Brigitte Fontaine - Biography
By Nick Castro
Brigitte Fontaine, coupled with longtime partner Areski Belkacem, known as Areski, have produced some of wildest and most forward thinking acoustic music to come out of France. She was born in Brittany in 1939 and started her career in the 50's. She moved to Paris at age 17 to become an actress, always having been interested in comedy, theatre and writing since early childhood. Although she turned to singing in 1963, she always maintained a theatrical aspect to her music and performances.
Early in her singing career, while opening for the George Brassens show at the famous Bobino music theatre in the Montparnasse section of Paris, Fontaine developed her play, Maman J'ai Peur, with Higelin, who would become longtime producer and musical collaborator along with Areski. She cut her first two records 12 Chansons d'avant le déluge (1965 - Jacques Canetti) and 15 Chansons d'avant le déluge (1968 - Jacques Canetti), as Brigitte Fontaine & Jacques Higelin. She would make one more album, Brigitte Fontaine est folle (1968 - Saravah), with Jean-Claude Vannier, which would mark the beginning of her recording career for Saravah, the Pierre Barouh owned record label that produced her finest works. All of her work up until now was her own brand of off-kilter French cabaret and chanson, the latter album mixing in lush orchestration. None of these records are especially significant in and of themselves, if you are not already into that style of music, but her life and sound would soon change.
In 1969 Fontaine met French born Areski, of Algerian Berber descent, and this would be the main turning point in her musical sound and future. Areski brought a unique multi-instrumental approach that, combined with Fontaine's avant garde vocal capabilities, created a fusion of French pop, art music and North African instrumentation never before seen or heard. All future records were released as Fontaine et Areski. They recorded Comme á la Radio (1969 - Saravah), with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, a leading proponent of Free Jazz who were also recording in France for Saravah at the time, and this record would singlehandedly change the way the world looked at jazz, pop and world music as exclusive genres. This album seamlessly melds these styles to create a unique whole which has never been matched in ingenuity nor concept. They recorded the album in the large Théåtre du Vieux-Colombier, to produce a fine aural experience. This album turned her into a star, even further solidifying her position in the French avant garde underground and theatre world. She recorded Brigitte Fontaine (1972 - Saravah), with singer Julie Dassin joining the ranks for one album, and then recorded Je Ne Connais Pas Cet Homme (1973 - Saravah) and L'Incendie (1974 - Saravah). Both albums further catapulted her into fame and continued to extend the boundaries of genre. The latter two albums were without the aid of Higelin as the band had a break amongst tensions, which culminated with Fontaine storming offstage one night during a performance, walking out right through the audience. This proved a scandal in the theatre world of France but did not deter Fontaine, her outspokenness or her work. In 1972 she would again make the newspapers when she publicly declared she had had an abortion and then signed a petition, in protest at the then French laws against it. She has since publicly demonstrated for a number of other causes such as immigration and homelessness.
Fontaine's next album, Le Bonheur (1974 - Saravah), was a double LP and would further her expansion of audiences worldwide as she found much success in other countries, especially Japan. Her next album, Vous et Nous (1977 - Saravah), was the first to use an abundance of synthesizers. Although the blend was sometimes awkward, this remains a masterpiece of musicality. For most though, this would be the end of her golden era in terms of of record production. The next many years she would slow down her record output and concentrate on underground theatre. She did release Les Eglantines Sont Peut-Etre Formidables (1979 - Saravah) with a group of young French musicians who sound more like elevator fusion than any of her previous works. Her next album, some 11 years later was French Corazon (1990 - EMI), where her and Areski would team up with Jean-Philippe Rykiel. Her following albums were Genre Humain (1995 - Virgin), which saw Fontaine enter the electronic dance realm. Next came Les Palaces (1997 - Virgin) and Kekeland (2001 - Virgin) which included assistance from father of French folk,George Moustaki, as well as Archie Shepp, Sonic Youth, Rykiel and Noir Desir. Her two latest albums are Rue Saint Louis en Lile (2004 Virgin) and Libido (2006 - Polydor).