Poésie Noire
Encyclopedia
Poésie Noire were a Belgian
band that rose to prominence in the mid-80's and whose active career lasted until the early 1990s. Their Belgian
origins and tendency to develop a goth-oriented, synthetic, gloomy universe with low-pitched voices - Poésie Noire could translate by "Black/Dark Poetry" - had them categorized as EBM
such as other Belgian
members of the 1980s electronic music
scene like À;GRUMH...
or A Split-Second
. However, much in the manner of various renowned Belgian
EBM
bands like The Neon Judgement
and, to some extent, Front 242
, they declared, through their music,
a will to step away from the usual industrial
aggressiveness that characterized Electronic body music
and developed a more mainstream
accessible dark pop sound that helped them to be regarded as plain New Wave
or goth
New Wave
.
In 1991, Irish vocalist Evanna would join the band for the needs of the Marianne album - because producer Ludo Camberlin didn't feel Marianne's voice was right for the album and Evanna's had more warmth and soul to it- and stay with them until the band 's imminent end.
that hosted large amounts of prestigious bands such as The Smiths
in 1984 or even Slade
in 2009) This domestic victory probably played a part in giving the band a flattering reputation because the following year, Poésie Noire started supporting Dead Can Dance
and The Sisters of Mercy
on tour, seizing this great opportunity of getting in touch with those huge post-punk
, goth rock bands' audiences to display their own musical conception of darkness to them and have personal gigs set up in the meantime.
Along their years as Poésie Noire, the band demonstrated qualities as a prolific act with intensive releases : in just seven years, Casters, Valvekens and Gillis offered their fans 9 albums and mini-albums, 2 official best of compilation, 1 remix compilation and 15 singles which allowed them to appear on various EBM
or New Wave
compilations and become genuine figures of the kind throughout their sphere of influence.
With the help of Ludo Camberlin aka Carl S. Johansen, who had been their producer since the 1989 album Love is Colder than Death, Poésie Noire changed their name to TBX ("To Be eXcited", that is) and signed to larger label EMI
Belgium that enabled them to release this Delirious album which had been the source of so many issues and changes. But unfortunately for the band, this "new beginning" rapidly ended up unsuccessful - because the band's "music [was not] meant for [the] mass consumption [that EMI
was used to aiming at]", their official site explains - and led EMI
Belgium to delete TBX from their catalog promptly afterwards. Consequently, for Poésie Noire/TBX, the bell tolled.
The release of this new opus goes along with Poésie Noire taking part in the Sinner's Day festival, on October 31, 2010, together with such prestigious artists as Heaven 17
, Nina Hagen
, Marc Almond
, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen
, Peter Murphy
, The Selecter
, Department S
, Marky Ramone
, Jah Wobble
or Young Gods.
As a producer or executive producer, Jo has been involved in several obscure projects such as The Passion of a Primitif, Company of State, Men 2nd, In Sotto Voce, Attrition
, Ei Mori, Bulgarka, Danse Macabre, Pussy Jew, Dee Bass, Translator, Minimalistix
, Orion Too feat. Caitlin, Roxane and Biba Binoche.
As a remixer or editor, once again, Jo has linked up with a large selection of artists from very obscure to popular favourites as proved by the following list : The Neon Judgement
, Jean-Paul Gaultier
, The Weathermen
, Jean-Jacques Smoothie, Sinéad O'Connor
.
Though Jo and Marianne seem to go on making music together, Jo was known, in the late 90's, to be working in the field of important musical events coordination and then as A&R
for the Roadrunner turned Mostiko division of Arcade/CNR.
, The Airplane Crashers, Voor Den Broode, German Beat Syndrome, Neue Beat Collectione, Matt's Phantasy Club, Serious ft.JJ Maurie, Boris Mikulic, J.E.T., Strictly Nervous.
