1) Destined to be overshadowed by their peers in the Factory Records universe, French-Belgian Antena were an underrated bossa nova-flavored electronic post punk group that formed in France in the early '80s. Fronted by Isabelle Powaga (better known today as Isabelle Antena) with members Sylvain Fasy and Pascale Moiroud, the trio created a sound not terribly out of place on the legendary label's catalog, but were overlooked due to the fact that their work emerged on Factory's Benelux label - essentially a Continent-based label meant to test songs and do advance work for larger Factory U.K. acts touring Europe.
In 1980, they released the single The Boy from Ipanema and a mini-album entitled Camino del Sol - which would be expanded by Crepuscule in 1982. The band would eventually sign with major labels Island and Mercury, but by that time, frontwoman and vocalist Powaga had taken sole artistic control of the Antena ship, and would later go solo as Isabelle Antena, releasing more than ten full-lengths that touched on jazz, latin, and funk stylings. The trio's brief impact on the electronic music scene lasted till 1983. In 2004, Numero Group once again repackaged and re-expanded the Camino del Sol record with two unreleased tracks, Frantz and Ingenuous.
After a long spell between albums, the group's sophomore release, Toujours du Soleil followed in 2006. And soon, completing the Antena trilogy will be Bossa Super Nova (scheduled for release April 12, 2010).
For this final volume, Isabelle and daughter Penelope Antena decided to rummage through their attic and dust off some classic Roland equipment: the TR-808 drum machine, TB-303 Bass Line sequencer and SH09 monophonic synth, all of which were used on the classic debut Antena album, Camino del Sol in 1982. Adding to this retro theme, old school friend Jean Christophe Clair was invited to contribute lyrics and ideas in remembrance of times past. Isabelle then arranged and produced the songs with her husband Denis Moulin at their studio in the south of France, with Marco De Meersman adding extra percussion. Bossa Super Nova was born.
2) Antena is a Christian rock band with at least two group members, Sérgio and Daniel. Founder Sérgio explains that Antena began as an experiment to encourage young people to discover the experience of praising the Creator with the music and the language of their generation. Both he and Daniel have worked with youth for several years in their respective faith communities and the two grew up with the same musical influences, so starting Antena was a natural step for them. Thy released the album Tecnopop.
3) Antena was a Japanese post-punk band active in the 1980s. They only released one EP titled Deep Cut in 1989 on Conneca Record. Members were: Hisashi Saitoh (vocals), Bibarie (guitar), Kazz (bass), Sham-Tear (beatbox).
4) Antena is a band from Montevideo, Uruguay, formed in 2005. They released one album titled Un atajo hacia el monte in 2006.
Les Demoiselles De Rochefort
Antena Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tiens, mais c′est un sol mineur
Sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi, sol, fa, mi, fa, do, fa
I'm sorry mademoiselle, mais je suis amoureux
Vous avez de la chance
Je suis à Rochefort pour revoir un ami
Un certain Simon Dame et à deux pas d′ici
Je rencontre une fille et j'en deviens crazy
La fille a disparu mais l'amour m′a choisi
Il a fallu que je traverse deux continents
Il a fallu enfin ce hasard étonnant
Pour transformer ma vie et lui donner un sens
Il a fallut que je revienne en France
Ciao!
The lyrics to Antena's song Les Demoiselles de Rochefort tell a story of a man who has fallen in love with a girl he met in Rochefort. The song starts with a simple melody played on the piano, with the lyrics coming in as a light and airy vocal. The first few lines of the song are pure poetry, with the man singing about the chords he is playing, and how it is in a minor key. The lyrics then progress to the man confessing his love to the girl, saying that he is crazy about her, but she simply responds with, "Je fais ce que je peux" (I'm doing the best I can).
The rest of the song talks about the journey that the man has taken to find true love. He speaks about his travels and how he had to go through some difficult times to get to where he is now. The song ends with the man saying goodbye or "Ciao!" This song is a beautiful ode to love, and how it can come into your life unexpectedly and change everything.
Line by Line Meaning
Sol, la, fa, sol, si, la, la, sol
Instrumental intro
Tiens, mais c′est un sol mineur
Oh, it's a minor G.
Sol, la, fa, sol, la, mi, sol, fa, mi, fa, do, fa
I'm sorry mademoiselle, but I am in love.
Vous avez de la chance
You are lucky.
Je fais ce que je peux.
I'm doing my best.
Je suis à Rochefort pour revoir un ami
I'm in Rochefort to see a friend.
Un certain Simon Dame et à deux pas d′ici
A certain Simon Dame and he's just around the corner.
Je rencontre une fille et j'en deviens crazy
I meet a girl and I become crazy.
La fille a disparu mais l'amour m′a choisi
The girl disappeared but love has chosen me.
Il a fallu que je traverse deux continents
I had to cross two continents.
Il a fallu enfin ce hasard étonnant
And finally this amazing stroke of luck.
Pour transformer ma vie et lui donner un sens
To transform my life and give it meaning.
Il a fallut que je revienne en France
I had to come back to France.
Ciao!
Goodbye!
Writer(s): Michel Legrand
Contributed by Samantha F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.