Brigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. Morlaix (Montroulez is a commune in Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, spoken word poetry and world rhythms. Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Spoken word is a form of literary Art or artistic performance in which Lyrics, Poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians She has collaborated with such celebrated musicians as Stereolab, Michel Colombier, Jean-Claude Vannier, Areski Belkacem, Gotan Project, Sonic Youth, Antoine Duhamel, Archie Shepp and The Art Ensemble of Chicago. Stereolab are an Alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England Michel Colombier ( May 23, 1939 &mdash November 14, 2004) was a French Composer, Songwriter, Arranger Jean-Claude Vannier (b 1943, Bécon-les-Bruyères, Courbevoie, France) was a Composer and Arranger. Areski Belkacem (born January 23, 1940 in Versailles, France) is a Composer, a multi-instrumental musician actor and singer Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris, consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal ( French) Eduardo Makaroff ( Argentine) and Christoph H Sonic Youth is an American Alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981 Antoine Duhamel, born July 30, 1925, is a French composer orchestra conductor and music teacher Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is a prominent American Jazz Saxophonist. The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an Avant-garde Jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago 's AACM in the late 1960s She is also a writer, comedienne, playwright, and poet. A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose"
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Artistic Overview
The daughter of two teachers, Brigitte Fontaine developed her taste for writing and comedy very early. She spent her childhood in small villages of Finistère, then in Morlaix. Finistère (Penn-ar-Bed is a département of France, located in Brittany ( Breizh in Breton and Bretagne Morlaix (Montroulez is a commune in Finistère department in Bretagne in northwestern France. At 17 years old, she moved to Paris in order to become an actress. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city
1963-1968
In 1963, she turned to singing and appeared in several Parisian theatres, interpreting her own works. In 1964, she opened for Barbara and George Brassens’s show at the Bobino. Georges Brassens (ʒɔʁʒ bʁaˈsɛ̃s in French (22 October 1921 - 29 October 1981 was a French Singer-songwriter. Bobino at 20 rue de la gaité in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France is a legendary Music hall theatre that has seen most of the biggest Even so, she did not give up comedy. With Jacques Higelin and actor Rufus, she created the play Maman j'ai peur ("Mom I am afraid"), which played first at the Vieille-Grille theatre, and then at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin (born 18 October 1940 in Brou-sur-Chantereine, Seine-et-Marne, France) is a French pop Rufus is the Stage name of French actor Jacques Narcy, b December 19, 1942 in Riom, Puy-de-Dôme, France The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a Parisian Theatre, famous for being the place of the scandal related to the first performance of Igor Stravinsky It met with such a critical and popular success that it stayed in Paris for more than two seasons and toured throughout Europe.
In 1965 and then in 1968, she made two albums, one pop and one jazz, as well as two 45s with Jacques Higelin. In 1969, she began what would be a long collaboration with Kabyle musician Areski Belkacem. The Kabyles ( Iqvaylyen or Iqbayliyen in Kabyle, iqβajlijən are a Berber people whose traditional Homeland is highlands of Areski Belkacem (born January 23, 1940 in Versailles, France) is a Composer, a multi-instrumental musician actor and singer With Belkacem and in the company of Higelin, she conceived Niok, an innovative spectacle of theatre and song, for the Lucernaire theatre. Soon after, Fontaine wrote a series of works in free verse and prose which comprised the show Comme à la radio at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier before being turned into an album. The Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier is a theatre located at 21 rue du Vieux-Colombier in the 6th arrondissement in Paris. Recorded with The Art Ensemble of Chicago, this album marks a clean break with traditional French songs, building the first bridges to world music. The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an Avant-garde Jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago 's AACM in the late 1960s The term world music includes Traditional music (sometimes called Folk music or roots music of any culture that are created and played by indigenous musicians
1969-1979
Brigitte Fontaine then became an incontrovertible figure in the French underground. In a half-dozen albums, the majority of which published by the independent label Saravah, Fontaine explored different poetic worlds without worrying about the charts. She renounced the use of rhyme, and using talk-over sometimes, she recorded, with very little means and often on two tracks, songs which addressed topics with humour or gravity, according to the mood, as various as death (Dommage que tu sois mort), life (L’été, l’été), alienation (Comme à la radio), madness (Ragilia), love (Je t’aimerai), or social injustice (C’est normal), the inequality of the sexes (Patriarcat) and racism (Y' a du lard). However, she also knew how to make light of herself (L'Auberge (Révolution)).
