Nouvelle Vague (band)

Lore & Background

The group's first album, the self-titled Nouvelle Vague, was released in 2004. Explaining how the project came about, Libaux later said: 'Marc Collin and I were both musicians and producers in the French music industry when, in 2003, Marc called me with this very strange idea of covering Love Will Tear Us Apart in a bossa nova version. I thought this idea was absolutely crazy but very exciting. So we decided to get into the studio and try it out as soon as possible. Then we did Just Can't Get Enough and Guns Of Brixton. We put the album together in just eight months. And after that we called ourselves Nouvelle Vague ... and that's the story!' The songs on the first album were recorded with female vocalists who reportedly had not previously heard the songs they would be singing. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 69 in the French album charts and spending a total of 39 weeks in the top 200. In 2006 it was reported that the album had sold more than 200,000 copies worldwide.

The group's second album, Bande à Part, released in 2006, was again a commercial success. It charted in several European countries, peaking at number 23 in the French album charts, number 15 in the German charts, number 8 in Portugal, and reaching number 79 in the UK Albums Chart. The band's critical and commercial success peaked with the release of their second album. With the release of 3 and Couleurs sur Paris, critics gave the band less attention. The band subsequently went into hiatus, releasing no new material and performing few live shows. Collin later explained this hiatus, saying, 'I was bored of myself doing covers,' and citing diminishing critical acclaim: 'With the first and second albums, all the media said: "This is a great idea, a great rendition" – and after the third album it was suddenly, "OK, it's always the same thing, the same concept, we don't want to talk about it."' A new album I Could Be Happy was released on 4 November 2016. Libaux died in 2021 but the band continues to tour.

Reader's Guide

Nouvelle Vague's significance lies in their distinctive reinterpretation of new wave and post-punk songs through bossa nova arrangements, creating a bridge between 1980s alternative music and Brazilian lounge styles. Their debut album introduced a formula that proved commercially viable, selling over 200,000 copies worldwide, and their second album Bande à Part achieved chart success across multiple European countries. The band also served as a launching pad for several female vocalists, including Camille, Phoebe Killdeer, Mélanie Pain, and Nadéah Miranda, who went on to have successful solo careers. Their legacy includes influencing the trend of 'easy listening' covers of punk and new wave songs, though critical reception waned after their second album. The band's approach—recording vocalists who had not previously heard the songs—added an element of spontaneity to their sound. Despite a hiatus and the death of co-founder Olivier Libaux in 2021, the band continues to tour, maintaining their niche in the world of cover bands.

Did You Know?

• The band's name 'Nouvelle Vague' means 'new wave' in French and refers to the French New Wave cinema movement, the new wave music movement, and bossa nova (Portuguese for 'new way').
• In 2010 the band released a compilation titled Nouvelle Vague: The Singers, which included Phoebe Killdeer & the Short Straws's 'Fade Out Lines', later remixed by The Avener into a major international hit.