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Les Rita Mitsouko are a wonderfully kitsch duo whose innovative style and insolent lyrics have revolutionised the modern French music scene. Fred Chichin and Catherine Ringer, aka the most outrageous agents provocateurs of the French music world, fuse their mocking humour and their sharp sense of fun with a diverse mix of musical genres ranging from funk/rock to traditional French chanson. Rising to fame with their catchy Latino-rock single "Marcia Baïla", the zany duo have established themselves at the forefront of the French music scene thanks to a score of hits throughout the 80's and 90's.
Catherine Ringer, the zany frontwoman of Les Rita Mitsouko, was born on 18 December 1957. Catherine and her brother grew up in a highly creative musical environment at home, their artist father and architect mother encouraging their children to develop a strong interest in the arts. Catherine discovered music in her childhood, learning to play a variety of instruments at an early age. Barely motivated by her school studies, Catherine left school as soon as she could to pursue her interest in drama. After gaining valuable experience in the film and theatre world, she went on to become involved in a number of dance projects and then ended up launching a singing career with the help and support of the songwriter/composer Yannis Xénakis.
Frédéric Chichin, better known as Fred, was born on 28 April 1954. His father was a director of public works while his mother stayed at home looking after the children. But Fred's was no ordinary childhood. His parents were both passionate film fans who raised their children in an offbeat bohemian environment. Fred showed about as much motivation in his school studies as Catherine. The teenage Fred's real passion in life was music, and he would devote all his time and energy to playing drums and guitar, an instrument on which he soon proved himself to be something of a virtuoso. After leaving school Fred supported himself through a series of odd jobs and moved from squat to squat, living with a bunch of young artists and musicians. But Fred's urge to travel proved stronger than everything and he soon set off hitch-hiking his way around France then Morocco. He retained his links with the music world however, teaming up with a puppeteer and writing the music for his children's shows. On his return to Paris Fred began to move in another musical direction, exploring the world of electronic music. It was at this stage in his career that Fred became involved with the innovative musical genius Nicolas Frize, studying at Frize's experimental music research centre in Vierzon. After this 'experimental electronic' period Fred moved on to rock music, forming a number of his own groups including the infamous Gazoline.
But the turning-point of Fred and Catherine's individual careers came in 1979 when the pair met on the set of a musical in Montreuil (in the Paris suburbs). Fred and Catherine, who shared the same offbeat humour and love of outrage, hit it off immediately and Fred began to teach his new friend the rudiments of songwriting and musical composition. The pair became involved in a number of bands together but group dynamics did not appear to suit them. Indeed, Fred and Catherine rapidly came to the realisation that the only way to create their own distinctive sound was to form a double act. The pair began working at home, transforming their flat into a makeshift studio and writing their very first songs around the kitchen table. Les Rita Mitsouko got their first gigs on the local bar and club circuit in the early 80's and quickly established an excellent reputation for themselves on the 'alternative' Paris scene. The duo's insolent lyrics and wild, energetic live performances sent electric shock waves running through the rather staid French music industry.
In 1981 Les Rita Mitsouko went into the studio to record their début single "Don't Forget the Nite". This first 4-track single proved to be a commercial flop and the duo were nearly dropped from the Virgin record label but, fortunately for the French music scene, Virgin's artistic director Philippe Constantin stepped in to save Les Rita Mitsouko at the last moment. Constantin had faith that the wacky duo would eventually score a hit with their innovative sound. And he was right, when Les Rita Mitsouko exploded onto the French music scene a few years later with their smash hit "Marcia Baïla" they made it very big indeed !
Marcia Baïla
Les Rita Mitsouko's début album, entitled simply "Les Rita Mitsouko", was recorded in Germany in April 1984. During the first year of its release the album seemed fated to be another commercial flop, but in 1985 Les Rita Mitsouko scored a surprise smash hit with the single "Marcia Baïla", which catapulted them to the forefront of the French music scene overnight.
Mitsouko-mania swept through France, the infectious Latino-rock rhythms of "Marcia Baïla" setting dance floors all over the country alight. The single also proved an enormous hit on radio - indeed, according to SACEM (the French association of Songwriters and Composers) "Marcia Baïla" was the most frequently played single in the history of French radio! The song, a personal tribute to the Argentinean dance star Marcia Moretto (whom Catherine had worked with in the early days of her career) soon proved to be an out-and-out winner, selling an incredible 1 million copies. (Philippe Gauthier's seminal video which accompanied the single "Marcia Baïla" also went on to become one of the most famous French videos of the 1980's).
