Mylène Farmer (September 12, 1961), born Mylène Jeanne Gautier The American society of composers, authors and publishers ^* (accessed 1 july, 2006), is a Canadian-born French singer and songwriter.

Biography

Mylène Farmer was born in Pierrefonds, Quebec Canada, a suburb (now borough) of Montreal, to parents from France; her family returned to France when she was eight. She chose her stage name Farmer in homage to Frances Farmer. She is very popular in France and other French-speaking countries, but almost unknown elsewhere despite a collaboration with the British vocalist Seal on her song "Les mots." She is also a very big star in Russia, Ukraine and in the Eastern European Countries.

She made her professional recording debut in 1984 with the song "Maman a tort," followed in 1986 by her first album, Cendres de Lune, which included the hit Libertine. She worked together extensively with Laurent Boutonnat, who not only wrote her music, but also directed the long videos for her songs and the 1994 movie Giorgino.

Farmer gained fame with songs featuring ambiguous or shocking lyrics, and somewhat explicit videos. "Maman a tort" was about the love of a young girl for her female nurse in hospital."Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" was about a man with an obsession for the buttocks of his lover, with hints of sodomy; the video, set in the 18th century, featured a caning. "Libertine" is said to feature the first nude appearance by a singer on a major music video. "Que mon cœur lâche" was about love with condoms in the age of AIDS; the video for the song features a scene in which God tells Jesus he won't send him to Earth as the last time was a disaster.

After the disappointing reception of Giorgino, Farmer moved to the United States for a while. She returned in 1995 with a new, more rock-like sound for Anamorphosée. Like her previous two albums, it sold over one million copies in France and was followed up with the album and DVD Live à Bercy.

Farmer returned to the spotlight again in 1999 with the album Innamoramento. This was a more subtle affair than the previous album, and the lead single "L'Âme Stram Gram", accompanied by a magnificent Chinese-themed video, topped the chart. This album contained the first songs written entirely by her, one of them being the single "Optimistique-Moi".

Some of her best-known songs include "Désenchantée," "L'Âme Stram Gram," "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces," and "Sans contrefaçon."

In 2000, she and Laurent Boutonnat wrote the lyrics and music for starlet Alizée's album Gourmandises and Mes courants électriques.

In 2000, she created a song for the animated film The Movie. The song, "L'Histoire d'une Fée, c'est...", was released as a single in France but is on the original soundtrack of the American movie.

In 2005 Farmer returned with a new single, "Fuck Them All," which reached number 2 and a new album Avant Que L'Ombre which hit number 1 and has already sold over half a million copies. The second single, "Q.I" was released in July and slowly hit the top ten peaking at number 7. The third single, the ballad "Redonne-moi", was released in winter and was supported by her first television performance on "Symphonic Show" since the album was released. The video première was on December 8th and was directed by the same director who made the controversial "Je te rends Ton Amour" video.

She returned back on stage in January 2006 for 13 dates in Paris-Bercy with the final date being the 29th January. Mylène stated that she could not tour the country due to the complex structures which were built for the performances.

In her next single clip "L'Amour n'est rien", she performs a memorable striptease.

She is going to release a new live album, with a new concert DVD in autumn. She has recorded a single with Moby, which will be released in September.

Bibliography

• Lisa-Loup et le Conteur (2003) - Mylène Farmer - Anne Carrière Ed. - ISBN 2843372216 - A tale written and illustrated by Mylène Farmer

Discography

Albums

• Cendres de Lune (1986) #10 France
• Ainsi Soit Je... (1988) #1 France, #47 Germany
• En Concert (1989, live recordings from Cendres de Lune and Ainsi Soit Je...) #9 France
• L'Autre... (1991) #1 France, #27 Switzerland, #55 Germany
• Dance Remixes (1992, remixes from earlier albums) #4 France
• Anamorphosée (1995) #1 France, #25 Switzerland
• Live à Bercy (1997, live recordings from the Anamorphosée tour) #2 France
• Innamoramento (1999) #2 France
• Mylenium Tour (2000, another live album) #1 France, #31 Switzerland
• Les Mots (2001, "best of" album with few new songs) #1 France, #6 Switzerland
• Remixes (2003) #3 France, #81 Switzerland
• Avant Que L'Ombre (April 2005) #1 France, #2 Switzerland

Singles

• "Maman a tort" (1984) #HC France
• "Plus Grandir" (1985) #HC France
• "Libertine" (1986) #10 France
• "We'll Never Die" (1986) #HC France
• "Tristana" (1987) #7 France

From Ainsi Soit-Je:

• "Sans Contrefaçon" (1987) #2 France, #46 Germany
• "Ainsi Soit-Je" (1988) #12 France
• "Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces" (1988) #1 France
• "Sans Logique" (1988) #10 France

From En Concert:

• "Plus Grandir" (1989) #35 France
• "Allan" (1990) #32 France

From L'Autre:

• "Désenchantée" (1991) #1 France, #16 Austria, #46 Germany, #23 Switzerland
• "Regrets" (1991) #3 France
• "Je T'aime Mélancolie" (1991) #3 France, #70 Germany,
• "Beyond My Control" (1991) #8 France

From Anamorphosée:

• "XXL" (1995) #1 France, #11 Switzerland
• "L'instant X" (1995) #6 France
• "California" (1996) #7 France
• "Comme J'ai Mal" (1996) #11 France
• "Rêver" (1996) #7 France

From Live A Bercy:

• "La Poupée Qui Fait Non" (1997) #6 France
• "Ainsi Soit-Je" (1997) #27 France

From Innamoramento:

• "L'Âme-stram-gram" (1999) #2 France
• "Je Te Rends Ton Amour" (1999) #10 France
• "Souviens-Toi Du Jour" (1999) #4 France
• "Optimistique-Moi" (2000) #7 France, #58 Switzerland
• "Innamoramento" (2000) #3 France, #56 Switzerland

From Mylenium Tour:

• "Dessine-Moi Un Mouton" (2000) #6 France, #59 Switzerland

From Les Mots:

• "Les Mots" (2001) #2 France
• "C'est Une Belle Journée" (2001) #5 France, #1 Belgium, #1 Greece
• "Pardonne-Moi" (2002) #6 France, #45 Switzerland

From Avant Que L'Ombre:

• "Fuck Them All" (2005) #2 France, #14 Switzerland, #22 Russia, #3 Belgium, #2 Israel, #1 Greece
• "Q.I" (2005) #7 France, #33 Switzerland
• "Redonne-Moi" (2006) #7 France, #27 Switzerland
• "L'Amour N'Est Rien" (2006) #7 France, #9 Russia
• "Peut-être toi" (2006)

Other Singles'':

• "My Mum Is Wrong" (1984)
• "On Est Tous Des Imbéciles" (1985) # HC France
• "A Quoi Je Sers" (1989) #16 France
• "Douces" (1989) (Pourvu Qu'elles Soient Douces - For Germany)
• "Que Mon Cœur Lâche" (1992) #9 France
• "My Soul Is Slashed" (1993)
• "L'Histoire D'une Fée, C'est..." (2000) #9 France

References