Among the projects he worked for as a writer or co-writer, one should note that he regularly assumed the position of a musician in some of them and took care of programming, keyboards and guitar-playing. Included in this category are The Passion of a Primitif (1987), Company of State (1987; 1988), In Sotto Voce - actually, a genuine Poésie Noire side-project posing as a Yugoslavian act. It was incarnated by Jo and Herman, respectively pretending to be Ilya Dimitrijevic and Boris Mikulic. The point of creating those bogus identities and launching this project was to give a "response to a belgian journalist who found Poésie Noire too "poppy" " (the official site claims) - (1987; 1988; 1989), Boris Mikulic (1990), Volt (formerly known as Running Cow) (1993)...
Gillis, much like Casters, also remixed or edited recordings by various artists either with or without Jo : Jean-Paul Gaultier
(1989), Take 6 and Take 7 (19??), DWF (1990), Wire
...
Producing records soon got Herman interested and he quickly had his own production company set up : Sherman Productions. Among the acts produced by him - either with or without Jo, once again - one can point out : Ei Mori (1988), Bulgarka (1988), Danse Macabre (1988), Boris Mikulic (1990), Spectralyzer (1991), Trance Too (1991), Volt (1993-1994) or Hypnotyz (199?).
Herman Gillis is also reputed for working on a first hand-made filter known as the Sherman Filterbank used by many renowned artists such as Air, The Chemical Brothers
, Madonna
or The Rolling Stones
. After the band Volt he was involved in split up, Gillis decided he would resign from the music scene and dedicate his energy to the conception of electronic filters and effect boxes of the same kind.
As a vocalist, Marianne, along with Jo, took part in the 1986 Mijn-Alarm ("Mine-Alarm" in Dutch) project which consisted in gathering the singers from 19 Belgian bands such as The Scabs, The Pop Gun or Siglo XX
: each of them were to sing a couple lines from the project's song so as to produce a record whose goal was to raise money for the Limburg mineworkers. Later, in 2001, she also gave her voice to M&M Project feat.M's 'Wide anthem (Sometimes It Hurt) - the final '"M"' stood for Marianne - one of the many Johan-related projects she contributed to also as a writer-composer.
When she assumed those positions, Marianne used two pseudonyms - Laura Furia and Mateke Porton - which she signed several contributions to various projects with : Strictly Nervous, A Collection Of Acid Jazz - Jazzy House - Jazz Dance (1993), M&M Project feat.M's 'Wide anthem (Sometimes It Hurt) (2001), Orion Too feat.Caitlin's Hope and Wait (2002), So Shy (2002),Travelling (2003) and Making Love For The First Time (2003), Biba Binoche's Je Chante pour toi (2004) and X3 vs Francis Goya's Rain, the guitar song (2003).
Around 2003, she was also said to be writing a book but no further piece of news has ever surfaced about it since then.
However, it seems that from the late 1990s onwards, Marianne's main occupation has been as a worker in some kind of employment agency.
) and has kept producing other influential members of the Belgian
music scene such as The Lords of Acid ever since. He apparently now focusses on writing and producing house
and techno records.
Stiletto, a Brazilian record label, also released another LP version of this compilation with 5 songs less than the Antler-Subway one.
or EBM
compilations have included songs by Poésie Noire among their selections. Nevertheless, some of the compilations below are also German, Austrian, Swedish, Spanish, Dutch, British or even American ones thus vouching for the band's relative fame outside the Belgian borders.
Pity For The Self version of Gioconda Smile with the last minute missing
A track previously known as Kju:T:The Sea when broadcast on Radio Studio Brussels in 1998 after an interview with Johan Casters
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
band that rose to prominence in the mid-80's and whose active career lasted until the early 1990s. Their Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
origins and tendency to develop a goth-oriented, synthetic, gloomy universe with low-pitched voices - Poésie Noire could translate by "Black/Dark Poetry" - had them categorized as EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
such as other Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
members of the 1980s electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
scene like À;GRUMH...
À;GRUMH...
à;GRUMH... was a Belgian EBM/industrial band, founded in 1981 by SΔ3 Evets and JΔ3 Seuqcaj , both from Charleroi, Belgium...
or A Split-Second
A Split-Second
A Split-Second was a Belgian electronic body music band. The duo — Marc Ickx and Peter Bonne — were active from their debut in 1986 until they split up in 1991, and A Split-Second continued as an Ickx solo project.After signing to Antler Records, A Split-Second made their debut in 1986...
