Theo Hakola from Passion Fodder produced their first LP in 1987 Où veux-tu qu'je r'garde ?. This 6 tracks album shows what would become a Noir Désir trademark: finely crafted lyrics with powerful rock sound.
Noir Désir's second album, Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient), released in 1990, introduced punk rock elements to their sound. This continued with their next album, Tostaky, which contained the successful song Tostaky.
One of the most popular rock groups in France, their success continued with the release of the dance-influenced 666.667 Club, and the remix album One Trip One Noise. Their last album, 2001's Des visages des figures, was a slower, more ambitious affair. This album also contained a collaboration with a fellow francophone Manu Chao. "Des visages, des figures" was the album of the consecration for the group which won the music award (Victoire de la Musique) of the best rock album of year 2002, as well as the award of best clip for "Le Vent nous portera". Although their last album seemed to be the slowest one, the following gigs were huge rock shows where thousands of fans came to see the group.
In 2003, allegedly on a drug binge, Bertrand Cantat slapped his girlfriend, Marie Trintignant during an argument in a hotel room in Lithuania. As she fell, her head hit the bed, and she consequently bled to death. Marie Trintignant was a popular French actress and was working on a movie. A Lithuanian judge sentenced Cantat to 8 years in prison after a jury convicted him of manslaughter. He was sentenced in Lithuania and served his sentence in a prison near Toulouse in France.
In September 2005, an album, En public, which contains highlights of their last tour. They also released a DVD set, Noir Désir en images, which contains various live performances, footage and videos. Special permission was obtained in order to allow the imprisoned Cantat to participate in the development of those.
Noir Désir members have not ruled out the possibility of re-forming once Cantat is released from jail. Cantat was released early on account of good behaviour on October 16th, 2007, but immediately retreated to his house near Bordeaux. At the time, he would not speak to the press regarding his musical future.
In November 2008, two free tracks were released. The band wished to show, with this release, that productive and cathartic, works from Noir Désir still impregnate the French scene with intellectual and emotional abuse.
Teyssot-Gay has stated that the group is currently in the process of composing and recording a new album which he feels should be finished in 2009. However according to a May 14, 2009 article in Le Parisien the album will not be ready until January 2010.
On November 29, 2010 it was announced that guitarist Serge Teyssot-Gay was leaving the band citing "emotional, human and musical differences" with lead singer Cantat.
On November 30, 2010 band's drummer Denis Barthe announced that Noir Désir is disbanded for good and that is useless to let the band live with "artificial respiration".
Pyromane
Noir Désir Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
J'ai mis l'feu à tout ce que j'ai touché
De la naissance à la morsure
Enflammer les sécheresses qui durent
Dans nos états maladifs
Tout l'monde ne prend pas sa part de rif
Et je les vois remplir d'objets
Leurs maisons et leurs cerveaux vidés
Le vent s'est levé
Métamorphose avant d'y aller...
Oh mon amour tu es seule
Si seule, convoitée, intimités
Conduis moi jusqu'à la route
Sans un mot et sans un doute
The lyrics of Pyromane by Noir Désir describe the perspective of someone who sees themselves as a full-time arsonist, someone who has set fire to anything and everything they touched. The lyrics are filled with images of destruction and a sense of recklessness and chaos. The words paint a picture of an individual who has been burning everything in their path from the beginning of their life, from birth to death, fueled by a desire to set flame to the dryness and barrenness of existence.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of societal illness, describing how not everyone is taking their fair share of responsibility, and instead, people are filling their homes and minds with meaningless possessions. The wind has risen, and the listener is left wondering what the metamorphosis will bring. The lyric "Oh mon amour tu es seule, si seule, convoitée, intimités" adds another layer to the piece and could be interpreted in several different ways, including as a reference to a lover or a projection of the arsonist's own loneliness and isolation.
Overall, the lyrics of Pyromane by Noir Désir are deeply metaphorical, painting a picture of a world that is gray, dry, and barren, and an individual who seeks to ignite a spark of life and energy into it through their destructive actions.
Line by Line Meaning
Pyromane à temps complet
I am a full-time pyromaniac
J'ai mis l'feu à tout ce que j'ai touché
I have set fire to everything I've touched
De la naissance à la morsure
From birth to bite
Enflammer les sécheresses qui durent
Ignite the lasting droughts
Dans nos états maladifs
In our sickly states
Tout l'monde ne prend pas sa part de rif
Not everyone takes their share of the hardship
Et je les vois remplir d'objets
And I see them filling up with objects
Leurs maisons et leurs cerveaux vidés
Their houses and their brains emptied
Le vent s'est levé
The wind has risen
Métamorphose avant d'y aller...
Metamorphosis before going there...
Oh mon amour tu es seule
Oh my love, you are alone
Si seule, convoitée, intimités
So alone, coveted, intimate
Conduis moi jusqu'à la route
Lead me to the road
Sans un mot et sans un doute
Without a word and without a doubt
Contributed by Muhammad V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kimitof9335
j'ai découvert Noir Dez avec cette chanson.. j'étais étudiant, un tournant musical pour moi. Noir désir dans la peau
@thibaultduperrey674
Bertrand Cantat est le dieu du rock! Si seulement ce drame n'avait pas eu lieu Noir dez serait certainement le meilleur groupe de rock au monde en ce moment
@ViKaKuKaRaChA
Ce fut mais ils restent les meilleurs...
@stephanechristianG
Découvert ce groupe en 1986 au lycée, on a jamais eu mieux depuis....
@julienbedard3998
Le maître en la matière biz à tous les inconditionnels 😉🤘
@flothanify
Le MEILLEUR groupe français de tous les temps, avec Telephone sans doute...! hâte qu il revienne, l'absence commence à nous peser...
@petaujus3000
musique qui sort des tripes, humaine, intense, le vrai truc quoi, comme personne d'autre que noir desir sait le faire.
@MsSapetoku
Tu as tout dit !!!! Enfin un raisonnement de saint d'esprit !!
@user-vl3pk6nw4d
Ils sont beaux nos enfants bisous
@SimoneCosta
bellissima!!!!!!!