Olivier Libaux

Olivier Libaux (5 May 1964 – 29 September 2021 ) was a French record producer, songwriter, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Les Objets, he was also the founder of the musical projects Nouvelle Vague and Uncovered Queens of the Stone Age.

Career

Les Objets After playing in several bands, Olivier Libaux founded Les Objets with Jérôme Rousseaux in 1989. They released two albums, La Normalité in 1989 and Qui Est Qui in 1994, on Columbia Records/Sony Music. Video clips for the songs "La Normalité" and "Sarah" were directed by Michel Gondry.

While in Les Objets, Olivier Libaux started a number of collaborations as a musician and guitarist. He played with artists Carla Bruni, Alex Gopher, Dominique Dalcan, Jean-François Coen, Helena Noguerra, Le tone, and the band Prudence.

Solo projects In 2003, Libaux released his first solo album a musical comedy entitled L'Héroïne au bain, featuring the voices of Helena Noguerra, Philippe Katerine, Lio, Doriand, Ludovic Triaire, Dominique Dalcan and Michael von Der Heide. The album was a critical success – an article in Les Cahiers Du Cinéma praised its 'cinematic' qualities – but it failed to achieve significant sales.

His second album Imbécile, came out in 2007 on the label Discograph. The songs on this "scripted" album tell the story of four characters at a dinner party. The interpreters are Philippe Katerine, Helena Noguerra, J. P. Nataf and Barbara Carlotti. The album was a critical and commercial success, particularly the song "Le Petit Succès", sung by Barbara Carlotti.

Nouvelle Vague In 2004, Olivier Libaux created the musical project Nouvelle Vague with Marc Collin. They covered songs from the punk and new-wave eras but arranged in bossa nova style. The songs were sung by young female singers most of whom did not know the original versions. Their first album, entitled Nouvelle Vague, released on the Peacefrog label sold 500,000 copies worldwide and gave them the opportunity to tour in many countries. The audience of Nouvelle Vague comprises veterans and nostalgics of the new-wave era as well as younger people who are discovering the songs. Josh Homme answers "Fantastic Idea. Go for it and let me hear the album when you're finished". Olivier produced Uncovered Queens Of The Stone Age, a 12-track album on his own label "Music For Music Lovers", featuring Emiliana Torrini, Alela Diane, Skye (Morcheeba), Clare Manchon (Clare and the Reasons), Susan Dillane (Woodbine, Death in Vegas), Gaby Moreno, Ambrosia Parsley (Shivaree), Inara George, Rosemary Standley (Moriarty), Youn Sun Nah, and Katharine Whalen (Squirrel Nut Zippers). The album was released in July 2013, warmly welcomed by Josh Homme, Queens Of The Stone Age, and many of their fans.

Music style and influences Les Objets, the group founded by Olivier Libaux and Jérôme Rousseaux in the early 1990s was influenced by British indie pop, especially by bands The Smiths and The Monochrome Set, although their songs were in French. Olivier Libaux defines his album Imbécile released in 2007 as "a kind of farewell to English pop."

Discography

Albums

Les Objets 1991: La Normalité (Columbia/Sony Music) 1994: Qui est qui (Columbia/Sony Music)

Olivier Libaux 2003: L'Héroïne au bain (Naïve Records) 2007: Imbécile (Discograph) 2013: Uncovered: Queens of the Stone Age (Music for Music Lovers) 2016: La Guitare Dans La Vitrine (Actes Sud Junior)

Nouvelle Vague 2004: Nouvelle Vague (Peacefrog) 2006: Bande à Part 2009: 3 2010: Couleurs sur Paris 2011: The Singers 2016: I Could Be Happy 2019: Rarities & Curiosities