Banlieue Rouge

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Banlieue Rouge was a punk rock band from Montreal, Quebec in the 1990s.

Banlieue Rouge was formed in 1989 in Longueuil, a Montreal suburb. Heavily influenced by French punk rock bands such as Bérurier Noir, they started with a drum machine, which was eventually replaced by Jeff on drums.

Banlieue Rouge was:

  • Safwan (vocals)
  • Sylvain (guitar)
  • Xavier (bass)
  • Jeff (drum)

In 1999, after four full-length albums (plus one live and one best-of) and ten years of touring in America and Europe, the band finally broke up. Xavier went on to form Corrigan Fest, later joined by Sylvain. They play traditional celtic music mixed with punk. Safwan went on to form Akuma, an angrier, louder hardcore punk band with bilingual (French/English) lyrics.

"Banlieue Rouge" means "Red Suburb". On their debut album, En Attendant Demain, it is explained that this refers to their status as a "a suburb of the megacity of pop music, unknown to the masses." The "red" part of the name could refer either to a violent nature or political leanings.

Historically, banlieues rouges were Parisian communes managed by the communist party. "Banlieue Rouge" is also a well-known song by French singer Renaud.

On May 25, 2003, Banlieue Rouge made its catalogue available for free online at banlieuerouge.com. Presently it is hosted on Propagande.org.

[edit] Discography

  • En attendant demain (Waiting for tomorrow) (1990)
  • Que tombent les masques (May the masks fall) (1992)
  • Engrenages (Gears) (1993)
  • Au cœur de la tempête (To the heart of the storm) (1994) — live album
  • Best of Banlieue Rouge (1995) — collection of greatest hits
  • Sous un ciel écarlate (Under a scarlet sky) (1996)

[edit] External links

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