. However, much in the manner of various renowned Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
bands like The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement is a Belgian new wave band.The band was started in Leuven in 1981 by Dirk Da Davo and TB Frank.On the 21st of August 1985, the band opened a new alternative music festival, named Pukkelpop...
and, to some extent, Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
, they declared, through their music,
a will to step away from the usual industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
aggressiveness that characterized Electronic body music
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
and developed a more mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
accessible dark pop sound that helped them to be regarded as plain New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
or goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
.
Band Members
Initially based on seven members, Poésie Noire rapidly boiled down to just three hardcore members so as to be finally incarnated by Johan Casters aka "La Bête Noire" - "The Black/Dark Beast" - (writer, composer and main male singer of the band), Marianne Valvekens (co-writer, female vocalist up to the 1991 Marianne album and keyboard player) and Herman Gillis (co-writer and mainly the band's guitar player.) As Poésie Noire 's fanbase grew along the years, Johan and Marianne were soon to be given "status nicknames" (probably in tradition of some typically "Goth-spirited" symbolical hierarchy.) Consequently, it did not take long for Casters to be considered the band's "Master" to the fans whereas Marianne became their "Goddess".In 1991, Irish vocalist Evanna would join the band for the needs of the Marianne album - because producer Ludo Camberlin didn't feel Marianne's voice was right for the album and Evanna's had more warmth and soul to it- and stay with them until the band 's imminent end.
Career summary
Very little is known about how the band actually started their career in music. Nevertheless, they are known to have won the 1985 Breekend Rock Festival (a long-lasting, reputed festival set in Bree, BelgiumBree, Belgium
Bree is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Bree had a total population of 14,503. The total area is 64.96 km² which gives it a population density of 223 inhabitants per square km...
that hosted large amounts of prestigious bands such as The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
in 1984 or even Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
in 2009) This domestic victory probably played a part in giving the band a flattering reputation because the following year, Poésie Noire started supporting Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance
Dead Can Dance are an ethereal neoclassical duo formed in Melbourne, Australia, in August 1981, by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. The band relocated to London in May 1982 and disbanded in 1998. Their 1996 album Spiritchaser reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top World Music Albums Chart...
and The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy
The Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
on tour, seizing this great opportunity of getting in touch with those huge post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, goth rock bands' audiences to display their own musical conception of darkness to them and have personal gigs set up in the meantime.
Along their years as Poésie Noire, the band demonstrated qualities as a prolific act with intensive releases : in just seven years, Casters, Valvekens and Gillis offered their fans 9 albums and mini-albums, 2 official best of compilation, 1 remix compilation and 15 singles which allowed them to appear on various EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
or New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
compilations and become genuine figures of the kind throughout their sphere of influence.
TBX
By 1992, it seems the relations between Poésie Noire and their label, Antler-Subway, were not as sound as they used to. Indeed, the record label promised the band they would release yet another album of the band's composition entitled Delirious but this never happened and Antler-Subway finally released Jo, Herman and newcomer Evanna from their recording contract instead.With the help of Ludo Camberlin aka Carl S. Johansen, who had been their producer since the 1989 album Love is Colder than Death, Poésie Noire changed their name to TBX ("To Be eXcited", that is) and signed to larger label EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Belgium that enabled them to release this Delirious album which had been the source of so many issues and changes. But unfortunately for the band, this "new beginning" rapidly ended up unsuccessful - because the band's "music [was not] meant for [the] mass consumption [that EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
was used to aiming at]", their official site explains - and led EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Belgium to delete TBX from their catalog promptly afterwards. Consequently, for Poésie Noire/TBX, the bell tolled.
Sense Of Purpose
More than a decade after the band split, they formed again and started working on a new album, Sense Of Purpose, finally released in October 2010 under the name that made them famous, Poésie Noire.The release of this new opus goes along with Poésie Noire taking part in the Sinner's Day festival, on October 31, 2010, together with such prestigious artists as Heaven 17
Heaven 17
Heaven 17 are an English synthpop band originating from Sheffield in the early 1980s. The trio comprises Martyn Ware , Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn Gregory...
, Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen
Nina Hagen is a German singer and actress.-Early years:Hagen was born as Catharina Hagen in the former East Berlin, East Germany, the daughter of Hans Hagen , a scriptwriter, and Eva-Maria Hagen, an actress and singer...
, Marc Almond
Marc Almond
Marc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
, Peter Murphy
Peter Murphy (musician)
Peter John Murphy is an English rock vocalist. He was the vocalist of the rock group Bauhaus, and later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Deep and Love Hysteria...
, The Selecter
The Selecter
The Selecter are a 2 Tone ska revival band from Coventry, England, formed in mid 1979.Like many other bands in the ska revival movement, The Selecter featured a racially diverse line-up. Their lyrics featured themes connected to politics and marijuana, set to strong melodies and a danceable beat...
, Department S
Department S
Department S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King , Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst...
, Marky Ramone
Marky Ramone
Marky Ramone is an American musician. He is best known for being the drummer for the Ramones, but has also played in other notable bands like Dust, Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and the Misfits.Although he is not the original drummer , Marky is the only living...
, Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble
Jah Wobble is an English bass guitarist, singer, poet and composer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but left the band after two albums...
or Young Gods.
Side-Projects and Aftermath
After Poésie Noire disbanded, their members carried on musical projects they had been involved in while the band was active, developed new ones or radically turned over a new leaf.Johan Casters
Using different aliases (Morton, Joey Morton, Pateke Morton, Ilya Dimitrijevic,Jill (or Jille) Johnson or Alessandro Di Ravo), Johan Casters has extensively served as a writer, producer and even remixer or editor for various acts and artists. He has developed personal projects from the late 1980s onwards, either alone or with Herman Gillis.As a producer or executive producer, Jo has been involved in several obscure projects such as The Passion of a Primitif, Company of State, Men 2nd, In Sotto Voce, Attrition
Attrition (band)
Attrition are an electronic music band, formed in Coventry, England in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly...
, Ei Mori, Bulgarka, Danse Macabre, Pussy Jew, Dee Bass, Translator, Minimalistix
Minimalistix
Minimalistix is a trance project from Belgium, consisting of members Dave Lambrechts, Janus De Decker, Johan Casters, Peter Bellaert and Steve Sidewinder ....
, Orion Too feat. Caitlin, Roxane and Biba Binoche.
As a remixer or editor, once again, Jo has linked up with a large selection of artists from very obscure to popular favourites as proved by the following list : The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement
The Neon Judgement is a Belgian new wave band.The band was started in Leuven in 1981 by Dirk Da Davo and TB Frank.On the 21st of August 1985, the band opened a new alternative music festival, named Pukkelpop...
, Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
, The Weathermen
The Weathermen (Belgian band)
The Weathermen are a semi-satirical Belgium-based electronic and pop band.- History :The Weathermen began as a joke. A couple of Americano-Belgians recorded some music and then sent it to a local record company via the US under the pretence they were a couple of enigmatic Americans trying to invade...
, Jean-Jacques Smoothie, Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
.
Though Jo and Marianne seem to go on making music together, Jo was known, in the late 90's, to be working in the field of important musical events coordination and then as A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
for the Roadrunner turned Mostiko division of Arcade/CNR.
Johan Casters and Herman Gillis (and sometimes, Marianne)
While Poésie Noire was still active, Jo and Herman have been involved as writers and composers in the full or partial development of original or pre-existing projects (with the occasional help of Marianne). The two of them usually worked together though, every once in a while, only one of them would be involved. The massive list of projects the two happen to be behind includes In Sotto Voce, Brothers on Acid, Ei Mori, Bulgarka, Trio Balkana, Fruit of Life, Erotic Dissidents, Mission Impossible, The Brothers, Morton, Sherman and Bellucci, Danse Macabre, Opium Monks, Berliner Meisterschaft, The Secrets of China, Kings of Agreppo, Explorers of the Nile, Taste of Sugar feat. K. Finley, TNT Clan, The New Beat Sensation, Msb Sound System, Beat Professor, The Freak Brothers, Student Fashion, Mr. Horse, Subway's new Acid House Techno Beat, Balearic Beach, M.S.B., Supernova, Brotherhood of Sleep, The MoneymakersThe Moneymakers
The Moneymakers was a late 1960s Canadian game show that was taped in Ottawa. Its bonus round featured a moving decimal point....
