Have you heard of Noir Désir's new album? Their historic record company Universal released it last Friday. She announced it through a press release. Point. It is, however, an event. In two ways. "Débranché" is the first album that the Bordeaux rock group has published since its separation in 2010, after the departure of guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay following "emotional, human and musical disagreements with Bertrand Cantat".
It is also and above all a great document that comes out in double vinyl - the first in 33 rpm, the second in maxi 45 rpm - and on streaming platforms. "Unplugged", as its title suggests, shows the acoustic side of a group that was especially celebrated for its electrical power and highlights its other strengths, the flayed voice of Bertrand Cantat of course, but also the finesse of Serge Teyssot-Gay, the precision of the rhythm section, their melodic richness, the alternation of tension and emotion.
"Débranché" brings together two remastered recordings from the archives of Noir Désir, which are kept by drummer Denis Barthe. The first is new. It was a live performance in Milan in 2002 for Italian radio during the European tour "Des Faces des figures", the last studio album released in 2001, two before the death of Marie Trintignant under the blows of her companion Bertrand Cantat.
The group, then at the peak of its art, revisits there with a bluffing intensity and intensity seven important titles of its course, starting with "Si Rien ne bouge" and "Les Écorchés" in memorable versions, "Le Vent nous porter "," The man in a hurry "," Faces of the figures "," Upside down "and" Song for JLP ".
An album of extreme sobriety
Of lower sound quality, but enriched by the presence of the jazz saxophonist Akosh S, the second recording is known to fans since it already appeared on the DVD "Noir Désir en images" released in 2005. Or four titles interpreted for the broadcast of Argentinian TV Much Electric and recorded in Buenos Aires in 1997 during the "666 667 Club" tour: "A Day in France", "Fin de siècle", "Upside Down" and "Song for JLP" in remarkable versions.
If the content of "Unplugged" is of great strength, the container is extremely sober. The cover produced by the excellent photographer Yann Orhan includes the letters of “Noir Désir” and “Débranché” in white neon on an off-white background. The interior booklet contains no image of the group and the album is released without any promotion. "We obviously publish it with the agreement of the four musicians, but also their wish not to grant any interview", we are told at Panthéon, the Universal label dedicated to highlighting the archives of artists and reissues.
Bertrand Cantat, Denis Barthe and bass player Jean-Paul Roy participated in this album, from the choice of titles to that of the cover, but not Serge Teyssot-Gay. What the guitarist confirmed to us by SMS: “I have been going elsewhere for a very long time. I am not concerned with posthumous record releases. By "gone elsewhere", we must understand that Serge Teyssot-Gay leads a particularly dense and varied solo career. Since his first solo album in 2000, he has released around twenty discs, most of them collective, and has led as many projects on stage, not to mention film music.
"We have chosen not to speak directly"
Denis Barthe also replied by text that he would not speak: "Although we are on the initiative of this vinyl, we chose not to express ourselves live," he writes. After all that we have endured in recent years, we have let our record company know that we will not be speaking. The angle has often been distorted, the day it will no longer be, we will advise. Today we are simply presenting something musical, that is what was and will remain the purpose of Noir Désir. It should never have been otherwise… ”
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After the separation of Noir Désir, the drummer Denis Barthe and the bassist Jean-Paul Roy founded the rock group The Hyènes, who released two albums and participated, among other things, in the music for the film "Enclosed outside" by Albert Dupontel. Bertrand Cantat has released two albums and made two tours, under the name of “Detroit” then under his name. His last tour was heckled and cut short by two dates and the show he was to present with the novelist Caryl Ferey was canceled last November following "multiple pressures".
Under these circumstances, it is understandable that the group, like its record company, advances with counted steps. "After years of discussions, it seemed important to us to release these acoustic recordings," says one at Universal. Noir Désir has kept many archives. One concert out of two has been recorded, many of their performances at festivals have been filmed, there are still unpublished models. But we are all unable to say if things will come out again and when… ”In this, the release of“ Disconnected ”has the value of a test.
EDITOR'S NOTE: 4/5
"Unplugged", Noir Désir, Pantheon / Universal, 11 titles