Encouraged by the phenomenal success of this single, Les Rita Mitsouko set off upon a series of extensive tours which included dates all over France and eventually took them to New York and Japan. Les Rita Mitsouko's outrageous stage antics and the sheer energy of their live shows made the duo a hit wherever they played. Fred and Catherine's innovative musical mix (which fused rock and funk influences with a touch of world music and traditional Frenchchanson) made it hard for music critics to pigeon-hole them, but audiences around the world loved the French duos' exciting new sound.
In 1985 Fred and Catherine added a new string to their bow, writing the soundtrack for Josiane Balasko's film "Nuit d'ivresse". The main theme tune from the film featured on the duo's second album "The No Comprendo", which was released the following year. This album, which Les Rita Mitsouko recorded with the renowned English producer Tony Visconti, was considered by many fans to be the best album of the duo's career, and several critics even hailed it a the best album of the decade. Whatever the case "The No Comprendo" went on to spawn three further hit singles : "Les Histoires d'A", "Andy" and "C'est comme ça". (The latter was accompanied by a stylish video shot by French trend-setter Jean-Baptiste Mondino which was widely broadcast on French television over the following months).
Les Rita Mitsouko make it big in the States
After the release of "The No Comprendo", Les Rita Mitsouko set off on tour once again, this time taking their innovative French sound to the U.S.A. American music fans went wild for Les Rita Mitsouko's zany rock/funk fusion and the French duo's hits soon became a smash hit on the New York club scene.
1987 saw the release of Jean-Luc Godard's film "Soigne ta droite", in which Les Rita Mitsouko played a starring role. In fact the legendary French director had spent three weeks filming the duo in a studio in Ménilmontant, Paris, as they recorded their second album "The No Comprendo". By now Les Rita Mitsouko were at the very height of their fame and later that year French singing star Marc Lavoine invited Catherine Ringer to perform a duet with him ("Qu'est-ce que t'es belle").
In November 1988 Fred and Catherine returned to the studio to record their third album, "Marc et Robert". In spite of the fact that "Marc et Robert" featured a more upbeat modern dance sound and was recorded with Tony Visconti (the English producer who had masterminded "The No Comprendo), the duo's third album was a disappointing follow-up to their second and sales failed to take off in any major way. "Marc et Robert" did include a few interesting tracks however, such as the duo's wacky cover of the traditional French song "Le Petit train" (for which the video was shot in the legendary Bombay film studios in India). Les Rita Mitsouko also invited the Mael brothers (better known as the famous American group Sparks) to sing on the album with them and, following the release of "Marc et Robert", Sparks and Les Rita Mitsouko went on to perform a number of outrageous concerts and TV shows together.
The pace of Les Rita Mitsouko's hectic performing and recording career began to slow down a little in the 90's. Yet the innovative duo remained firmly plugged into the latest developments in the music world. Catherine and Fred continued to experiment with a number of new musical styles and in 1990 they invited a number of top DJs (including Tony Visconti, William Orbit and French star Dee Nasty) to remix a dozen of their greatest hits. This collaboration resulted in the popular compilation album "Re".
Major comeback at La Cigale
On 4 December 1990 Les Rita Mitsouko staged a major comeback at a Paris club called La Cigale. The group's four-week run at La Cigale proved extremely popular with thousands of their old fans and the duo even included special Sunday afternoon matinée performances for children.
Catherine and Fred, who now had two young daughters of their own, were busy with their songwriting work over the next few years. Between bringing up their children and performing a few local concerts the duo certainly did not have time to think about recording another album. But, finally, in 1992 Les Rita Mitsouko did return to the studio, recording their new album partly in Morocco (in Essaouira), partly in Paris.
Released in November 93, this new album entitled "Système D", was hailed as a major event in the French music world. Yet the French press who had whipped up a veritable hype around the new album were sorely disappointed by "Système D", as were the duo's most loyal fans. Yet, while the album was certainly not the high point of Les Rita Mitsouko's recording career, it did contain a number of extremely memorable tracks such as a powerfully loud duet with Iggy Pop, entitled "My Love is Bad", and an interesting cover version of Serge Gainsbourg's "L'Hôtel particulier". In any case, Les Rita Mitsouko soon bounded back to the forefront of the French music scene with "Y'a d'la haine", "Get Up Get Older" and "Les Amants" (a song which was originally written for Léos Carax's film "Les Amants du Pont Neuf"). Les Rita Mitsouko also paid homage to James Brown on "Godfather of soul" and paid a personal tribute to their two young daughters on "Chères petites".