, The Airplane Crashers, Voor Den Broode, German Beat Syndrome, Neue Beat Collectione, Matt's Phantasy Club, Serious ft.JJ Maurie, Boris Mikulic, J.E.T., Strictly Nervous.
Herman Gillis
Similarly to Casters, while he was already busy co-writing Poésie Noire tracks and playing the guitar on them, Herman made sure to develop parallel activities as a producer, writer, composer, programmer and musician using, like his fellow singer, multiple nicknames : Sherman, Herman Sherman, Boris Mikulic and Tessa Rossa. Those activities can be traced back to 1987 until 1994.Among the projects he worked for as a writer or co-writer, one should note that he regularly assumed the position of a musician in some of them and took care of programming, keyboards and guitar-playing. Included in this category are The Passion of a Primitif (1987), Company of State (1987; 1988), In Sotto Voce - actually, a genuine Poésie Noire side-project posing as a Yugoslavian act. It was incarnated by Jo and Herman, respectively pretending to be Ilya Dimitrijevic and Boris Mikulic. The point of creating those bogus identities and launching this project was to give a "response to a belgian journalist who found Poésie Noire too "poppy" " (the official site claims) - (1987; 1988; 1989), Boris Mikulic (1990), Volt (formerly known as Running Cow) (1993)...
Gillis, much like Casters, also remixed or edited recordings by various artists either with or without Jo : Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....
(1989), Take 6 and Take 7 (19??), DWF (1990), Wire
Wire (band)
Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
...
Producing records soon got Herman interested and he quickly had his own production company set up : Sherman Productions. Among the acts produced by him - either with or without Jo, once again - one can point out : Ei Mori (1988), Bulgarka (1988), Danse Macabre (1988), Boris Mikulic (1990), Spectralyzer (1991), Trance Too (1991), Volt (1993-1994) or Hypnotyz (199?).
Herman Gillis is also reputed for working on a first hand-made filter known as the Sherman Filterbank used by many renowned artists such as Air, The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
or The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
. After the band Volt he was involved in split up, Gillis decided he would resign from the music scene and dedicate his energy to the conception of electronic filters and effect boxes of the same kind.
Marianne Valvekens
Contrarily to Jo and Hermann, it seems that record production was never an ambition to Marianne which did not stop her from lending her voice to other Poésie Noire-related projects - being sometimes credited as Marianne "the Ice Queen" Valvekens - and taking part in the writing and composing of other projects, as well.As a vocalist, Marianne, along with Jo, took part in the 1986 Mijn-Alarm ("Mine-Alarm" in Dutch) project which consisted in gathering the singers from 19 Belgian bands such as The Scabs, The Pop Gun or Siglo XX
Siglo XX (band)
Siglo XX was a Belgian Coldwave, Darkwave and Gothic rock group from Genk active from 1979-1989. The group's sound was influenced by Joy Division and Factory Records. Siglo XX was one of the more well-known Belgian coldwave bands and by 2010 was considered to have been a key influence on the...
: each of them were to sing a couple lines from the project's song so as to produce a record whose goal was to raise money for the Limburg mineworkers. Later, in 2001, she also gave her voice to M&M Project feat.M's 'Wide anthem (Sometimes It Hurt) - the final '"M"' stood for Marianne - one of the many Johan-related projects she contributed to also as a writer-composer.
