Nouvelle Vague (band)

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Nouvelle Vague
At an appearance in 2007
At an appearance in 2007
General information
Genre (s) New wave , bossa nova
founding 2003
Website www.nouvellevaguemusic.com
Founding members
Marc Collin
producer
 Olivier Libaux
Various artists
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Nouvelle vague
  FR 69 05/30/2004 (39 weeks)
Gang à part
  DE 15th 06/23/2006 (7 weeks)
  CH 26th 06/25/2006 (6 weeks)
  FR 23 06/17/2006 (28 weeks)
  UK 79 07/15/2006 (2 weeks)
3
  DE 38 07/17/2009 (3 weeks)
  CH 48 06/28/2009 (2 weeks)
  FR 57 06/20/2009 (13 weeks)
Couleurs sur Paris
  CH 73 11/21/2010 (2 weeks)
  FR 52 11/13/2010 (9 weeks)

Nouvelle Vague , founded in 2003, is a French band that covers almost exclusively classics from the eighties and re- records them in bossa nova , easy listening , pop or even singer-songwriter styles. The core of the band project are the two producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux . There are also different singers - including Camille , Marina Celeste , Silja , Mélanie Pain , Daniella D'Ambrosio , Gérald Toto and Phoebe Killdeer .

Band history

When it was founded in 2003, Nouvelle Vague was not conceived as a band with a permanent cast, but as a project. Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, two producers and DJs from the French electropop and club scene , had the idea of re-recording well-known pieces from the punk and new wave era - but not in the original sound, but in bossa nova and electropop -Sound of the new millennium. In order to ensure a real reinterpretation, the concept envisaged recording the songs with young, musically unused female singers. Another condition: the performers themselves should either not be familiar with the piece at all or only little known. The name of the band also referred to the envisaged concept. On the one hand, the term nouvelle vague generally stands for a new fashion or style. As a French translation of New Wave on the one hand, Bossa Nova on the other, the band name also cited the most important musical references of the band.

Nouvelle Vague , the band's first CD, was released in 2004. With the Joy Division hit Love Will Tear Us Apart , Just Can't Get Enough ( Depeche Mode ), Guns of Brixton ( The Clash ), Too Drunk to Fuck by the Dead Kennedys , Teenage Kicks from the Undertones and eight other cover versions, the band covered a wide spectrum. The band's mix of styles met with varying levels of feedback in the music press. Nonetheless, the debut easily reached the top 100 of the French charts; According to an article on arte.tv, 200,000 copies were sold. Bande à Part achieved even greater commercial success , the second release from 2006. On the one hand, Bande à Part offered the lounge and bossa nova sound familiar from its predecessor. Songs like Bela Lugosi's Dead by Bauhaus and the Neue Deutsche Welle recording Eisbär by Grauzone set new accents that were previously unfamiliar to the band. With top 50 placements in France, Switzerland and Germany , Bande à Part was probably even more successful than the previous album.

The third album, 3 from 2009, also caused varying reviews from critics and buyers . Unlike the two predecessors, 3 offered a broader stylistic spectrum. The slow, singer / songwriter-style version of the sex pistols classic God Save the Queen was particularly controversial . While some critics also found the trendy, ska- enriched version of Ca Plane Pour Moi inappropriate, others were more positive. Another modification of the original concept was the fact that some of the new versions were recorded as a duet with the original interpreters - including Master And Servant ( Depeche Mode ) and All My Colors ( Ian McCulloch ).

In addition to the regular albums listed, the band released a best-of compilation in 2010. There is also a concept album on which the Nouvelle Vague musicians present their musical references ( Late Night Tales: Nouvelle Vague ) as well as contributions to various compilations . In addition to their publications, Nouvelle Vague completed regular tours with changing accompanying musicians and singers. From September 2009 to February 2010 the band completed an extensive tour. The opening concert took place in Birmingham , the closing concert in Washington, DC . Tour singers were Héléna Noguerra and Karina Zeviani . In spring and summer 2010, the band made guest appearances in Brazil , Australia , France, Turkey , Russia , Belgium and Germany, among others - here at the Juicy Beats Festival in Dortmund on July 31, 2010.

