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.
La vie rend modeste
Dominique A Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tant d'années demeurent impayées
Solvables on était, on nous aide
Peu à peu à nous racheter
On blanchit hier comme on peut
Et le plaisir de reconduire
Nos erreurs en terrain miné
La vie rend modeste
On voit ce qu'on avait
Quand on voit ce qui reste
Nos petites misères qui se chantent
Subissent la rude concurrence
D'autres misères, aux mots moins fiers
Qui se partagent de mille manières
Même en tant qu'aficionado
De l'insouciance, on n'ignore pas
Qu'elle ne mâche pas tout le travail
Qu'on voudrait bien se mettre à dos
La vie rend modeste
On voit ce qu'on avait
Quand on voit ce qui reste
Beaucoup de visages ont changé
Parmi ceux qu'on voit tous les jours
Ils ne vieillissent pas mais leurs traits
Leur font des infidélités
Si par hasard ils se revoient
Tels qu'ils étaient ils y croient trop
Pour ne pas douter aussitôt
Du bien fondé de leur mémoire
La vie rend modeste
On voit ce qu'on avait
Quand on voit ce qui reste
La vie rend modeste
Cette modestie empeste
Ce que nul n'a volé
Ce que nul n'a volé
Ce que nul n'a volé
La vie rend modeste
Cette modestie empeste
Ce que nul n'a volé
Ce que nul n'a volé
The lyrics to Dominique A's song La vie rend modeste reflect on the nature of life and how it can make one more humble. The first verse discusses how childhood is not something that can be easily bought or consumed, and reflects on the fact that there are many years of life that have yet to be paid for or experienced. However, as time passes and people become more financially solvent, they are able to slowly redeem themselves. The second verse reflects on the idea that mistakes made in the past can sometimes be enjoyable to relive, and that these experiences are just as valuable as new ones.
Throughout the song, Dominique A delves into themes of humility, the passage of time, and the inevitable changes that occur in people's lives. He talks about the small miseries that people experience and how they compare to the larger troubles of others, as well as the fact that even those who feel like aficionados of carefree lifestyles know that hard work is necessary to achieve their goals. The idea that life can make one more modest is repeated throughout the song, with the idea that people often only appreciate what they have once it is gone.
Overall, the lyrics to La vie rend modeste paint a picture of the complexities of life and the different ways that people experience it. Through thoughtful reflections on time, memory, and the human experience, Dominique A offers a poignant meditation on the nature of existence and the importance of finding meaning in the small things.
Line by Line Meaning
L'enfance n'était pas consommée
Childhood was not fully lived
Tant d'années demeurent impayées
So many years are unpaid
Solvables on était, on nous aide
We were solvent, we were helped
Peu à peu à nous racheter
Little by little, we redeem ourselves
On blanchit hier comme on peut
We whiten yesterday as best as we can
Et le plaisir de reconduire
And the pleasure of reliving
Nos erreurs en terrain miné
Our mistakes in a mined field
Vaut le terrain vierge s'il en est
Is worth a virgin field if there is one
La vie rend modeste
Life makes us humble
On voit ce qu'on avait
We see what we had
Quand on voit ce qui reste
When we see what remains
Nos petites misères qui se chantent
Our little miseries that we sing
Subissent la rude concurrence
Are subjected to fierce competition
D'autres misères, aux mots moins fiers
Other miseries, with less proud words
Qui se partagent de mille manières
That are shared in a thousand ways
Même en tant qu'aficionado
Even as a fan
De l'insouciance, on n'ignore pas
One does not ignore the carefree
Qu'elle ne mâche pas tout le travail
That it doesn't do all the work for us
Qu'on voudrait bien se mettre à dos
That we would like to defy
Beaucoup de visages ont changé
Many faces have changed
Parmi ceux qu'on voit tous les jours
Among those we see every day
Ils ne vieillissent pas mais leurs traits
They do not age, but their features
Leur font des infidélités
Betray them
Si par hasard ils se revoient
If by chance they meet again
Tels qu'ils étaient ils y croient trop
As they were, they believe it too much
Pour ne pas douter aussitôt
Not to immediately doubt the validity of their memory
Du bien fondé de leur mémoire
Of the validity of their memory
Cette modestie empeste
This humility stinks
Ce que nul n'a volé
What no one has stolen
Contributed by Lucas H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.