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The missing link between Tucson, AZ and France. MARIANNE DISSARD sings her French lyrics, to musics composed by Calexico's JOEY BURNS and by NAIM AMOR. The album, produced by Joey Burns, will be available Sept 19th, 2008 on Le Pop Musik in Germany/Austria/Switzerland. More countries soon.
ALBUM
Tucson-based, French-born singer and lyricist Marianne Dissard is very glad that her first album, "L'entredeux", was co-written and produced by Calexico's frontman Joey Burns. He did all the hard work. She just brought him words and a mixtape of songs she really liked, and off he went. The French-language album was recorded in their hometown of Tucson, Arizona and mixed by Craig Schumacher at Wavelab Studio. The cast of collaborators was drawn from far and close: from Tucson, John Convertino (Calexico) on drums; Naïm Amor and Matt Mitchell on guitars; singer Adrianne DeNike, violinists Vicki Brown, Rose Todaro and Michael Fan and Nick Luca on guitar. From the road, the east coast and across the Atlantic, Mickey Raphael (Willie Nelson) on harmonica; Rob Burger (Tin Hat Trio) on piano, accordion, orchestron, cimbalom and organ; singer Sammy Decoster (Tornado). It is an album best described as the Blue Line Paris to Tucson Express, the one ghost train missing from the Amtrack/SNCF schedule. Not just another Calexico collaboration, this is truly Marianne and Joey’s album, stemming from a long friendship that dates back to the early 90’s and a shared affinity for Mexican food, French wines, old adobe houses and the photographs of Gary Winogrand. Not to mention the recordings of Nick Drake, Nico, Serge Gainsbourg, Django Reinhardt and the western movies of Ennio Morricone and Sam Peckinpah.
The lyrics to "L'entredeux", tender and biting vignettes of love and other little lies, were written by Marianne in the fall 2004, in a borrowed bedroom in the barrio of Tucson, following the tumultuous meltdown of her marriage to longtime songwriting collaborator and fellow expatriate Naïm Amor. Amor contributed three songs to the collection. Joey Burns then sketched the melodies in the intimate setting of his kitchen. Studio recordings began in early 2006 and continued intermittently as Marianne performed live—in Tucson and on tour in the US and Canada. She has since shared stages with Naïm Amor, Calexico, Alaska In Winter and many others, including poet Billy Collins, for whom she became "his favorite chanteuse"!
"L'entredeux"? The “between twoâ€, the interspace. Two countries, two languages, two loves maybe? "L'entredeux" is the space where one hand lets go and floats free of the old. It is time suspended to the antique wax cylinder sounds of a French lesson in track “Merci De Rien Du Toutâ€. Step back and imagine "L'Entredeux" as the soundtrack to Jon Jost's euro-lusting "All The Vermeers in New York". Hear Lodge Kerrigan's "Claire Dolan" in the eery "Ce Visage-Là " and Eric Rohmer's lakeside frolicks in "Sans-Façon". In that borrowed bedroom where Marianne wrote the words to her first and very personal album, in the house of a poet friend, the walls were lined with books. One of them, Ovid's "Metamorphosis", with its invocations of the muse and tragic tales of love and punishment, surprisingly became the companion to her transformation from other people's lyricist to her own wordsmith. Struggling in between allegiances, Marianne found her escape in these tunes she chose to write in her native language, re-inventing herself once more, this time as a singer of the suspension points.
BIO
Calexico fans will recognize Marianne as Madame to Joey Burns' lovestruck gold digger on Calexico's hit single, "Ballad of Cable Hogue" from their 2000 album "Hot Rail". She also duetted with her then-husband, now-boyfriend Naïm Amor on the 2001 album "Tête A Tête/ABBC" by Amor/Belhom/Burns/Convertino, and she is featured, along with Jane Birkin, Françoiz Breut and other filles, on the 2007 "Filles Fragiles" CD compiled for Dutch label Essential Dance Music. Marianne contributes to the upcoming tribute to American folksinger Kath Bloom by Australian label Chapter Music and to compilations that include the "Christmas In Tucson" CD produced by Olivier Mosset with tracks by Bob Log III, Al Foul and other garcons. For that release, Marianne collaborated with Jonathan Richman's drummer Tommy Larkins to cover the 1980 British hit, "Stop The Cavalry". She also wrote an original Christmas song with Amparo Sanchez of Amparanoia for the Dutch blog Filles Sourires. Finally, UK label Regular Beat Recordings has announced a March 2008 release date for a split 7 inch vinyl with Alaska in Winter, featuring Beirut, on the flipside. Support shows have been scheduled for April 2008 in the UK. A first 7 inch vinyl (4 tracks with bonus 11 tracks digital download) was self-released in the spring 2006, selling out shortly afterwards.
A lyricist, poet and activist, documentary filmmaker and multimedia performance artist, singer Marianne Dissard was born within sight of the Pyrénées mountains in the South of France but has lived in the American West since the age of 16. Her lyrics are sung by Françoiz Breut, Howe Gelb and Naïm Amor. During the 2004 US presidential election, Marianne launched the Tucson Suffragettes, a gang of sexy downtown vixens who went after "virgin voters", enlisting the help of Linda Rondstadt, Chuck Bowden, Shepard Fairey and the Tucson arts and music community. As a documentary filmmaker, she has collaborated with director Robert Kramer and poster artist Robbie Conal, and directed the Giant Sand documentary "Drunken Bees". As a multimedia performance artist, she was exhibited at the Musée d'Art Moderne, Paris (Hiver de L'Amour), then got subsequently invited to the Musée D'Art Contemporain, Marseille by Philippe Vergne (Walker Art Center) and to Foundation Cartier in Paris. Marianne, no longer hiding behind a camera or her words, now wishes she could have sang with Jean Sablon but hopes she can still duet with Scott Walker one of these days.
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