| Olivier Libaux | |
| Birth Date: | 5 May 1964 |
| Birth Place: | Boulogne-sur-Mer, France |
| Instrument: | Guitar |
| Occupation: | Producer, songwriter, musician |
| Years Active: | 1990s–2021 |
| Label: | Music For Music Lovers |
| Past Member Of: | Nouvelle Vague, Les Objets |
Olivier Libaux (5 May 1964 – 29 September 2021[1]) was a French record producer, songwriter, and guitarist. A founding member of the band Les Objets, he was also the founder of the musical projects Nouvelle Vague and Uncovered Queens of the Stone Age.
After playing in several bands, Olivier Libaux founded Les Objets with Jérôme Rousseaux in 1989.[2] They released two albums, La Normalité in 1989 and Qui Est Qui in 1994, on Columbia Records/Sony Music. Video clips for the songs La Normalité and Sarah were directed by Michel Gondry.
While in Les Objets, Olivier Libaux started a number of collaborations as a musician and guitarist. He played with artists Carla Bruni, Alex Gopher, Dominique Dalcan,[3] Jean-François Coen,[4] Helena Noguerra, Le tone, and the band Prudence.[5]
In 2003, Libaux released his first solo album a musical comedy entitled L'Héroïne au bain, featuring the voices of Helena Noguerra, Philippe Katerine, Lio, Doriand, Ludovic Triaire, Dominique Dalcan and Michael von Der Heide.[6] The album was a critical success – an article in Les Cahiers Du Cinéma praised its 'cinematic' qualities – but it failed to achieve significant sales.
His second album Imbécile, came out in 2007 on the label Discograph. The songs on this "scripted" album tell the story of four characters at a dinner party. The interpreters are Philippe Katerine, Helena Noguerra, J. P. Nataf and Barbara Carlotti. On stage Katerine and Noguerra were replaced by Bertrand Belin and Armelle Pioline out of the group Holden. The show based on the record, produced for the stage by Olivier Martinaud at Café de La Danse, mixed concert and theatre performance.[7] [8] The album was a critical and commercial success, particularly the song Le Petit Succès, sung by Barbara Carlotti.
In 2004, Olivier Libaux created the musical project Nouvelle Vague with Marc Collin. They covered songs from the punk and new-wave eras but arranged in bossa nova style. The songs were sung by young female singers most of whom did not know the original versions.[9] [10] Their first album, entitled Nouvelle Vague, released on the Peacefrog label sold 500,000 copies worldwide and gave them the opportunity to tour in many countries.[11] The audience of Nouvelle Vague comprises veterans and nostalgics of the new-wave era as well as younger people who are discovering the songs.
In May 2011, Olivier asked Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) for his authorization to cover some Queens of the Stone Age songs in a "personal" way, in order to create an "unusual tribute album", with the help of many talented female singers.[12] Josh Homme answers "Fantastic Idea. Go for it and let me hear the album when you're finished".Olivier produced Uncovered Queens Of The Stone Age, a 12-track album on his own label "Music For Music Lovers", featuring Emiliana Torrini, Alela Diane, Skye (Morcheeba), Clare Manchon (Clare and the Reasons), Susan Dillane (Woodbine, Death in Vegas), Gaby Moreno, Ambrosia Parsley (Shivaree), Inara George, Rosemary Standley (Moriarty), Youn Sun Nah, and Katharine Whalen (Squirrel Nut Zippers).[13] The album was released in July 2013, warmly welcomed by Josh Homme, Queens Of The Stone Age, and many of their fans.[14] [15]
Les Objets, the group founded by Olivier Libaux and Jérôme Rousseaux in the early 1990s was influenced by British indie pop, especially by bands The Smiths and The Monochrome Set, although their songs were in French.[16] Olivier Libaux defines his album Imbécile released in 2007 as "a kind of farewell to English pop."[17]