At the time Mylene and Etienne were dominating the French pop scene, Noir Desir were the leading lights in French rock, selling millions of copies of each of their albums throughout the 1990s. It wasn't until July 2003 that they came to the attention of the English-language press, sadly, not as a result of their music.

Their lead singer, Bertrand Cantat, was accused and subsequently convicted of the manslaughter of his actress girlfriend Marie Trintignant (daughter of the legendary film star Jean-Louis Trintignant) by a court in Lithuania. Cantat was, in many ways, the perfect French rock star - a charismatic intellectual as closely associated with his left-wing, anti-Fascist politics as he was with his darkly beautiful music.

It raises interesting questions about whether it's morally acceptable to financially support the art of people who have done terrible things in their personal life. Thankfully, you can avoid most of these by downloading the excellent single Al'Envers, à l'Endroit for nothing. Should you wish to buy it, however, you can find it on the Des Visages Des Figures CD of 2001. It has an interesting video by Michel and Olivier Gondry.


Buy Noir Desir Stuff. Possibly.

Buy A Jean-Louis Trintignant Film Instead

Noir Desir - Al'Envers, à l'Endroit