Nouvelle Vague (band)

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Nouvelle Vague

Country	France
Years active	2003–present
Genres	Bossa nova
Members	Marc Collin Olivier Libaux Various singers

Nouvelle Vague are a French musical collective put together by arrangers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux. Their name is a play on words referring simultaneously to: their 'Frenchness' and 'artiness' (the '60s new wave of cult French cinema); the source of their songs (all cover versions of '80s New Wave and Punk music); and their use of '60s Bossa nova-style arrangements (Bossa nova meaning "new wave" or "new beat" in Portuguese).

On their first album, Nouvelle Vague, the group resurrected classics from the '80s “New Wave” music era, and reinterpreted them in a saucy Bossa Nova style. The songs were stripped back to acoustic arrangements with lithe shaker rhythms achieved by gathering a parade of chanteuses from all over the world (six French, one Brazilian and one New Yorker) to sex up everyone from XTC and Modern English to The Clash and The Undertones. The group has so far released two albums. The covers include songs by Joy Division, Dead Kennedys, The Clash and Depeche Mode. The various female singers on Nouvelle Vague only performed songs they were not previously familiar with, to ensure that each cover would have a unique quality.

Their second album, Bande à Part, includes versions of "Ever Fallen in Love?" by Buzzcocks, "Blue Monday" by New Order, "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen and "Heart of Glass" by Blondie.

Several Nouvelle Vague songs, including "In a Manner of Speaking", "Just Can't Get Enough", and "Teenage Kicks" have been used in the Channel 4 drama Sugar Rush. Their versions of "Just Can't Get Enough" and "Teenage Kicks" have also been used in adverts in the UK. In 2005, their cover of Modern English's "I Melt With You", was used for the soundtrack of the black comedy film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and appeared in a 2007 American television commercial for the GMC Acadia.

Members, former members and contributors include many French artists who are now very well known on their own and considered as part of what is now called the "Renouveau de la chanson française" (the "Renewal of French chanson"): Anaïs Croze, Camille Dalmais, Phoebe Killdeer, Mélanie Pain and Marina.