Biography
Brooklyn, NY welcomed les Sans Culottes in 1996, when the ensemble of eccentric musicians settled there after absorbing deep influence from 1960s French pop. Clermont Ferrand guided the project alongside the frisky chanteuses Kit Kat le Noir and Celine Dijon. The name les Sans Culottes, meaning "those without undergarments," also evokes the working-class members of the Third Estate during the French Revolution. Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall, Jacques Dutronc, and Jacques Brel supplied the chief models for the group’s approach to classic French pop. Bassist Jean Luc Retard, drummer Harry Covert, keyboardist Morris "Maurice" Chevrolet, and guitarist Cal D'Hommage supplied a rugged garage rock foundation beneath the vocals, forging an unusual hybrid of garage cabaret that stood out sharply in New York. On its own Escargo-Go label the band released its self-titled debut album in 1999, a set that included 1960s French pop numbers such as Gainsbourg’s "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" and Dutronc’s "Les Cactus." The Ennui & the Ecstacy appeared in 2001, followed by Faux Realism in 2002.
Albums