Because they sail between pop, folk, electro and world music, the albums L’incendie and Vous et nous by the Areski-Fontaine duo figure among the most unclassifiable records of the French scene. Vous et Nous is a 1977 experimental pop Album by French Musicians Brigitte Fontaine and Almost thirty years later, the international audience of these LPs (sinced re-edited for CD, and now available for download on the Internet) is comparable to that of the cult record Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier, notably due to the enthusiastic remarks made by members of the band Sonic Youth in the Anglo-Saxon press. Histoire de Melody Nelson is a 1971 concept album by controversial French songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Serge Gainsbourg ɡɛ̃'zbuʁ (2 April 1928 &ndash 2 March 1991 was a French Poet, Singer-songwriter, Actor and Jean-Claude Vannier (b 1943, Bécon-les-Bruyères, Courbevoie, France) was a Composer and Arranger. Sonic Youth is an American Alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981
1980-1990
The 1980s were a period of silence, musically speaking, for Brigitte Fontaine and her partner Areski Belkacem. Areski Belkacem (born January 23, 1940 in Versailles, France) is a Composer, a multi-instrumental musician actor and singer Far from the recording studio, she devoted herself to writing and the theatre. Always active, she appeared onstage in Quebec, she performed her play "Acte 2" in a grand tour of the French-speaking world, interpreted "Les Bonnes" by Jean Genet in Paris, and published a novel (Paso doble) as well as a collection of short stories (Nouvelles de l’exil). Jean Genet (ʒɑ̃ ʒəˈnɛ in French ( –) was a prominent controversial French writer and later political activist. In 1984, she recorded a single ("Les Filles d’aujourd’hui").
After having given a series of concerts in Tokyo and other large Japanese cities, she had to wait about five years for a French company to distribute her new album " French corazon " (written and composed in 1984 but released in 1988 to Japan). Having been broadcast notably on French television, the video for the single "Le Nougat", directed by comics artist Olivia Tele Clavel, prepared the public for the big return of the singer to the French stage which commenced with a concert in 1993 at the Bataclan. See Bataclan (disambiguation for other meanings The Bataclan is a "salle de spectacle" in the XIe arrondissement of Paris
1990-2001
In the 1990s, Brigitte Fontaine moved closer to the musical worlds of Björk and Massive Attack by testing new, more electric musical forms and, especially, more electronic forms than before. Björk Guðmundsdóttir (born 21 November 1965 is an Icelandic Singer-songwriter, Composer, actress and music producer. Massive Attack are an English Trip hop group founded in 1988 by Robert Del Naja, Grantley Marshall, and Andrew Vowles in Bristol Her lyrics mark a return to a more classical, versified form. The release of her album Genre humain, in 1995, met with great success (more so on the part of the critics than the general public) with surprising titles like "Conne" (produced by Étienne Daho, lyric titles like "La Femme à barbe" (produced by Les Valentins), and poetic ones like "Il se mêle à tout ça" (produced by Yann Cortella and Areski Belkcem). Étienne Daho (born January 14, 1956 in Oran) is a French Singer, Songwriter and Record producer who has released
In 1997, while she published a new novel (La Limonade bleue), she recorded Les Palaces and its landmark track "Ah que la vie est belle!". The album, very well-received by the press, is enriched by the collaboration of Areski Belkacem, Jacques Higelin and Alain Bashung. Alain Bashung (born Alain Baschung on 1 December 1947 in Paris is a French Singer, Songwriter, Comedian and Actor.
2001-Present
Her albums Kékéland (2001) and Rue Saint-Louis en l'île (2004) benefited from prestigious collaborations with artists such as Noir désir, Sonic Youth, Archie Shepp, - M-, Gotan Project, Zebda, etc. Sonic Youth is an American Alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981 Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is a prominent American Jazz Saxophonist. -M- redirects here For the British musician see Robin Scott. Mathieu Chedid (also known as -M-) (born 21 December 1971 in Gotan Project is a musical group based in Paris, consisting of musicians Philippe Cohen Solal ( French) Eduardo Makaroff ( Argentine) and Christoph H Zebda is a French music group from Toulouse. The group consists of seven musicians who met for the first time in 1985. In 2005, after having given a series of concerts with her usual band (but also with La Campagnie des musiques à ouïr), she published a new novel, La Bête curieuse, whose erotic ambiance somewhat foretold the tonality of her sixth album, Libido (2006). This new album renewed her concerts with a lively energy and gave them a very "baroque 'n' roll" ambiance, in which Teresa of Avila, Sufis, Hollywood films, and Melody Nelson are invoked. For other saints with similar names please see Saint Teresa. Saint Teresa of Ávila, known in religion as Saint Teresa of Jesus and Sufism ( تصوّف - taṣawwuf, Persian: صوفیگری sufigari, Turkish: tasavvuf, Urdu: تصوف Melody Nelson is the fictional subject of a concept album Histoire de Melody Nelson, by French musician Serge Gainsbourg.
