Born on the 6 October 1968 in Provins, France, Dominique Ané is the only ch… Read Full Bio ↴Born on the 6 October 1968 in Provins, France, Dominique Ané is the only child of a teacher and a homemaker. A loner throughout his teenage years, he was passionate about literature and music from a young age. He was interested in punk but, at the age of 14, at the beginning of the 1980s, he started to appreciate the dark romanticism of the New Wave movement. After completing high school he studied humanities for a year while holding a range of odd jobs, including a spell as a utility man for an FM radio station in Nantes, where his family lived. At around the age of 16 he started up a band, John Merrick, named after the hero of the film, The Elephant Man.

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.

Hear No More Dear No More
Dominique A Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I feel something for you
You feel nothing for me
This word (love) can't be true
This word (love) is not for me

I know some words I could repeat to you
You say O.K. but you don't hear no more
Dear no more

Maybe you run away
Look at your love today
You will keep it for you (Aaaaaaah)
This word (love) isn't true

I know some words I could repeat to you
You ??? them for ??? and you don't hear no more
Dear no more

I feel lonesome tonight
Maybe because of you

My knees are on the ground
My feet became a clue

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dominique A's song "Hear No More Dear No More" depict unrequited love and the pain that comes with it. The singer has strong feelings for someone who does not return them and acknowledges that the word love is not applicable in their situation. Despite this, the singer still longs for the other person and reminisces about moments they shared when the other person used to listen to them, but now they only pretend to listen. In the chorus, the phrase "dear no more" is used to express the singer's desire to let go of their feelings and move on, but this is easier said than done. The third verse suggests that the singer is feeling lonely and possibly even humiliated by their unrequited love, as they have resorted to pleading, symbolized by being on their knees and their feet becoming a clue.

The song's tone is melancholic and introspective, with minimal instrumentation that serves to highlight the emotional weight of the lyrics. The repetition of certain phrases, such as "You don't hear no more" and "This word (love) isn't true" reinforce the frustration and sadness the singer is feeling. Overall, the song is a poignant reflection on the complexities of unrequited love and the difficulty of moving on.

Line by Line Meaning

I feel something for you
I have strong emotional feelings towards you

You feel nothing for me
You do not reciprocate my feelings

This word (love) can't be true
The word 'love' cannot accurately describe our relationship

This word (love) is not for me
I am not destined to experience love

I know some words I could repeat to you
I have things I want to express to you

You say O.K. but you don't hear no more
You appear to agree but are not truly listening

Dear no more
The end of communication

Maybe you run away
Perhaps you are avoiding me

Look at your love today
Examine your feelings of affection now

You will keep it for you (Aaaaaaah)
You will hold onto those feelings for yourself

This word (love) isn't true
The concept of love is not genuine in this case