Brigitte Fontaine

Brigitte Fontaine born 24 June 1939 is a singer of avantgarde music She has employed numerous unusual musical styles melding rock and roll folk jazz electronica spoken word poetry and world She has collaborated with Stereolab Michel Colombier JeanClaude Vannier Areski Belkacem Gotan Project Sonic Youth Antoine Duhamel Grace Jones Noir Désir Archie Shepp Arno and The Art Ensemble of Chicago She is also a novelist playwright poet and actress The daughter of two teachers Brigitte Fontaine developed her taste for writing and drama very early She spent her childhood in small villages of Finistère then in Morlaix At 17 years old she moved to Paris to become an actress In 1971 she was one of the women who signed the Manifesto of the 343 publicly admitting to having an abortion at a time when it was illegal in France In 1963 she turned to singing and appeared in several Parisian theatres interpreting her own works In 1964 she opened for Barbara and George Brassenss show at the Bobino Even so she did not give up theatre With Jacques Higelin and actor Rufus she created the play Maman jai peur Mom I am afraid which played first at the VieilleGrille theatre and then at the Théâtre des ChampsÉlysées 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 jazz and one avantpop as well as two 45s with Jacques Higelin In 1969 she began what would be a long collaboration with Kabyle musician Areski Belkacem 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 VieuxColombier before being turned into an album of the same name Recorded with the Art Ensemble of Chicago this album marks a clean break with traditional French songs building the first bridges to world music Brigitte Fontaine became a major figure in the French underground In a halfdozen albums the majority of which were released through the independent label Saravah Fontaine explored different poetic worlds She renounced the use of rhyme and using talkover 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 Lété lété alienation Comme à la radio madness Ragilia love Je taimerai social injustice Cest normal the inequality of the sexes Patriarcat and racism Y a du lard However she also knew how to make light of herself LAuberge Révolution Source Article Brigitte Fontaine from Wikipedia in English licensed under CCBYSA 30