Another (troubled) return for Bertrand Cantat

A new musical project - Paz - emerges from Bertrand Cantat.

It comes three years after Amor Fati, his first proper solo album following the termination of Noir Désir in 2010.

Cantat's personal history with regard his public career remains an unresolved and very public moral debate. Found guilty of killing his partner Marie Tritignant in 2003 and sentenced to eight years in jail, he was released in 2007.

His subsequent decision to resume his public musical career led to widespread condemnation and protest, some seeing him as a symbol of societal acceptance of violence against women, others maintaining that despite what he did, he has the same right as any former convict who has served their sentence - even a public figure - to pursue their career without continued punishment.

It's a question that's unlikely to be resolved to the satisfaction of either party. The irony of the situation being that in the debate, Cantat and Noir Désir having previously been politically aware and involved, would probably have sided with those opposing Cantat today.

The work had been intended for a stage show to be performed in a theatre near Bordeaux in March,  which was cancelled following multiple objections. Cantats's not performed live since his 2018 tour which saw tour dates and festival appearances cancelled in light of demonstrations and objections.

This release is quite different from his Amor Fati album or his Détroit collaboration with Pascal Humbert, Paz instead being a work that combines poetic spoken word with musical backing, at times ambient, at other times more rock influenced.

Férey's work, while in the French Policier tradition, reflect on larger political themes such as political repressions, apartheid and colonialism. Paz, released last year, is set in Colombia and tells of family tragedy amidst the backdrop of the Colombian guerilla war against the FARC.

It's a dark work, reflected in the Paz album which sees entirely new pieces of text rather than passages from the book used in the seven tracks

It's available in digital formats at the moment, with a physical release expected later in the year.

Noir Désir - Débranche

A low-key collection of previously-unreleased recordings by legendary French act Noir Désir has emerged, ten years after the band ceased to exist after singer Bertrand Cantat was imprisoned for the killing of his partner.

Cantat was convicted in 2004 of the killing of actress Marie Trintignant in Lithuania, and sentenced to eight years in jail he was released in 2007. The following year Noir Désir made hesitant steps to resume their career, but only two more tracks emerged before it was confirmed that the band would not continue.

Débranché, a double live acoustic album features two separate sessions from 1997 and 2002. Both sets feature the songs in intimate acoustic settings.

The first disc features a session recorded for Italian radio while the band were promoting their Des visages des figures album. It features seven songs,  Si rien ne bouge, Le vent nous portera, L’homme pressé, Des visages des figures, Les écorchés, À l'envers à l'endroit and Song for JLP.

The second disc a shorter 45rpm 12'' features four tracks,  Un jour en France, Fin de siècle, Song for JLP and Back to You, and was recorded for TV show Much Electric in Argentina during the band's  666.667 Club tour.

For a band like Noir Désir, the recordings capture the band at the peak of their craft and their popularity, and even now ten years after they split they remain hugely influential and popular.

But there's been little by way of archive raiding by the record company, with 2011's Soyons désinvoltes, n'ayons l'air de rie compilation of hits and rarities marking their last release until now.

Obviously, there are complex and unaddressed issues regarding whether it's right or not to release material that benefit's Cantat, who now performs as a solo artist, but who remains at the centre of the debate on whether rehabilitation is possible for such a high-profile artist.

The new album's had a discrete release, no supporting interviews or videos and it's only available on vinyl and streaming. There aren't even any pictures of the band on the packaging.

It looks like the record company are taking sensible steps to steer a difficult course between the demand for material from a much-loved and fondly-remembered act, and the very hard reality of what Canat did.

Is it right to enjoy archive Noir Désir in 2020 in light of their subsequent history? That's not a question that's easy to answer.

Noir Désir box set

A new box set by legendary French band Noir Désir is being planned, and fans are being asked to help shape the content of the collection.

Noir Désir absolutely dominated the French music scene from the mid 80s until the early 2000s, their work meeting with bith critical and popular acclaim, proving beyond any doubt that France was capable of producing a rock act that was both world class and unquestionably French at the same time.

Of course, the issue of singer Bertrand Cantat hangs heavily over the band's legacy. 

 His killing of his partner Marie Trintignant in 2003 was a horrific incident, he was sentenced to eight years in jail for manslaughter and served a year in prison in Lithuania where the crime took place, before being transferred to France and subsequently released on parole.

Cantat was jailed from 2003 - 2007, the band made a hesitant return in 2008 with two new tracks and talk of a new album. But it would come to nothing, and they finally called it a day in 2010.

Cantat now performs with Détroit and Noir Désir songs are part of their live show. Noirdez may be no more, and despite the elephant in the room there is still a nostalgia for what they achieved, and they did achieve far more than most.

It will be fascinating to see how the box set shapes up, and how it is received.