Musicians and side projects

The two founders of the band, Olivier Libaux and Marc Collin, were big names in the French pop and electronic music scene even before Nouvelle Vague. Olivier Libaux, a member of the band Les Objets in the early nineties , had worked with, among others, Alex Gopher , the Portuguese singer and TV actress Héléna Noguerra and Barbara Carlotti . Noguerra and Carlotti also took on vocal parts on Libaux 'solo album Imbécile (2007). In addition, Libaux regularly composed pieces for French TV during his musical career. Marc Collin had a comparable music career behind him. Playing in different bands in the nineties, he turned more and more to electronic music at the beginning of the new millennium. He was involved in the house project Kwaidan and the electronic retail label Volga Select.

Some of the singers of the individual recording sessions and singer Gérald Toto, who performed three pieces on the album Bande à Part , also brought in previous musical experience . A first CD by Toto was released in 1997 ( The First Days ). Singer Camille, who had released an album and a single with a video clip in 2002, also had recording and concert experience (album: Le sac des filles ; single: Paris ). The same applies to Nadeah Miranda , front woman and founding member of the British alternative rock band LoveGods . The singers Mélanie Pain, Maria Celeste, Daniella D'Ambrosio and Phoebe Killdeer, on the other hand, were relatively unknown at the time the band was founded. Pain, who, in relative terms, gave voice to most of the Nouvelle Vague interpretations, had previously studied political science in Aix-en-Provence . Her musical role models included the Pixies , Sonic Youth , PJ Harvey and Nick Drake . Daniella D'Ambrosio was involved in several vinyl and demo productions before Nouvelle Vague.

In total, the singing contributions of the individual singers to the joint project Nouvelle Vague also differ. Mélanie Pain took the top spot with a total of eight titles ( Master and Servants, All My Colors, God Save the Queen, Killing Moon, Ever fallen in love, Blue Monday, This is not a Love song and Teenage Kicks ). Nadeah Miranda sang on three tracks on the third album ( Road to Nowhere, Parade and So Lonely ). Phoebe Killdeer gave the vocal part on four tracks on the second album ( Dancing with Myself, Human Fly, Bela Lugosi's Dead and Escape Myself ). Marina Celeste can be heard on Our Lips are sealed ( 3 ), O Pamela, Eisbär, Fade to Gray and Waves ( Bande à Part ) and A Forest ( Nouvelle Vague ). Gérald Toto sang the Bande à Part pieces Don't Go , Heart of Glass and Israel And Moody . Brazilian singer Eloisia took on four other vocal parts ( Blister in The Sun, Metal, Love Will Tear Us Appart and Just Can't Get Enought ), and three US singer Silja ( The American, Let Me Go and I Melt With You ). Two more are by the Parisian singer Sophie Delila ( Say Hello, Wave Goodbye and Such A Shame ), one by Karina Zeviani ( Heaven on 3 ), four by Camille ( In A Manner of Speaking, Guns of Brixton, Too Drunk to Fuck and Making Plans for Nigel ), one by Sir Alice ( Psyche ), one by Daniela D'Ambrosio ( Friday Night, Saturday Morning ) and one by Alex, another hitherto unknown singer ( Marian ).

The majority of the listed participants worked beyond Nouvelle Vague on their independent solo career. In 2007, project co-founder Olivier Libaux released the CD Imbécile, which is heavily influenced by chanson and Sinti jazz . Some of the singers increasingly oriented themselves towards the new French chanson scene . Camille worked with various musicians, including Jean-Louis Murat . In 2005 she released the album Le fil , which was awarded gold in France , and in 2008 the CD Music Hole . Mélanie Pain expanded her musical spectrum in the direction of Country and Americana and went on several solo tours, including with Marianne Dissard . In 2009 her album My Name and the two singles Ignore Moi and Helsinki were released , the latter a solemn ballad sung in a duet with the pop and rock singer Julien Doré . Marina Celeste released the bossa-nova-heavy album Acidule in 2007 , and The Angel Pop in 2009, which was more towards pop . Gèrald Toto released the album Kitchenette in 2006 . The release of Spring Fruits is more recent .

