DAMOON IN DA MOON...

Vive la fête sera au garorock 2006. Pas de bio en français. Dommage. “First up, there's the name. Three words, in French, often punctuated by an exclamation mark. 'Vive La Fête' translates as 'Long Live The Party' (as in celebration, festivity, bash, all-nighter, not as in some political wing). It's a statement of positivism, a declaration of intent: music and people, dancing and romancing as a life-force, a big no to anything conformist and square. Of course, the fact any decent party should include the proverbial promise of sex and drugs and rock 'n roll also accounts for the choice of the name of this band… Next, there's their native country. Vive La Fête are from Belgium, Europe and quite proud to be so. Patriotism might be the least likely characteristic attributed to the Belgians, except when it comes to the musical heritage their small country can attest to. Since the eighties, Belgium's musical brood has played an important role in the development of techno, electronic body music, new wave and New Beat. Ask any clued-up DJ. You might have to force him/ her into a confession, but once that's done with, you'll hear it from a connoisseur: once inside a recording studio, Belgians rock. When Danny Mommens, bass player with renowned Belgian art-rock band dEUS, met blond bombshell Els Pynoo in 1997, lightning struck and assorted bells started chiming. They soon indulged in the sort of sticky things most newly-met lovebirds tend to favour, but they also did the decent thing: to seal their love and lust, they recorded some music in Danny's home studio. Originally intended as (ahum) bedroom material, those tracks nevertheless got released on a small independent label (Paris EP, Kinky Star Records, 1998, featuring their first single Je Ne Veux Pas). Calling themselves Vive La Fête, Danny and Els initially were treated like an anomaly: they unanimously and publicly vowed allegiance to sleazy glamour, cheeky humour and anything-goes optimism (quite a feat in the irony-ridden late nineties) and made a kind of music that blended the least expected (and at that time, the least favourable) influences and genres into a truly unique sound. Danny, ever the human jukebox, shamelessly displayed his love for eighties synth pop, melancholic cold wave and back-to-basics electronica, while Els juxtaposed his sparse and rhythmic soundscapes with cooing, breathy vocals and self-penned lyrics, written in French, her way of paying tribute to her heroes (sixties chanteuses like Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin and suave wordsmiths like Jacques Dutronc and Serge Gainsbourg - it should be noted that French isn't even Els' native tongue!). They literally looked and sounded like no-one else on the scene. Danny, eyes hidden behind black sunglasses, a fag dangling from his mouth, churning out brutal guitar riffs and explosive electronic beats, giving the middle finger to the weedy rock fraternity of the 'look at me I'm serious'- type. Els, dressed in vixen-ish mini-skirts and knee-length leather boots, strikingly flaunting her femininity with class and authority, singing in her distinctive, seductive voice about love, friendship and inner turmoil. "We always wanted to make that kind of music for ourselves, and for all the homosexuals, bisexuals, lesbians and other modern people like you and me. And then have a party together "Despite them calling their music 'kitsch pop', Danny and Els didn't quite manage to set the pop charts alight. Much had to do with the overall perception of Vive La Fête: most critics labelled them 'retro' or 'novelty' (again, those were the late nineties, when admitting to owning a synthesiser and a stack of make-up was considered a right crime). So Danny and Els defiantly took to the stage, proving their songs could hold up live as well, and released a second album (Attaque Surprise, Surprise, 2000). The World of Vive La Fête: sex and erotica, but doubt and heartbreak too; exuberance and trash, interspersed with contemplation and self-analysis; goofiness and good old fun, with the right dose of discipline. 2001/ 2002: when quite a few things changed for Vive La Fête. First, there was scandal. Rethinking her stage gear, Els decided to make a bra out of thick black duct tape. Neatly combining it with stiletto's and a mini-skirt, she took the stage at a Belgian summer festival. True to say, quite some flash bulbs went off during the Vive slot. Less expectedly, the day after the gig the papers called her 'a very bad example for little girls' 2001 also saw the release of Vive La Fête's third album République Populaire (Surprise), preceded by a 12-inch (Tokyo, Surprise). Taking in hard-edged electro, cinematic synth pop, gentle torch ballads and wigged-out rock-outs, République Populaire proved to be both diverse and highly personal. Then, in a weird turn of fate, a fashion rollercoaster swiftly took Vive La Fête around the world. In the past, the band already had been favoured by the fashion scene (Antwerp-based designer Walter Van Beirendonck, one of the original Antwerp Six, and French designer Christophe Lemaire, now creative consultant for Lacoste, both played Vive-tracks during previous catwalk shows, and the luxury house Louis Vuitton once chose a selection of Vive-records to be used as pre-show music). But from 2001 on, the fashion connection took shape in a more rewarding way. Parisian DJ Michel Gaubert included Vive La Fête on a cd for Parisian fashion superstore Colette and passed on Vive's back