In October of 2006, Fontaine appeared at the Barbican Centre in London along with Jarvis Cocker, Badly Drawn Boy and other English artists, for the first public interpretation of the mythic "Histoire de Melody Nelson". Barbican Centre is the largest Performing arts centre in Europe Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963 is an English musician best known for fronting the band Pulp. Damon Gough (nicknamed Badly Drawn Boy) was born 2 October 1969, in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. In January 2007, she appeared onstage with graphic novelist Blutch at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. Angoulême International Comics Festival ( French: Festival International de la Bande Dessinée d'Angoulême) is the main comics festival in Europe On March 29, 2007, she invested in the Olympia music hall, supported by her friends Jacno, Arthur H, Christophe, Anaïs, Jacques Higelin, Maya Barsony and Jean-Claude Vannier. Paris Olympia is a Music hall at 28 Blvd des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement Paris, France. Arthur Higelin (born Paris, France 27 March 1966 better known under his stage name Arthur H, is a Pianist, Songwriter and Singer Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin (born 18 October 1940 in Brou-sur-Chantereine, Seine-et-Marne, France) is a French pop Jean-Claude Vannier (b 1943, Bécon-les-Bruyères, Courbevoie, France) was a Composer and Arranger. In April, she played at the Printemps de Bourges music festival and participated in her Quebecois admirer Pierre Lapointe's concert for a duo of "La symphonie pastorale". The Printemps de Bourges is a Music festival, started in 1977 by Jean Christophe Dechico (director of the Maison de la Culture at the time Alain Meilland A Québécois or Quebecois (pronounced) or in the feminine Québécoise (pronounced) (plural Québécoises) is a native or resident of the Pierre Lapointe (born May 23, 1981 in Alma Quebec) is a Canadian Singer. After having given a series of intimate concerts all through September on a barge anchored under the Pont des Arts on the Seine river in Paris, Fontaine toured throughout France. The Pont des Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian Bridge in Paris which crosses the Seine River The Seine (sɛn in French) is a slow flowing major River and commercial waterway within the regions of Île-de-France and Haute-Normandie Between two concerts, she went into the studio with Olivia Ruiz to record a new single, "Partir ou rester", for which she wrote the lyrics. Olivia Ruiz (born Olivia Blanc 1 January, 1980) is a female French singer In February 2008, she published a new novel, Travellings, published by Flammarion, while Benoît Mouchart devoted a monograph to her ("Brigitte Fontaine, intérieur/extérieur"), published by Panama. Born on July 20, 1976, Benoit Mouchart is an author curator and since 2003 artistic director of the cultural programming of Angouleme International Comics
Albums
- 12 chansons d'avant le déluge (with Jacques Higelin and Jimmy Walter), Productions Jacques Canetti, 1965
- 15 chansons d'avant le déluge (with Jacques Higelin and Michel Colombier), Productions Jacques Canetti, 1966
- Brigitte Fontaine est folle (with Jean-Claude Vannier), Saravah, 1968
- Comme à la radio (with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Areski Belkacem), Saravah, 1969
- Brigitte Fontaine (with Areski Belkacem, Julie Dassin and Jacques Higelin), Saravah, 1972
- Je ne connais pas cet homme (with Areski Belkacem and Antoine Duhamel), Saravah, 1973
- L'Incendie (with Areski Belkacem), Byg Records, 1974
- Le Bonheur (with Areski Belkacem), Saravah, 1975
- Vous et Nous (with Areski Belkacem, Jean-Philippe Rykiel and Antoine Duhamel), Saravah, 1977
- Les églantines sont peut-être formidables (with Areski Belkacem), , RCA-Saravah, 1979
- French corazon (with Areski Belkacem and Jean-Philippe Rykiel), Midi/EMI, 1990
- Genre humain (with Areski Belkacem, Étienne Daho and Les Valentins), Virgin, 1995
- Les palaces (with Areski Belkacem and Alain Bashung), Virgin, 1997
- Morceaux de choix, compilation, Virgin, 1999
- Kékéland (with Areski Belkacem, Jean-Claude Vannier, Sonic Youth, -M-, Noir Désir, Ginger Ale, Lou and Placido, Jean Efflam Bavouzet, Jean-Philippe Rykiel, Georges Moustaki, Les Valentins and Archie Shepp), Virgin, 2001
- Rue Saint Louis en l'île (with Areski Belkacem, -M-, Didier Malherbe, Jean Efflam Bavouzet, Zebda, Daniel Mille and Gotan Project), Virgin, 2004
- Libido (with Jean-Claude Vannier, -M-, Jean Efflam Bavouzet and Areski Belkacem), Polydor, 2006
External links
- Biography of artist
- Brigitte Fontaine Website
- French Audio book (mp3): incipit of Paso doble, written by Brigitte Fontaine in 1985
Source
- Benoît Mouchart, Brigitte Fontaine, intérieur/extérieur, éditions Panama-Archimbaud, 2008 ISBN 2-755-70067-X
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