Noir Désir

Noir Désir is a French rock band from Bordeaux. They were active during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and have had two albums certified double platinum in France and three certified gold. They have been an influence on numerous French musicians including Cali, Louise Attaque and Miossec.

Early albums: 1985–1991

Now with a new and finally steady lineup the band decided to make an attempt at getting a recording contract. They created a demo which was heard by Théo Hakola of the American band Passion Fodder. Hakola urged the French label Barclay Records to sign the band up, and the artistic director agreed to see the band in concert first. At first the label wished the band to produce a single, however after two months of negotiations it was agreed that a mini-album would be made instead. The label did not expect much success from the group though, with the director of the label commenting "If we sell 1,500 copies of your disk, that will already be a success" (Si on vend 1 500 exemplaires de votre disque, ce sera déjà très bien).

Their first critical and popular success came two years later, in 1989, with their next album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient). The album won Noir Désir the Bus d'Acier for 1989, an award given by the press to the best French rock group of the year. It was certified gold, selling over 150,000 copies, and became recognised as one of the best French rock albums ever made. It also produced the hit single: "Aux sombres héros de l'amer", a sea-shanty-like harmonica-driven ballad that uses the concept of sailors lost at sea as a metaphor for life. However the group were dismayed that many people had missed this double meaning of the song, interpreting it as a meaningless sea shanty. They were also disappointed that many people judged them based on the one song, without listening to the rest of the album. 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. 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 receiving a remix of their song "Septembre, en attendant" in the mail, they decided to produce the album One Trip, One Noise which comprised a collection of their songs remixed by young musicians.

Des visages des figures: 2001–2003

Their most recent studio 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 for 2001, winning both Best Rock Album of the Year and Music Video of the Year for "Le vent nous portera" in collaboration with the French/Spanish artist Manu Chao. During the awards ceremony Cantat read out a speech on behalf of the band, addressed to Jean-Marie Messier, the CEO of Vivendi, the group which owns Noir Désir's record company, Universal. Messier was a controversial figure in France at the time, due to the perception that he was abandoning his French roots in favour of Americanization. In their speech, Noir Désir accused Vivendi of exploiting their band’s name in order to rebut criticism of Messier's treatment of French culture. The band played few concerts for their Des visages des figures tour, however all were held in large stadium like venues, except those of the Middle East tour, which allowed the band to go back to their roots playing in small clubs.

Incarceration of Bertrand Cantat: 2003–2007

In 2003, following an argument about infidelity, Bertrand Cantat, drunk at the time, beat his girlfriend Marie Trintignant, also drunk, multiple times in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania. 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. He later alleged she had fallen and hit her head on a radiator, 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 manslaughter.

A discreet return: 2007–present

Cantat was freed on parole on October 16, 2007. A condition of his release was that he must receive regular psychological counseling and refrain from public reference to his crime in interviews or in music.

In November 2008 the band released two free tracks on their website, performed by the whole band. The songs are "Gagnants/Perdants" and a cover of "Le temps des cerises". The group is in the process of composing and recording a new album, which Teyssot-Gey had predicted would be completed in 2009. However according to a May 14, 2009 article in Le Parisien the album will not be ready until January 2010.

Discography

Où veux tu qu'je r'garde? (1987)

Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient) (1989)

Du ciment sous les plaines (1991)

Tostaky (1992)

666.667 Club (1996)

des Visages des Figures (2001)

References

External links

Official site

Fan site

Other fan site

Category:French musical groups Category:French punk rock groups Category:Musical groups established in 1983 Category:French rock Category:French rock music groups Category:French alternative rock groups