In 2009 Marc Collin released an album entitled Hollywood, mon amour . The concept is very similar to that of Nouvelle Vague. This time, Collin edited theme songs from well-known Hollywood films and beyond. Among them are classics like Eye of the Tiger , Flashdance , When Doves Cry , Footloose , This Is Not America , A View to a Kill , For Your Eyes Only and Reality . As guest vocalists are u. a. Nadeah Miranda , Skye Edwards from Morcheeba , Juliette Lewis , Bianca Calandra, Cibelle and Yael Naim .

Style and reviews

The cover band concept is not new in pop history. Unlike the German country cover band The BossHoss , which was equally well received by the audience and critics, or the Hermes House Band , Nouvelle Vague caused mixed reactions in some cases. A number of critics attributed the band to primarily commercial motives. Others, on the other hand, attested that the band was making music accessible again that younger listeners did not know at all, or at best from hearsay. Pop appeal with a distinct note was stated in 2009 on the occasion of a concert report by the Berliner Tagesspiegel . The band is nothing for New Wave purists. However, "Especially with lesser-known songs such as the reduced on drums and vocals Sex Beat of Gun Club or the ravishing Not knowing the Israeli post-punk band Minimal Compact does the Nouvelle Vague mesh side as a cultural transfer performance, the great music from oblivion snatches. And when you hear with dismay how a few girls next to you wonder whether the biggest talking heads hit Road to Nowhere might be a piece from the film Bandits , you don't want to judge the intergenerational tutoring too critically. "

An artistically independent, interesting preparation of the song material was also seen on the TV broadcaster ARTE . A CD review on the station's website in 2006 concluded: “The musicians are working on their own projects as soloists or in other bands. So different influences come into the melting pot Nouvelle Vague and that did the band good. Nouvelle Vague has gradually become something of a collective, with many singers, each with their own ideas and ideas. The personal passion for the songs is what makes the voices so strong. Fade to Gray , originally by Visage , in this version one of the highlights on the new album. They are not cover versions from the technology box, but they are intelligent and sensual. ”The music website Monsters And Critics, on the other hand, attributed the band to primarily commercial motives. Under the headline “Nouvelle Vague - Cocktail-sipping Ex-Punks”, author Eric Leimann suspected: “In times of dwindling sales of sound carriers, Nouvelle Vague are also successful because their music frequently appears in films, TV series or commercials. Also in the potent American cinema and TV market. Nouvelle Vague covers whispered through films like Mr. & Mrs. Smith or Planet Terror , through TV series like Nip / Tuck or Grey's Anatomy . 'Perhaps because there are many music fans from my generation at the control points of the film industry', Marc Collin, who is in his forties, thinks he knows. "

Nouvelle Vague titles in advertising, film and TV

A number of the band's tracks have been used as soundtrack titles or in advertising. Examples:

Discography

Albums

  • 2004: Nouvelle Vague ( Peacefrog Records , UK:silversilver)
  • 2006: Bande à part (Peacefrog Records)
  • 2009: 3 (Peacefrog Records)
  • 2010: The Best Of (Peacefrog Records)
  • 2010: Couleurs sur Paris (New Sound Dimensions)
  • 2011: The Singers (New Sound Dimensions)
  • 2016: I Could Be Happy (Kwaidan Records)
  • 2019: Rarities (Kwaidan Records)
  • 2019: Curiosities (Kwaidan Records)

Compilations

Singles

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  1. ↑ Chart sources: DE CH FR UK
  2. ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK
  3. ↑ Review of “Band à part”. ( Memento of the original from July 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. arte.tv, June 14, 2006 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.arte.tv
  4. ↑ Singers listing on the band's website ( memento of the original from August 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nouvellesvagues.com
  5. ↑ Der Tagesspiegel, July 5, 2009: Nouvelle Vague: Karaoke with bloodsuckers. Concert review.
  6. ↑ Review of Band à Part on arte.tv on June 14, 2006 ( Memento of the original from July 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.arte.tv
  7. ↑ m & c, July 17th, 2009: Nouvelle Vague - Ex-Punks sipping cocktails  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.monstersandcritics.de  
  8. ↑ For the spelling see cover illustration, e.g. B. under Amazon.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.amazon.de  
  9. ↑ Lalala, by Nouvelle Vague feat. Julie Delpy. Retrieved August 2, 2019 .

Web links

Commons : Nouvelle Vague  - collection of images, videos and audio files