The foursome recorded around 45 sombre and tormented songs while gaving a number of concerts in the area around Nantes. Later, with the singer Katerine, Dominique Ané recorded a number of songs in a more upbeat and livelier style.
Beginning of a career
At the beginning of the 1990s Dominique Ané recorded songs that were both minimalist and rock in style. He wanted to break with the traditional chanson, which he considered to be more literary than musical[1]. His first CD, released by the Nantes label, Lithium, met with critical acclaim by the alternative magazine, Les Inrockuptibles, and by Bernard Lenoir, the 'John Peel' of France. Furthermore, his song, Le Courage des oiseaux, (the Courage of the Birds), was an underground hit.
From 1992 onwards, he started to produce more and more live shows, either with a backing band or solo. His commercial success grew in 1995 with Le twenty-two bar, a single off the album, La Mémoire Neuve, but this success left a bitter taste in Dominique's mouth because he considered the song to be particularly badly written[1].
In 2000, he composed the score for Antoine Desrosières' black comedy film Banqueroute.
Le Détour and beyond (2002-)
Dominique's discovery of Alain Bashung's dark 2002 album, L'Imprudence shocked him to the point that it put his music into question and he decided to explore different ways of working. He decided to compile what he considered to be the first part of a musical time capsule, a longbox entitled Le Détour. He asked his fans to write about their relationship with his music, and some of their letters were published in the booklet accompanying Le Détour.
For his subsequent album, he wanted to experiment and, consequently, for the first time, he gave control over the album to a third party, the team who produced L'Imprudence. The end result would be Tout sera comme avant (Everything will be like it was before), which was released in 2004. Unfortunately, many fans had difficulty obtaining a copy. At the same time, Dominique gave many live performances variously using a big band, minimalistic backing, or all alone (where he would experiment with oversampling).
In March 2006, L'Horizon came out, a new work that he produced alongside Dominique Brusson, with whom he had made the early album, Remué. It was the first time that Dominique A returned to work with a producer. He was backed by his old collaborators, Sacha Toorop and Olivier Mellano, as well as the musicians with whom he produced Tout sera comme avant. Dominique A had recently quit his record label, Labels, due to his desire for more creative freedom; consequently, it is no surprise that he describes L'Horizon as his most experimental work to date.
Collaboration and influence
Dominique A collaborates regularly with other artists and on other projects. He has been one of the shaping forces of Françoiz Breut's career, writing many of her songs since her début in 1997. He has also composed several songs for Jeanne Balibar's second album, Slalom Dale and wrote Où est la ville ? for Jane Birkin's 2006 album, Fictions. He also sang Veruca Salt et Frank Black in trio with Keren Ann and Vincent Delerm on the latter's second album, Kensington Square.
Dominique A has inspired and influenced many artists. Among them were Yann Tiersen and the Norwegian electro band, Oslo Telescopic, who named one of their albums The Dominique O Project. Lyrically, Dominique's movement away from the constraints of chanson moved many other French-speaking artists, including Miossec, Holden and Arman Méliès.
Exit
Dominique A Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quelque chose a dû la chasser
Elle avait pourtant recouvert
Tout
Elle s'était déposée
Comme de la poussière, partout
Mon amour, tu as vu comme moi
Dans lequel sont les gens
Pour une fois
On ne leur avait jamais vu
Ce visage enfin détendu
Mon amour, je me suis emballé
Ça n'est pas tout à fait passé
Les rues noires de monde se sont vidées
Oh comme tu es déçue
Tu sens la grisaille revenue
Elle n'a pourtant pas recouvert
Tout
Comme elle le faisait hier
Et si nous sommes bien inspirés
Nous devrions en profiter
The song "Exit" by French singer-songwriter Dominique A, is a reflection on the transient nature of happiness and how it is often fleeting. The first verse talks about how the gloomy weather has passed and something must have pushed it away. The metaphorical "she" refers to the grayness and sadness that had settled over everything like dust. The second verse talks about how people's faces have finally relaxed and they are no longer burdened by their troubles. However, the singer admits that he himself may have been too quick to assume that the darkness has completely lifted. The third verse acknowledges the disappointment that comes with realizing the joy was temporary and that the grayness has returned, but suggests that they should make the most of the happiness while it lasts.
The song's lyrics are poetic and evocative, capturing the emotions of hope, disappointment, and the longing for happiness. The song's instrumentation is sparse, but powerful, with a repeating guitar riff that builds in intensity as the song progresses. The vocals are understated and emotive, adding to the melancholic tone of the song.
Overall, "Exit" is a beautiful and introspective song that explores the complexities of human emotions and the fleeting nature of happiness, all set against a backdrop of grayness and gloom.
Line by Line Meaning
Mon amour, la grisaille est passée
My love, the sadness and gloom have passed
Quelque chose a dû la chasser
Something must have chased it away
Elle avait pourtant recouvert tout
It had covered everything though
Elle s'était déposée comme de la poussière, partout
It had settled like dust, everywhere
Mon amour, tu as vu comme moi ces rues noires de monde, cet état
My love, you see it as I do, these busy, dark streets
Dans lequel sont les gens pour une fois on ne leur avait jamais vu
The people, for once, seem relaxed and at ease
Ce visage enfin détendu
Their faces finally relaxed
Mon amour, je me suis emballé
My love, I got carried away
Ça n'est pas tout à fait passé
But it hasn't completely gone
Les rues noires de monde se sont vidées
The busy streets have emptied out
Oh, comme tu es déçue
Oh, how disappointed you are
Tu sens la grisaille revenue
You can feel the gloom returning
Elle n'a pourtant pas recouvert tout
But it hasn't covered everything
Comme elle le faisait hier
Like it did yesterday
Et si nous sommes bien inspirés nous devrions en profiter
And if we're smart, we should take advantage of this moment
Contributed by John H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.