Robert (singer)
Encyclopedia
Robert, or RoBERT is a French singer, composer and lyricist.
An independent artist and songwriter, Robert's musical style is described as fairy
-like, halfway between the tragic and the gothic
, sometimes with a pinch of nonsense. Themes of death, childhood, and love regularly appear in her songs, marked by her crystalline, often fragile opera voice and the baroque (and sometimes electronic) music. Often compared to Mylène Farmer
, Barbara
or Marie Laforêt
, she has found artistic success in France and Belgium
, but also in Japan, in spite of a certain media absence. Robert's live shows are often full of hypnotic, giddy, often joyful or even dramatic performances.
forced her to abandon her dream when she was a teenager. After a career in acting, she began to dedicate herself to music in 1989. Since then, she has collaborated in most cases with her husband Mathieu Saladin, musician and often co-compositor.
In November 1990, Robert released her first single, "Elle se promène", produced for the most part by Neal Aston in London. The popular song aired frequently on French radio and even became a dance hit in Japan. The single, along with the cold atmosphere of its music video directed by John Lvoff, attracted the interest of Mylène Farmer
, who invited the young artist to two radio shows. Robert subsequently appeared with Mylène Farmer
and performed in one of the shows presented by Nagui
.
's "Das Model
l". Robert's style was highly influenced by children's tales, a fact which is underlined by her minimalistic lyrics and the three videos made from Sine.
The same year, she accompanied Jean-François Coen on his "La Tour de Pise". The video for this song was directed by Michel Gondry
, who had helmed a futuristic videoclip of Robert's "Les jupes" some months earlier. She also provided background vocals to certain tracks of Cohen's self-titled album and accompanied him in a live performance on French TV show Taratata
.
instruments mixed with electronic loops and modern choreographies. In the same year, she met a fervent admirer: the Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb
. Nothomb went on to write "L'appel de la succube", interpreted by the singer on the second edition of Princesse de rien released in 2000. Around the same period, Robert gave her first concert in Paris in the Café de la Danse.
image style. Amélie Nothomb wrote the lyrics for six of the songs in the album and published The Book of Proper Names
, a romanticized account of Robert's biography.
Unutma (N'oublie pas) was compiled in 2004 from three of Robert's previous albums and included alternative versions of older songs as well as some new songs, notably the title track "Unutma" sung in Turkish. A track from this album, "Le Prince bleu", caught the attention of American actress Majandra Delfino
, whom Robert visited in California in 2003 to record a new version of the song. This duet gave rise to a computer animated video, which received several awards worldwide. A remix of Robert's song "Nickel" was created by Romain Tranchart
in 2003.
In 2005, she released her first live DVD from her 2004 performance in La Cigale
.
, clarinet
, harp, violins, flute) and more dramatic, fairy-like atmosphere than her previous works. The album included eleven songs written by Robert, as well as a cover of Marie Laforêt's "Prière pour aller au paradis", and a duet with actor Sacha Bourdo
, "Histoire du loup". French feature film director Gabriel Aghion
directed his first ever music video for the album's first single, "Personne".
On 5 February 2006, Robert performed in Paris's legendary Olympia
music hall, for the first time in sixteen years. Two new songs were added to the album's 2007 re-edition, including "Cold Earth", an adaptation of Henry Purcell
's "Cold Song" which was popularised in 1982 by Klaus Nomi
.
A year later, in late 2008, she recorded her new studio album under the title Sourde et aveugle, collaborating once again with her husband Mathieu Saladin and singing a duet with Austyn, a young French blues
musician. Acoustic guitars blended with her feminine often chidlike ethereal voice marked the new sound of the album.
In 2009, Givenchy
chose Robert to perform the soundtrack to the TV commercial for their latest perfume, Ange ou Démon le secret. The ad, directed by Mira Nair
, lensed by Declan Quinn
and starring Uma Thurman
, aired worldwide from September 2009. The song also sountracked a video by Michelle Phan
.