catalogue to Karl Lagerfeld, head designer for Chanel. The latter played the entire République Populaire album during his Chanel Couture presentation in July 2001. Months later Vive were invited to provide the live soundtrack for a Comme des Garçons catwalk show held in Antwerp, during Landed/Geland 2001, a prestigious fashion project cum happening. The real breakthrough came in spring 2002, when Karl Lagerfeld proclaimed himself Vive's biggest fan and returned the favour by letting them play a live set during the Paris presentation of his Chanel collection. Vive La Fête performed in front of the world's most renowned fashion editors and fashion photographers and made fashion news headlines everywhere. Lagerfeld also took the band on board for his subsequent Chanel shows in Tokyo and Las Vegas. Suddenly, Vive's phone number was in every fashionista's book and Els Pynoo was heralded as a new style icon. Italia Vogue dedicated a 20-page photo shoot to the Belgian beauty, and both American Vogue and Vogue Paris followed duly. New York avant-garde magazine V got Vive to pose on its glossy pages ànd to play on their exclusive parties while British style bible i-D got into a Vive frenzy as well. The band also played at the Bal de la Rose, the annual celebrity bash in Monaco, hosted by the royal family of Monaco. Oh, so Vive La Fête are just another fashion-endorsed nouveau electro so-hip-it-hurts kinda combo then ? Wrong. They were doing electropop before the word was invented. They never had, and never will have, personal stylists and make-up artists. They don't consider fashion parties their natural hunting grounds. They don't do 'ironic' robot dances. Well, basically a new album, their fourth, called Nuit Blanche (an expression the French use to describe a festive night without sleep). After an extensive tour in Belgium, France and Switzerland, Danny and Els holed up in their home studio once again, determined to prove their worth to their new-found fan base. Several months in the making, Nuit Blanche is easily their best release to date. Straightforward, booming and confident, the album has a true pop sensibility without it losing its darker edges. All the Vive La Fête trademarks are here (the couple's call-and-response singing, the simple yet highly effective – and revealing- lyrics by Els, the still unique mix of dancefloor electro, bass-heavy punk rock and Sixties-style chançons) but it's obvious the scope has widened. "I think Nuit Blanche is about the best electropop record ever, and I'm comparing it to some of my own old heroes from the eighties, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Indochine, Rita Mitsouko, Ultravox The Nuit Blanche album is very well received all over Europe. Sales go well and the album gets a place in the charts. In summer a new single is released, the title track from the album Nuit Blanche and gets high rotation on national radio for months.Vive La Fête plays all major summer festivals in Belgium & Holland, are invited for a showcase at the music fair Popkomm in Germany, go to Portugal etc The live show is getting better and better. Vive la Fête are breaking through in Switzerland and Sweden and gig a sold-out tour. From Gotheburg to Stockholm and from Bern to Basel, the reviews were raving. Only a week after the band returned from Sweden, Els and Danny do a show at the Caffe Dali in Milano, Italy. Once again, the show is totally sold-out and over 200 people are standing outside: they are the ones who couldn't get a ticket. "They're just fantastic to see live; Els and Danny are truly enigmatic on stage! They seemed to enjoy themselves; to watch an electro-pop/kitsch-pop band with such an enormous 'go', attitude and live feeling was really something special!" – Swedish media quote Vive la Fête release the third single off their latest album "Nuit Blanche" on 12" vinyl only. The record, "Noir Desir", features two exclusive remixes. Danny made the song as an ode to his friend Bertrand Cantat, lead singer of the French million selling supergroup Noir Désir, long before the unhappy incident took place that was spread out all over the international press. Could we call Danny a visionary man for that? We'll probably never know. The original version is accompanied by two remixes: “Vivasulfer Extended Remix” is featuring ABN frontman Quinte, here starring under his alias VIKTOR VOLTA rapping his guts out (“Gimme a finger, bitch, I'll break it…”) while the “Peepshow Remix” goes for a more commercial technoid remix done by VLF's fomer keyplayer FRANCOIS. In November 2003, the Ford automobile factory in Genk undergoes a major crisis; Danny and Els record an exclusive brand new song supporting the employees of the factory: “Vive La Fiesta!” Meantime, the couple becomes acquainted with La Ciccolina, the Italian pornstar who was once married to Jef Koons and an ex-(ahum)member of the Italian Parliament. They perform at the Ex-Porn Star party in Amsterdam and are invited on the Dutch RTL4 TV show "Barend en van Dorp". In December, the Surprise label launches “Attaque Populaire” a special collection of VLF favourites taken from their first three albums plus rare remixes (including the Tommie Sunshine one), 12" versions and a cover/remix of "Living on Video", the 80's hit of TRANS-X. "Attaque Populaire" is a vinyl only special edition double pack and will not be released on CD. Most of the tracks were not available on vinyl before. One for the DJ's and vinylfreaks… "Noir Desir" is getting heavy airplay in the UK, after