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INTRODUCTION by David Sanson* version française ici “ Among all groups which animated the French cold wave and industrial scene of the 80’s, Clair Obscur is certainly one of those which radiated the most outside the boundaries of France. Several of their records have been published by British labels like All the Madmen or Cathexis Recordings, and one of their act of glory is to be part of the compilation From torture to conscience of the mythical label N.E.R. alongside with Current 93, In The Nursery or Death In June (1984). From Killing Joke to The Nits, from the Cirque d’Hiver de Paris (1982) to the Wiener Festwochen (1991), the bands with which they played on the same venues and the places where they performed tell well the richness of this group which is impossible to classify. (…) From most tribal cold wave to chamber music, from industrial music to dance music (unless these two are synonymous), their musical approach eminently atmospheric embraces a surprising variety of styles and gives birth to iconoclast scenic transcriptions (…) ” After an absence of seven years Clair Obscur was reactivated in November 2004 by the two founding members, Christophe Demarthe (vocals) and Nicolas Demarthe (guitar). Since then they have been giving several concerts in France, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland… They are currently recording their future album. * David Sanson is a journalist and a musician. He is the editor of the French Art magazine Mouvement. The text above is an excerpt of the booklet of the CD compilation Echo Location, on the French scene of the 80's, published by Optical Sound in 2005. |
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