An independent artist and songwriter, Robert's musical style is described as fairy
Fairy
A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...
-like, halfway between the tragic and the gothic
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
, sometimes with a pinch of nonsense. Themes of death, childhood, and love regularly appear in her songs, marked by her crystalline, often fragile opera voice and the baroque (and sometimes electronic) music. Often compared to Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
, Barbara
Monique Serf
Monique Andrée Serf , known as Barbara , was a popular French female singer...
or Marie Laforêt
Marie Laforêt
Marie Laforêt is a French singer and actress, .In 1978 she moved to Geneva, Switzerland and took out Swiss nationality.-The sources of her birth name:...
, she has found artistic success in France and Belgium
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...
, but also in Japan, in spite of a certain media absence. Robert's live shows are often full of hypnotic, giddy, often joyful or even dramatic performances.
Early career
Before becoming a singer, Robert pursued a career as a classical ballet dancer as a student in the Opéra National de Paris, until bone decalcificationBone decalcification
Bone decalcification is the removal of calcium ions from the bone through histological process thereby making the bone flexible and easy for pathological investigation....
forced her to abandon her dream when she was a teenager. After a career in acting, she began to dedicate herself to music in 1989. Since then, she has collaborated in most cases with her husband Mathieu Saladin, musician and often co-compositor.
In November 1990, Robert released her first single, "Elle se promène", produced for the most part by Neal Aston in London. The popular song aired frequently on French radio and even became a dance hit in Japan. The single, along with the cold atmosphere of its music video directed by John Lvoff, attracted the interest of Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
, who invited the young artist to two radio shows. Robert subsequently appeared with Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
and performed in one of the shows presented by Nagui
Nagui
Nagui Fam is an Egyptian-born French TV and radio personality of Egyptian and Italian descent. In his professional life, he goes by his first name Nagui.- Biography :...
.
Sine
Three years later, in 1993, she released her debut album Sine, which featured 16 songs and has an underground electronic sound. The song was sung in French, English and German, as covers to her featured song, KraftwerkKraftwerk
Kraftwerk is an influential electronic music band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was formed by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider in 1970, and was fronted by them until Schneider's departure in 2008...
's "Das Model
Das Model
"Das Model" is a song recorded by the electro-pop group Kraftwerk in 1978; written by musicians Ralf Hütter and Karl Bartos, with artist Emil Schult collaborating on the lyrics. It is featured on the album, Die Mensch-Maschine; English version title: The Man-Machine...
l". Robert's style was highly influenced by children's tales, a fact which is underlined by her minimalistic lyrics and the three videos made from Sine.
The same year, she accompanied Jean-François Coen on his "La Tour de Pise". The video for this song was directed by Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :...
, who had helmed a futuristic videoclip of Robert's "Les jupes" some months earlier. She also provided background vocals to certain tracks of Cohen's self-titled album and accompanied him in a live performance on French TV show Taratata
Taratata
Taratata is a French TV show showcasing live and pre-recorded footage of current rock acts. Presented by Nagui since its début in 1993, the show was initially shown on France 2. This show often involves surprise and unlikely duets, as well as brief interviews with the artists...
.
Princesse de rien
In 1997, Robert released her second album, Princesse de rien, consisting of twelve songs. The album reflected a complete change in her musical style, using ancient baroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
instruments mixed with electronic loops and modern choreographies. In the same year, she met a fervent admirer: the Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb
Amélie Nothomb
Amélie Nothomb is a Belgian writer who writes in French.- Biography :Amélie Nothomb was born in Kobe, Japan to Belgian diplomats. She lived there until she was five years old, and then subsequently lived in China, New York, Bangladesh, Burma, Coventry and Laos...
. Nothomb went on to write "L'appel de la succube", interpreted by the singer on the second edition of Princesse de rien released in 2000. Around the same period, Robert gave her first concert in Paris in the Café de la Danse.