Following the release of this new album Les Rita Mitsouko embarked on yet another tour, which included a memorable performance at the famous Transmusicales festival in Rennes in December and a short run at the Olympia in Paris (31 January 93 - 4 February 94).
In 1995 Catherine Ringer was invited to record the theme song for "Les Trois frères", a film starring the famous French comedy act Les Inconnus. Later that same year Catherine made a special guest appearance with the talented French accordion-player Richard Galliano at the Cité de la Musique in Paris. During this exceptional concert she performed a number of stunning covers of Charles Trenet and Mick Jagger songs and brought the house down with Léo Ferré's musical version of a famous Rimbaud poem. Meanwhile Les Rita Mitsouko continued their own live career, performing at major French and international music festivals as well as playing locally in small, intimate venues.
One of the highlights of the duo's recent career was a concert at the Cité de la Musique in February 1997. Given carte blanche as to the contents of their three concerts, Les Rita Mitsouko delighted the audience by appearing on stage surrounded by a host of special guest stars. (The widely diverse line-up included American jazz star Archie Shepp, popular French songwriter Pierre Henry and members of the hardcore French rap group Assassin! ).
A few days later the duo released a live album which had been recorded during a special televised concert they had performed on 30 November 96. The album "Acoustique", which produced a number of new Rita Mitsouko hits, also included a new version of their old hit "Riche" which the duo performed as a duet with the young up-and-coming French star Doc Gynéco.
Cool frénésie
Seven years after the release of their last studio album "Système D" Rita Mitsouko finally re-emerged on the French music scene in January 2000 with the single "Cool Frénésie" (released as a tantalising foretaste of their new album "Cool Frénésie" which arrived in the record shops in March). Prior to the release of this new album the duo embarked upon a mini 'warm-up' tour, testing their new songs out on French audiences. As Chichin himself readily admitted, keeping Rita Mitsouko's sound up to date without falling into commercial traps was not an easy business. (In fact, it was Chichin and Ringer's long period of musical soul-searching and experimentation which had led to this seven-year gap between albums). The duo's new album skilfully combined new music trends (such as electro sounds and dance beats) with the duo's famous mix of poetry, humour and realism. Highlights of "Cool Frénésie" included Catherine's duet with Jean Neplin ("Parle-moi") and a song dedicated to her father ("C'était un homme"), a Polish Jew who had survived the concentration camps and gone on to launch a successful career as a painter).
Following the release of this new album the duo hit the road again, performing a tour which had been eagerly awaited by French music fans for many long months. In the course of their career Les Rita Mitsouko have built up a reputation for their flamboyant, eccentric live shows and audiences were dying to see what the duo would come up with next. But Fred and Catherine have toned down their double act since the 80s. The concert they played at "Trabendo" (the former "Hot Brass") in Paris at the beginning of March proved to be excellent but very sober in comparison with the excesses of their early days. Following a series of dates in rock clubs up and down France, Les Rita returned to Paris to play four concerts at La Cigale (26th - 29th April).
In the early days of their career Les Rita Mitsouko sent a breath of fresh air rushing through the corridors of the French music industry. While the duo's outrageous live performances and zany lyrics have mellowed over the years, Les Rita Mitsouko still continue to attract a loyal following of fans and Catherine Ringer's superb voice remains extremely popular with French radio stations.
La Femme Trombone
In November 2001, the band celebrated their 20th anniversary and released their first compilation, which featured one previously unreleased track, "Clown De Mes Malheurs". Meanwhile, the duet went back to the studio to work on a new album. On January 20th and 27th, the Rita Mitsouko gave two concerts at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, accompanied by the Lamoureux orchestra, which was conducted by Bruno Fontaine. Having been given carte blanche, the artists chose to reinterpret their repertoire and perform a series of covers of Leo Ferré and Serge Gainsbourg.
In the summer of 2002, the duet spent a lot of time on the stage. Beginning with a few concerts at the Trabendo in Paris on June 28th-29th and July 11th, they went on taking part in a string of summer festivals, such as Solidays or the Vieilles Charrues. During these concerts, they also performed some new tracks for the first time.
Their long awaited new album, "La Femme Trombone" came out in September 2002. The songs it featured presented a more personal touch than before, but the music remained as eclectic as ever with multiple influences, including rock’n roll, pop, funk and electro music. The lyrics covered a wide range of subject matters, from difficult love relationships in "Tu me manques" (I miss you), to female independence in "Vieux Rodeo", or consumerism in "Evasion". The album spawned a first single entitled "Triton". The Rita Mitsouko started promoting the album as soon as September when they embarked on a nationwide tour that began at the Grand Rex in Paris on the 20th.
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