Noir Désir

Noir Désir is a french rock band. The band was founded in Bordeaux, France, in 1985 by singer Bertrand Cantat, drummer Denis Barthe, guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay and bassist Frédéric Vidalenc (replaced in 1996 by Jean-Paul Roy). Over the years, they became famous in France, releasing albums every few years.

Theo Hakola from Passion Fodder produced their first LP in 1987 Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde ?. This 6 tracks album shows what would be Noir Désir trademark: finely crafted lyrics with powerful rock sound.

Noir Désir's second album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient), released in 1990, introduced punk rock elements to their sound. This continued with their next album, Tostaky, which contained the successful song Tostaky.

Easily the most popular rock group in France, their success continued with the release of the dance-influenced 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. This album also contains a collaboration with a fellow francophone Manu Chao. "Des visages, des figures" was the album of the consecration for the group which won the music award (victoire de la musique) of the best rock album of year 2002 and the award of the best clip for "Le vent nous portera". 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, allegedly on a drug binge, Bertrand Cantat beat his girlfriend, Marie Trintignant to death during an argument in a hotel room in Lithuania. She died a few days later. Marie Trintignant was a popular french actress and was working on a movie. A Lithuanian judge sentenced Cantat to 8 years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter. He was sentenced in Lithuania and was serving in a prison near Toulouse, France.

September 2005 brought two new releases of their work. The album, 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.

Noir Désir's members have not ruled out the possibility of re-forming once Cantat is released from jail. Cantat has been released early due to good behaviour at october 16th 2007. But has immediately retreated to his house near Bordeaux, not leaving any time for interviews about his musical future.

November 2008 sees, unsurprisingly considered the vigor of the band, the release of two free tracks in the urgency of a band statement. Still alive, productive and cathartic, works from Noir Désir impregnate the french scene with intellectual emotional abuse.