Celle qui tue & Unutma
In September 2002, Robert released her third album, Celle qui tue, featuring 13 + 1 songs. The album stylistically featured more electronic songs and projected Robert's image transitioning from a princess-like style into a witch/sirenSiren
In Greek mythology, the Sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli...
image style. Amélie Nothomb wrote the lyrics for six of the songs in the album and published The Book of Proper Names
Robert des noms propres
The Book of Proper Names is a Belgian novel by Amélie Nothomb. It was first published in 2002. It is a romanticized account of the life of the singer RoBERT, whom Nothomb became acquainted with as an avid admirer of her songs.-Plot:...
, a romanticized account of Robert's biography.
Unutma (N'oublie pas) was compiled in 2004 from three of Robert's previous albums and included alternative versions of older songs as well as some new songs, notably the title track "Unutma" sung in Turkish. A track from this album, "Le Prince bleu", caught the attention of American actress Majandra Delfino
Majandra Delfino
Majandra Delfino is an Alma Award-nominated Venezuelan-American actress and singer best known for her role as Maria DeLuca on the television series Roswell and Georgia's best friend, Jo Pye on the State of Georgia.-Personal life:Delfino was born in Caracas, Venezuela, the daughter of an...
, whom Robert visited in California in 2003 to record a new version of the song. This duet gave rise to a computer animated video, which received several awards worldwide. A remix of Robert's song "Nickel" was created by Romain Tranchart
Modjo
Modjo was a French house/pop musical duo made up of producer Romain Tranchart and vocalist Yann Destagnol . It had major success with its hit single "Lady ".-Biography:...
in 2003.
In 2005, she released her first live DVD from her 2004 performance in La Cigale
La Cigale
La Cigale is a theater at 120, boulevard de Rochechouart near Place Pigalle, in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. The theatre is part of a complex that is connected to Le Trabendo and the Boule Noire. The hall can accommodate 1389 people or 954 people...
.
Six pieds sous terre
In November 2005, Robert recorded her fourth album, Six pieds sous terre, featuring more acoustic instrumentation (harpsichordHarpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
, clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, harp, violins, flute) and more dramatic, fairy-like atmosphere than her previous works. The album included eleven songs written by Robert, as well as a cover of Marie Laforêt's "Prière pour aller au paradis", and a duet with actor Sacha Bourdo
Sacha Bourdo
Sacha Bourdo was born on 8 January 1963 in Oryol, Russia. He is an actor who has appeared in Science of Sleep in 2006 and Western by Manuel Poirier .- References :...
, "Histoire du loup". French feature film director Gabriel Aghion
Gabriel Aghion
-Biography:He was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955.-Filmography:* La Scarlatine * Bras de Fer * Rue du Bac * Pédale douce -Biography:He was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955.-Filmography:* La Scarlatine (1983)* Bras de Fer (1985)* Rue du Bac (1990)* Pédale douce...
directed his first ever music video for the album's first single, "Personne".
On 5 February 2006, Robert performed in Paris's legendary Olympia
Paris Olympia
The Olympia is a music hall in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Located at No. 28, Boulevard des Capucines, its closest métro/RER stations are Madeleine, Opéra, Havre – Caumartin and Auber....
music hall, for the first time in sixteen years. Two new songs were added to the album's 2007 re-edition, including "Cold Earth", an adaptation of Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell – 21 November 1695), was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music. Although Purcell incorporated Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, his legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music...
's "Cold Song" which was popularised in 1982 by Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi
Klaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
.
Recent career
In November 2006, Robert signed with a new distributor, Rue Stendhal. Following the deal, all her albums were re-released in January 2007 and became available again after being out of stock for many years. Additionally in the beginning of 2007, she released Princess of Nowhere, a collection of some of her old songs plus two new re-orchestrated ones, "Mike" and "Fatal", all adapted and sung in English. A DVD of her recital Haute Couture at the Espace Pierre Cardin in Paris on 16 and 17 March was released in October 2007.A year later, in late 2008, she recorded her new studio album under the title Sourde et aveugle, collaborating once again with her husband Mathieu Saladin and singing a duet with Austyn, a young French blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician. Acoustic guitars blended with her feminine often chidlike ethereal voice marked the new sound of the album.
