Blankass

Brothers Johan and Guillaume Ledoux, earlier the driving forces behind the punk group Zero de Conduite, assembled Blankass in the first half of the 1990s. The French rock band has invited comparisons to an eclectic range of figures that includes Bruce Springsteen, Nick Cave, and Serge Gainsbourg. Long recognized for its support of political efforts such as the Free Tibet campaign and the immigrant-rights organization GISTI, the group has maintained a shifting membership that at times featured saxophonist Philippe Ribaudeau and former Les Visiteurs guitarist Nicolas Bravin. Its self-titled debut arrived in 1996 and was followed by L'Ere de Rien in 1999, L'Homme Fleur in 2003, and Elliott in 2005. After stepping away from the studio for seven years to pursue separate projects, Blankass resurfaced in 2012 with its fifth album, Les Chevals.