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.
L'amour
Dominique A Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
L'amour
Ce bonheur est sans pareil
L'amour
Nous nous perdons dans le jour
Il n'y a plus rien autour
L'amour
Cerné de tous les côtés
Finira bien par flancher
Tous tes mots dans mon oreille
Seront perdus pour toujours
Les yeux gonflés de sommeil
L'amour
Ce bonheur est sans pareil
Nous nous perdons dans le jour
Il n'y a plus rien autour
L'amour
Cerné de tous les côtés
L'amour
Finira bien par flancher
Tous tes mots dans mon oreille
Seront perdus pour toujours
Seront perdus pour toujours
The lyrics to Dominique A's song L'amour capture the feelings of a couple lost in the intensity of their love while comforting themselves with the thought that their love will last forever. The opening line "les yeux gonflés de sommeil" (the eyes swollen with sleep) suggests that the couple have spent the night in each other's arms, their love keeping them awake. The repetition of "L'amour" throughout the song emphasizes the all-consuming nature of their love, which brings them a happiness that is unparalleled. They are so wrapped up in each other that "il n'y a plus rien autour" (there is nothing else around them).
However, the second half of the song suggests that this happiness is not sustainable. The couple is "cerné de tous les côtés" (surrounded on all sides), and their love will eventually falter. The repetition of the line "tous tes mots dans mon oreille seront perdus pour toujours" (all your words in my ear will be lost forever) emphasizes the fleeting nature of their love. Despite their passion, they know that their love cannot last forever.
Overall, the lyrics of "L'amour" capture the intensity of love and the bittersweet knowledge that it cannot last forever.
Line by Line Meaning
Les yeux gonflés de sommeil
Tired and sleepy, our eyes show the effects of a love that keeps us up late into the night.
L'amour
Love, the subject of the song, is the cause of our somnolence and yet brings us unparalleled happiness.
Ce bonheur est sans pareil
This happiness is incomparable, beyond compare or measure.
Nous nous perdons dans le jour
We lose ourselves in the day, in each other's company, absorbed by our love and oblivious to the outside world.
Il n'y a plus rien autour
Nothing else matters or exists anymore, our love creates a bubble where only the two of us exist.
Cerné de tous les côtés
Surrounded on all sides, the love can feel confining or oppressive.
Finira bien par flancher
It will eventually falter or give way under the pressure of constant attention and expectation.
Tous tes mots dans mon oreille
All your words whispered in my ear, sweet nothings that may mean little in the grand scheme of things.
Seront perdus pour toujours
They will be lost forever, just like the intense and all-consuming love they represent.
Contributed by Jackson T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.