Noir Désir

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Noir Désir
Noir Désir, on the 1989 album "Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient)" cover.
Noir Désir, on the 1989 album "Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient)" cover.
Background information
Origin Flag of France Bordeaux, France
Genre(s) Punk Rock
Grunge
Alternative Rock
Years active 1983 — present
Label(s) Barclay
Website noirdez.com
Members
Bertrand Cantat
Serge Teyssot-Gay
Jean-Paul Roy
Denis Barthe
Former members
Frédéric Vidalenc

Noir Désir is a French rock band, currently on hiatus.

[edit] History

The band was formed in Bordeaux in 1985 by singer Bertrand Cantat, drummer Denis Barthe, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay and bassist Frédéric Vidalenc (replaced in 1996 by Jean-Paul Roy). Their first album "Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient)" (1989) was recognised as one of the best French rock albums ever made, and it produced a hit single: "Aux sombres héros de l'amer", a sea-shantyesque 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. Noir Désir became one of the most prominent rock bands in France, releasing albums every few years.

Noir Désir's second album, "Du ciment sous les plaines" (1991), introduced punk rock elements to their sound. This continued with their next album, "Tostaky" (1992), which contained the hit song of the same name.

Their success continued with the release of "666.667 Club", and the remix album "One Trip One Noise". Their last album, 2001's "des Visages des Figures", was a slower, more ambitious affair. des Visages des Figures was the album of the consecration for the group which won the Victoires de la Musique awards as Best Rock Album of Year 2002 and Music Video of the Year for "Le Vent nous portera", in collaboration with the french artist Manu Chao. Even if their last album seemed to be the slowest one, the following gigs were huge rock shows where thousands of fans came to see the group.

In 2003, following an argument related to infidelity, Bertrand Cantat punched his girlfriend Marie Trintignant in a hotel room in Vilnius, Lithuania. The force of the punch knocked her unconscious, and she died a few days later in hospital due to brain swelling. A Lithuanian judge sentenced Cantat to 8 years in prison after he was found guilty of manslaughter. He served four years of his sentence in a prison near Toulouse, France, and was freed on parole on October 16 2007 [1].

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.

On the 8th of May 2008, Serge Teyssot-Gay, the guitarist of the band, told a swiss paper that the group was planning to produce a new album in the following winter. It is not clear however whether or not this project would include Cantat[2].

[edit] Discography

[edit] References

[edit] External links