When she assumed those positions, Marianne used two pseudonyms - Laura Furia and Mateke Porton - which she signed several contributions to various projects with : Strictly Nervous, A Collection Of Acid Jazz - Jazzy House - Jazz Dance (1993), M&M Project feat.M's 'Wide anthem (Sometimes It Hurt) (2001), Orion Too feat.Caitlin's Hope and Wait (2002), So Shy (2002),Travelling (2003) and Making Love For The First Time (2003), Biba Binoche's Je Chante pour toi (2004) and X3 vs Francis Goya's Rain, the guitar song (2003).
Around 2003, she was also said to be writing a book but no further piece of news has ever surfaced about it since then.
However, it seems that from the late 1990s onwards, Marianne's main occupation has been as a worker in some kind of employment agency.
Evanna
After her Poésie Noire/TBX years, it seems Evanna has not been heard of again in the music-making businessLudo Camberlin/Carl S. Johansen
While living the Poésie Noire/TBX episode, Ludo Camberlin also worked as a producer on projects affiliated with Jo (AttritionAttrition
Attrition may refer to:*Physical wear*Attrition warfare, the military strategy of wearing down the enemy by continual losses in personnel and material*Loss of personnel by Withdrawal...
) and has kept producing other influential members of the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
music scene such as The Lords of Acid ever since. He apparently now focusses on writing and producing house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and techno records.
Albums and Mini-Albums
- The Gioconda Smile (1985, ARS Records, LP)
- Hum And Haw (1986, Antler-Subway, LP)
- Tales of Doom (1987, Antler-Subway, LP/CD)
- Tetra (1988, Antler-Subway, LP/CD)
- Existential Despair Methaphysical Distress Ontological Ungludation and Cosmic Meltdown (1988, Antler-Subway, CD)
- En Grande Colère (Seven Tales of Schizophrenia) (1988, Antler-Subway, LP)
- (Untitled) (1988, Antler-Subway, Cassette)
- Pity For The Self Or We'll Teach You To Dance (1989, Antler-Subway, LP)
- En Grand Colère & Pity For The Self Or We'll Teach You To Dance (1989, Antler-Subway,CD)
- Love is Colder than Death (1989, Antler-Subway, LP/CD/Cassette)
- Complicated - Compilated 84-89 (Best Of Compilation) (1990, Antler-Subway, LP/CD/Cassette)
Stiletto, a Brazilian record label, also released another LP version of this compilation with 5 songs less than the Antler-Subway one.
- Marianne (1991, Antler-Subway,LP/CD/Cassette)
- Tabula Rasa (1991, Antler-Subway,CD)
- Delirious (as TBX) (1992, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Belgium/Creastars, CD/Cassette) - The Sense Of Purpose (2010)
Singles
- The Noble Art (1985, ARS Records, 12")
- The Gioconda Smile (1985, ARS Records, 12")
- Starvation of a Mind (1986, Antler-Subway, 7")
- Radio-Active Flood (1987, Antler-Subway, 12")
- Timber (1987, Antler-Subway, 12")
- Tragedy (1988, Antler-Subway, 7")
- Taste of Candy (1988, Antler-Subway, 7")
- Love is Colder than Death (1989, Antler-Subway, 12")
- Déjà Vu (1989, Antler-Subway, 7")
- Oblivion (1989, Antler-Subway, 12"/CDM)
- Toulouse (1990, Antler-Subway, 7"/12"/CDM)
- I Didn't Ask (1991, Antler-Subway, 7"/12")
- I've Lost A Friend (1991, Antler-Subway, 7"/12")
- B-Wall (1991, Antler-Subway, 7")
- Timber (Remix) (1991, Boy Records (Spain), 7"/12")
- Inspire Me (as TBX) (1992, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Belgium/Creastars, 7"/12"/CDS/CDM) - Sea of Love (as TBX) (1992, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Belgium/Creastars, 7"/CDS) - Mercedes Benz (as TBX) (1992, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Belgium/Creastars, 7"/CDS)
Bootleg Compilations
It is to be noted that due to some apparent popularity in some parts of South America, Brazilian labels NovoDisc Brasil Industria Fonographica Ltda and CD+ Nordeste Digital Line/MPR Records released two "Best Of Poésie Noire" Cds between 2002 and 2005. Those CDs cover most of the band's career (exclusively focussing on the Antler-Subway years, that is) by use of randomly selected tracks made up of both singles and LP titles.- Best Of Vol.1 (2002, NovoDisc Brasil Industria Fonographica Ltda, Brazil, CD)
- Best Of Vol.2 (2005, CD+ Nordeste Digital Line/MPR Records, Brazil, CD)
- DJ Chesko - New Wave Mix Vol.8 (?, Not on Label, Belgium, CD) / Track : Hiroshima Mon Amour
Compilation Appearances
Due to their domestic popularity, several Belgian New WaveNew Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
or EBM
Electronic body music
Electronic body music or industrial dance is a music genre that combines elements of industrial music and electronic dance music...
