bertrand Cantat received professional singing training and bass-player Frédéric Vidalenc quit the group to pursue his own projects, he was replaced by longtime friend of the band, Jean-Paul Roy. Serge Teyssot-Gay used his spare time during the break to record a solo album, Silence Radio, which would be finished and released in 1996.

In December, 1996 the success of Tostaky was continued with the release of 666.667 Club, which would be certified double platinum a year after its release. In 1998, after hearing a remix of their song "Septembre, en attendant", they released the album One Trip, One Noise which comprised a collection of their songs remixed by young musicians.

Their most recent album, 2001's Des visages des figures was much quieter than any of their previous albums, but was very well received, selling over 1 million copies. The group received five Victoires de la Musique award nominations, winning Best Rock Album of the Year and Music Video of the Year for "Le Vent nous portera", in collaboration with the French artist Manu Chao. During the awards ceremony the band read out a letter addressed to the CEO of Vivendi, the group which owns Noir Désir's record company, Universal, accusing the company of exploiting their band’s name in order to pass itself off as a multicultural label. The band played few concerts for their Des visages des figures tour, however all were held in very large venues, except those of the Middle East tour, which allowed the band to go back to their routes playing in small clubs. Most of the concerts were held outside of France.

They were invited to perform a one off concert at the “Montpellier Radio-France” festival in 2002. The 55 minute performance comprised Cantat reciting a long-form poem of his entitled "Nous n'avons fait que fuir", over musical improvisations played by the rest of the band.

Incarceration of Bertrand Cantat: 2003-2007

In 2003, following an argument about infidelity, Bertrand Cantat, drunk at the time, hit his girlfriend Marie Trintignant, also drunk, multiple times in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania. After this incident Bertrand Cantat put her to bed and called her brother who was in the area. Seeing his sister in bed, he thought she was asleep and advised Cantat to wait until the morning. The following morning, Marie Trintignant was found in a coma in her bed and died a few days later. A post mortem examination showed that she had suffered multiple head injuries. Cantat admitted to hitting her 4 times, however prosecutors argued that it was in fact 19 times in all. Rock star lover 'lost control' He later alleged she had fallen and hit her head on a radiatorhttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1053405.ece, becoming unconscious from this impact, not his blows directly. On 29 March 2004, a Lithuanian court sentenced Cantat to eight years in prison after he was found guilty of causing the death of Marie Trintignant, but without intending to do so.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1053405.ece. After a year spent in Lukiškės prison of Vilnius, he served further three years of his sentence in a prison near Toulouse, France, and was freed on parole on October 16, 2007. Early release for Bertrand Cantat A condition of his release was that he must receive regular psychological counseling and refrain from public reference to the murder in interviews or in music.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2672512.ece

September 2005 brought two new releases of their work. The album, Noir Désir en public, contains highlights of their last tour. The DVD set, Noir Désir en images, contains various live performances footage and videos. Special permission was obtained for the imprisoned Cantat to participate in the development of those.

A Discrete Return: 2007-present

In November 2008 the band released two free tracks on their website, performed by the whole band (including Bertrand Cantat). The songs are "Gagnants/Perdants" and a cover of "Le temps des cerises". First new tracks from Noir Désir since Cantat murder caseSerge Teyssot-Gay, the guitarist of the band, has stated that the group is currently in the process of composing and recording a new album which he feels should be finished in 2009.

Discography

Studio albums

  • Où veux tu qu'je r'garde? (1987)
  • Veuillez rendre l'âme (1989)
  • Du ciment sous les plaines (1991)
  • Tostaky (1992)
  • 666.667 Club (1996)
  • des Visages des Figures (2001)


Live albums

  • Dies Irae (1994)
  • Nous n'avons fait que fuir (2004)
  • Noir Désir en public (2005)


Compilations

  • One Trip / One Noise (1998) – remixes
  • En route pour la joie (2000) – longbox


Singles

  • "Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde?" (1987)
  • "Toujours être ailleurs" (1987)
  • "Aux sombres héros de l'amer" (1989)
  • "Les Écorchés" (1989)
  • "Tostaky (le continent)" (1992)
  • "Versions" (1992)
  • "Lolita nie en bloc" (1993)
  • "Ici Paris" (1993)
  • "Marlène (live)" (1994)
  • "À ton étoile" (1997)
  • "L'Homme pressé" (1997)
  • "One Trip One Noise" (Treponem pal mix by Rasboras Inc.) (1998)
  • "Fin de siècle (G.L.Y.O.)" (Andrej mix) (1998)
  • "Le vent nous portera" (2001)
  • "Lost" (2002)
  • "Gagnants / Perdants (Bonne nuit les petits)" (2008)
  • "Le Temps des cerises" (2008)


Video albums

  • Noir Désir en images (2005) – DVD version of Noir Désir en public


References



External links



French musical groupsFrench punk rock groupsMusical groups established in 1983

Noir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DesirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir DésirNoir Désir


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noir Desir
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License