| Marianne Dissard | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 20, 1969 Tarbes, Pyrénées, France |
| Origin | Sud Ouest, Pyrénées, France |
| Genres | Indie rock, Chanson, French pop, Americana |
| Occupations | Musician, lyricist, filmmaker, singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | Singer 2005–present, filmmaker 1989–present, lyricist 1995–present |
| Labels | Le Pop, Vacilando 68, Trop Exprés Music, |
| Associated acts | Amor Belhom Duo, Calexico |
| Website | http://www.mariannedissard.com |
Marianne Dissard (born May 20, 1969 in Tarbes, France) is a singer, lyricist and filmmaker living in Tucson, Arizona, USA. "A central figure in Tucson's desert music community" [1] with her unique hybrid of French Chanson and Americana, she is noted as a "charismatic performer".
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Dissard was born in Tarbes, France and grew up in the countryside near the city of Toulouse before moving at the age of 16 to Mesa, Arizona in the United States. At the age of 19, Dissard started living in Los Angeles, California, briefly being rommmate to musician Howe Gelb. She attended film school at the University of Southern California and was active in that city's independent film-making scene from 1989 to 1993, including collaborations with directors Clay Walker and Gregg Araki as well as French distribution company Haut Et Court with the selection of the successful "Inédits d'Amérique" film series by Jon Jost, Allison Anders and Alex Cox. In 1994, Dissard went to Tucson, Arizona to direct a documentary on band Giant Sand. She has remained in Tucson since when not touring the world. Her thirteen years relationship with ex-husband Naïm Amor ended in 2008.
Dissard has collaborated with Tucson band Calexico's Joey Burns, who composed her first two albums: lo-fi demo debut 'Dedicated To Your Walls' (2006) and 'L'Entredeux' (2008), which he also produced. 'L'Entredeux' won a Coup de Coeur prize from France's Académie Charles Cros in 2009 and was released in Europe on German label Le Pop Musik. Her second album, 'L'Abandon' (2011), won worldwide accolades. It tackles subjet matters such as her hometown of Tucson, abortion, Mexican porn comic books and marriage.
An intermediary album, 2009 'Paris One Takes' ("A fantastic album"([2]) was recorded in one day while on tour in Europe. Marianne Dissard has performed from Europe to North America as well as New Zealand and Australia. Most notable live shows include those at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC in July 2010 and in Europe, at the Dortmund's KonzertHaus in 2010. Festival performances include New Zealand's Sounday in 2010, South By Southwest in 2010 and 2011, Joshua Tree Roots Festival, USA (2010) and Black Rabbit Festival in China (2011).
As a documentary filmmaker, Marianne Dissard has collaborated with Tucson band Giant Sand and Howe Gelb on 'Drunken Bees' (1996) and with artists Robbie Conal ('Post No Bills' (1993, co-producing credit), funded by ITVS/PBS), Robert Kramer on camera for French TV-funded film 'Low Y Cool' (2006) and Keja Kramer. Dissard's first fiction film, 'Lonesome Cowgirls', a remake of Andy Warhol's 'Lonesome Cowboys', was conceived as a companion piece to album 'L'Abandon' and shot in Tucson, Arizona in 24hrs in June 2010.[3]. Several music videos and short video pieces are also credited to Dissard.
Marianne Dissard's performance pieces in collaboration with American-born, Berlin-based choreographer Ami Garmon have been presented at Musée D'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (exhibit Hiver de l'Amour by Purple Prose 1994), Fondation Cartier (1994), Galleries D'Art Contemporain de Marseille (in residency, 1994) and Videoteca de Lisbon (1994), Arte TV Lounge (2010), Dortmund Konzerthaus (2011) and Berlin's Rote Fabrik (2011).
As a lyricist, Marianne Dissard has written for Naïm Amor, Amor Belhom Duo, Fredda, Françoiz Breut, Giant Sand's Howe Gelb and herself.