the legendary John Peel put the song on his playlist several times. Raving reviews of both the maxi and the album "Nuit Blanche" appeared in magazines such as Jockey Slut, Update, NME and soon Wire and Uncut. The song made it to number 15 in BBC Radio 1's Festive Top 50. In his show, DJ John Peel said the song is in his personal top 5 of the year, but because the listeners to his show had a vote too, "Noir Desir" only made it to number 15 - which is still great news, considering it's the only Belgian song in the entire list! "I am extremely keen to review the new Vive La Fete album "Nuit Blanche" as I have been completely blown away by the "Noir Desir" single - in my view, the most extraordinary female vocal performance on a pop record since "Birthday" by the Sugarcubes - and would like to hear more." In addition to their live gigs as a band, Els and Danny make their stage debut in the UK with a duo performance in Club 333. "Fucking amazing" was just one of the reactions to the set. Designed for small venues and clubs the VLF duo gigs more of these cozy concerts. The UK is definitely ready for VLF! Winter break: Danny Mommens spends lots of time in the studio recording the new dEUS album (where he is still the bassplayer, yes!). Studio Brussel broadcasts an improvised song/poem that VLF recorded with jazz musicians Piet Jorens on drums and Koen Galet on piano. Mister Mommens plays standing bass. World famous lifestyle magazine Elle has its 15 years anniversary party. The magazine invited Vive La Fete to play for many invited guests. This happening took place in Dusseldorf, Germany and was a guest-only party. “Hailing from Belgium, Vive La Fête is the most stylish musical duo since Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin or Debbie Harry & Chris Stein; and they have a perfect electro-sound (they call it ‘kitch pop') that makes you feel –and look- good… their record is excellent and their live act even better” - V Magazine VLF gets massive and continuous airplay in The Netherlands and play lots of clubs and festivals. In April they perform a quite unique full set at a party near Amsterdam.It's their first show in Holland after the winterbreak. Besides headliner Vive la Fete, there are also performances by British multi-media artist Anat Ben-David and a full set by Berlin's electro-punk-girl-trio Chicks on Speed. Honorary guests are founding members of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz. They host the evening and serve up some surprises of their own. The apotheose of this night was VIVE LA FETE and TALKING HEADS, Chris & Tina playing together a memorable live version of PSYCHO KILLER. The crowd went absolutely wild and everybody agreed that this was one of the best live versions one has ever heard of this famous song! Chris & Tina, who love Vive La Fête's music & style, promptly invited them to play together again in New York. Exact date to be announced. In addition to this, VLF officially cover Tom Tom Club's famous 1981 hit ‘Wordy Rappinghood', destined to land on the flipside of their brand new single ‘Schwarzkopf' The new VLF single "Schwarzkopf" premieres on Belgian National pop-radiostation Studio Brussel in the second week of March (release mid April). The 12” serves as kind of pre-taster for the new full album. “Schwarzkopf” is a fresh & catchy, but above all a damn sexy tune, perfect as the soundtrack song for coming springtime. The funny lyrics wander about “…Les cheveux noirs comme une popstar…”; ‘Schwarzkopf' could be translated as ‘Blackie' [someone with raven black hair like Danny Mommens]. REMIX wise, the song is reworked by labelmates and electroclubfunkers THE BACKLASH, known for their acclaimed “Magnificent 7”, who deliver a bouncing electroclub tune, definitely one for the floor. Next up is a remix from VIVE LA FÊTE themselves for TOM TOM CLUB's world-famous classic and novelty hit “Wordy Rappinghood” [1981], by demand of Tina & Chris. And surely, believe us, the transformed ‘Vive La Rappinghood” remix/cover is worth a listen and a dance… After the success of the 12” a new format for ‘Schwarzkopf is announced: it will be released on CD EP with the exclusive rework VIVE LA FETE did on TRANS X's electrowave classic “Living On Video”, before only available on the infamous vinyl only dj-pack ‘Attaque Populaire' (and thus appears on CD here for the very first time). Viva Brasil, Viva a Festa. Later that year they also will release Vive La Fete's previous albums: Republique Populaire and Attaque Surprise. VLF finish the video for the current single "Schwarzkopf" and for a change you can see Els with black hair and Danny as Blondie! The clip is shown on the music channels worldwide. In June they play in Paris, a pre-release party in a sold out club and later that month they do a live radio show for France Inter. The Nuit Blanche album will be released in France in September by V2. Vive La Fête has a very busy summer again, they play at several major European festivals including Pinkpop (NL), Roskilde (DK), Gurten (CH), Arvika (S), Meetingpop (E) and are also invited for 2 concerts in Russia (Moskou & St Petersburg). Amongst their most famous fans we can count Karl Lagerfeld, Miss Kittin, Felix da Housecat, Tommie Sunshine, Laurent Garnier, Tom Tom Club, Jock McDonald, Christophe Lemaire, Jeremy Scott, Kelly Osbourne, Michel Gaubert, Walter van Beirendonck, Tiga, Kim Peers, the Glimmer Twins, DJ Low, Raf Simons… and many more dj's, music lovers, fashion stars, movie actors and fans around the globe.