In 2009, Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
chose Robert to perform the soundtrack to the TV commercial for their latest perfume, Ange ou Démon le secret. The ad, directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair
Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...
, lensed by Declan Quinn
Declan Quinn
Declan Quinn is an Irish-American cinematographer and a three-time winner of the Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography.Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Quinn is one of five children. His four siblings, the most famous of whom is Aidan, are actors...
and starring Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
, aired worldwide from September 2009. The song also sountracked a video by Michelle Phan
Michelle Phan
Michelle Phan is a Vietnamese-American make-up artist who posts make-up and beauty tutorials on YouTube, sometimes under the online alias ricebunny. Phan attended Ringling College of Art and Design and Massachusetts College of Art and Design, but did not graduate.-Early life:Michelle Ann Phan was...
.
Studio albums
- Sine (1993)
- Princesse de rien (1997)
- Celle qui tue (2002)
- Six pieds sous terre (2005)
- Sourde et aveugle (2008)
Singles
- Elle se promène (1990)
- Les Jupes (1991)
- Les Clichés de l'ennui (1993)
- Princesse de rien (2000)
- Nickel (2000)
- Colchique mon amour (2001)
- À la guerre comme à la guerre (promo single) (2002)
- Le Prince bleu (duet with Majandra Delfino) (maxi CD/DVD) (2004)
- Nickel (remixed by Romain Tranchart) (2004)
- Personne (radio edit remixed by Romain Tranchart & Grégory Louis) (2005)
- Histoire de loup (duet with Sacha Bourdo) (2006)
- Tout est calme (2008)
- Sorry (maxi CD) (2009)
- Ange & Démon (2009)
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Elle se promène | John Lvoff |
| 1992 | Les Jupes | Michel Gondry Michel Gondry Michel Gondry is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, whose works include being a commercial director, music video director, and a screenwriter. He is noted for his inventive visual style and manipulation of mise en scène. - Life and career :... |
| 1993 | Les Clichés de l'ennui | Jean Bocheux |
| 2000 | Princesse de rien | Mathieu Saladin & Robert |
| 2001 | Nickel | Philippe Gautier |
| Colchique mon amour (two versions) | Rinri Mizuno | |
| 2002 | À la guerre comme à la guerre | ? |
| 2004 | Le Prince bleu (duet with Majandra Delfino) | Sébastien Rossignol |
| Nickel (remixed by Romain Tranchart) | Philippe Gautier | |
| 2005 | Personne | Gabriel Aghion Gabriel Aghion -Biography:He was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955.-Filmography:* La Scarlatine * Bras de Fer * Rue du Bac * Pédale douce -Biography:He was born in Alexandria, in Egypt on 30 December 1955.-Filmography:* La Scarlatine (1983)* Bras de Fer (1985)* Rue du Bac (1990)* Pédale douce... |
| 2006 | Histoire de loup (duet with Sacha Bourdo) | Sylvain Gatelais |
| 2008 | Tout est calme | Any May |
| Le Jardin des roses (duet with Austyn) | Sylvain Gatelais | |
| 2009 | Ange & Démon | Gerlando Infuso |
Filmography
- Le voyage en douce (1980) – Robert, credited as Myriam Roulet, appears as a young Geraldine ChaplinGeraldine ChaplinGeraldine Leigh Chaplin is an English-American actress and the daughter of Charlie Chaplin.Chaplin first came to prominence for her Golden Globe-nominated role of Tonya in David Lean's Doctor Zhivago . She received her second Golden Globe nomination for Robert Altman's Nashville...
- La chambre des dames (1983) – Robert plays Blanche in this television film
- L'école des femmes (1989) – a theatrical comedy play written by the 17th century French playwright MolièreMolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...