If you follow me on social media, you probably have noticed how much I like Indochine, so today, we’re talking about them, and why it is, in my opinion (and many others), one of the greatest french bands ever.
- New wave precursors
In the 1980s before Indochine, in France we had Marquis de Sade, Complot Bronswick, Niagara, Trisomie 21… Indochine is often considered as the most successful french new wave band, for a reason. With 25 singles in the top 50, it’s also the biggest french rock band, overtaking Telephone‘s place at number 1. In my opinion, Indochine are in a way the french Depeche Mode (and I don’t say that lightly, Depeche Mode being my favourite band), both bringing a lot on the table of the 1980s new wave bands, influenced, influencial, and legendary.
- Continuity
Indeed, the band has made 13 albums during their 35 years of carreer. Even though they had to go through very VERY tough times (the death of one of the members, Stéphane Sirkis, for example), they kept moving forward and thus blessed us with more music and more content. What also makes this band amazing is the fact that even though they made 13 albums (which is a lot for a french band), every single one of them is different and captures a moment in the history of the band. Exploring different genres such as pop rock, new wave, synthpop, electro, indie, etc… Their ability of being versatile while also keeping the identity of the band and music is amazing.
- The Fanbase
The Indochine fanbase is one of the best fanbase I have ever been in. It’s composed of teens, boomers, and older people, and they’re the kindest people ever. They support the band through everything, and they have always been there. While the radio and the media in general let Indochine down during the 90s and early 2000s, saying they were cheesy and old-fashioned, the fanbase never let go and it’s the reason this band kept growing and maturing. The band manages to attract the youth in a way that no other french band really do, with intemporal texts and music.
- Their commitment to the LGBTQ+ community
First of all, through the music.
3e sexe, is a song about sexual tolerance : « Et on se prend la main / Une fille au masculin / Un garçon au féminin » (roughly translated to « We take each other’s hand / A masculine girl / A feminine boy »), Canary Bay, is our lesbian anthem : « C’est à Canary Bay, ouh! Ouh! / Des filles qui s’aimaient et s’embrassaient » (« It’s in Canary Bay, ouh! Ouh! / Girls who loved and kissed each other »), Tomboy 1 : « From the outside I’m a girl / But I’d rather be the boy that I am deep inside », the list goes on. We can also talk about the song College Boy, whose music video denounces bullying and homophobia in schools. It got censored and on the topic Nicola Sirkis, the singer, said something along the lines of of homophobia and bullying wasn’t a problem, that wouldn’t be censored.
Nicola Sirkis is also the sponsor of Le Refuge, an association fighting against discriminations related on sexual orientations and transidentity, especially in their own familial cells, and of Les Parents, an association created after the death of a bullied young boy called Matteo, it helps bullying victims and fights against it.
I also wanted to talk about Nicola’s poetry and his ability to convey strong emotions with lyrics that at first glance, don’t mean anything, but I think I’ll make a whole article about it, it’s too important for it to be put as a point in an article.
I’m really glad they finally got back the esteem of the media and radios with 13, anyway, here is the Indochine Spotify playlist if this made you want to look more into their music.
manon 