compilations have included songs by Poésie Noire among their selections. Nevertheless, some of the compilations below are also German, Austrian, Swedish, Spanish, Dutch, British or even American ones thus vouching for the band's relative fame outside the Belgian borders.
- Mad In Belgium 2 (1985, Mad Tapes & Records, Belgium, Cassette) / Track : Mohenjodare
- The New World Beat (1987, New World Records, Belgium, Double LP) / Track : Gioconda Smile (Album version)
- One Of A Number, Part Of A Whole (1987, Antler, ? / Energy Hot Stuff, Sweden, LP) / Track : Restraint
- TotalBeatFactor (1988, Big Nopise In Archgate, UK, EP) / Track : Radio-Active Flood
- World of Electronic Body Music (1989, Antler, Austria, LP/CD/MC) / Track : Adaptation
- Repérages Couleurs - Vol.3 - 1988 (1992, 150 BPM Record, ?, CD) / Track : Tragedy
- Spring 1990 Promo Sampler (1990, Antler-Subway, Belgium, Cassette/Sampler/Promo) / Track : Taste of Candy
- Studio Brussel - Update Live (1992, ART, Austria, CD) / Track : Just To Be Me Again
- New Wave Club Class-X 3 (1992, Antler-Subway, Belgium, CD/MC) / Track : Gioconda smile (Original) (Also part of CD Box Set, 98 New Wave Club Class•X Traxx!!! released in 1996 by PIASPIAS-Abbreviations:* PIAS Entertainment Group** Pln, Sam, an independent record label based in London and owned by the PIAS Entertainment Group** PIAS Recordings, an international recoro known as Play it Again, Sam Records...
, Belgium) - Guitars & Machines (1995, Blanco Y Negro, Spain, Double LP/Double CD) / Track : Pity For The Self
- New Wave Belgian Class-X (1997, Antler-Subway, Holland, CD) / Track : Poésie Noire: Gioconda Smile (Instrumental)
- Sounds Of EBM (1997, Never Records/Antler-Subway, USA, CD) / Track : Adaptation
- Voll Auf Die Zehn! (1997, Public Propaganda, ?, Double LP) / Track : Timber
- EBM Club Classics (1998, Synthtic Symphony/SPV GmbH, ?, Double CD) / Track : Compjutr Syntax Error
- Club Wave 2 (1999, ARS Production, Belgium, Double CD) / Track Gioconda Smile
- Real Electronic Beats Classix (2001, Roadrunner Arcade, ?, Double CD) / Track : Gioconda Smile
Pity For The Self version of Gioconda Smile with the last minute missing
- Date Café (2001, Arcade, ?, Double CD) / Track : Kju:T: All I Wanna Do
A track previously known as Kju:T:The Sea when broadcast on Radio Studio Brussels in 1998 after an interview with Johan Casters
- Spook Factory (2003, Contraseña Records, Spain, Double CD) / Track : Uncertain Smile
- Bel80 1985 (2005, Universal Music, Germany, CD) / Track : Gioconda Smile
- Bel80 1986 (2005, Universal Music, Germany, CD) / Track : Starvation of the Mind
- Bel80 1987 (2005, Universal Music, Germany, CD) / Track : Timber
- Bel80 1991 (2006, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
Music, ?, CD) / Track : Just To Be Me Again