Black Sessions are performances of live music broadcast on the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 station France Inter

France Inter

France Inter is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and intelligent spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, liberally punctuated with an eclectic mix of...

. They are recorded in front of a live audience, and feature on the C'est Lenoir show. For the Katatonia

Katatonia

Katatonia is a Swedish metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström .-1991-1993:The early Katatonia releases, such as the EP Jhva Elohim Meth.....

 album see The Black Sessions

The Black Sessions

-Disc two:-Disc three:Disc three is a live DVD performance by Katatonia in Krakow, Poland, while Katatonia was touring in support of Viva Emptiness.# "Ghost of the Sun"# "Criminals"# "Teargas"# "I Break"# "I Am Nothing"# "Sweet Nurse"...

.

The name "Black sessions" is a pun on the name of their creator "Bernard Lenoir" which literally means "Bernard the black"

The first performance was in 1992 and since then many French and international artists have performed Black sessions including:

• The Cure
  The Cure
  The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
  
  
• Placebo (band)
  Placebo (band)
  Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...
  
  
• Catatonia
  Catatonia (band)
  Catatonia were an alternative rock band from Wales who gained a national following in the United Kingdom in the mid to late 1990s. The band consisted of Cerys Matthews on vocals, Mark Roberts on guitar, Paul Jones on bass , Owen Powell on...
  
  
• CocoRosie
  CocoRosie
  CocoRosie is a musical group formed in 2003 by sisters Bianca "Coco" and Sierra "Rosie" Casady. The sisters were born and raised in the United States, but formed the band in Paris after meeting for the first time in years...
  
  
• Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
  Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is an American indie rock group based in Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their debut album, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, was self-released in 2005.-History:...
  
  
• The Divine Comedy (band)
  The Divine Comedy (band)
  The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Ireland, fronted by Neil Hannon. Formed in 1989, Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation bar drums. To date, ten studio albums have been released under the Divine...
  
  
• Ride
  Ride (band)
  Ride were a British alternative rock band that formed in 1988 in Oxford, England, consisting of Andy Bell, Mark Gardener, Laurence "Loz" Colbert, and Steve Queralt. The band were initially part of the "shoegazing" scene. Following the break-up of the band in 1996, members moved on to various other...
  
  
• Drugstore
  Drugstore (band)
  Drugstore are a London-based alternative and dream pop band led by Brazilian singer-songwriter and bassist Isabel Monteiro , who relocated to England in 1990s, with Dave Hunter on guitar and Mike Chylinski on drums...
  
  
• Gemma Hayes
  Gemma Hayes
  Gemma Claire Hayes is an Irish singer-songwriter and member of The Cake Sale.-Early life:...
  
  
• Throwing Muses
  Throwing Muses
  Throwing Muses is an alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly, who both wrote the...
  
  
• The Sundays
  The Sundays
  The Sundays were an English alternative rock band. The band formed in the late 1980s and released three albums in the 1990s.-Career:The band's beginnings came with the meeting of Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin at university. Wheeler had played gigs with 'Cruel Shoes' an early...
  
  
• Pulp
  Pulp (band)
  Pulp are an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Their lineup consists of Jarvis Cocker , Russell Senior , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
  
  
• The Wombats
  The Wombats
  The Wombats are an indie rock band formed in Liverpool, England. The band comprises native Liverpudlians Matthew Murphy and Dan Haggis , alongside Norwegian-born Tord Øverland-Knudsen...
  
  
• Pavement
  Pavement (band)
  Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
  
  
• Radiohead
  Radiohead
  Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
  
  
• These New Puritans
  These New Puritans
  These New Puritans are a British Art Rock band from the Southend-on-Sea area. The group consists of Jack Barnett , his twin brother George Barnett , Thomas Hein , and Sophie Sleigh-Johnson...
  
  
• Belle & Sebastian
  Belle & Sebastian
  Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths, as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake. The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965...
  
  
• Lush
  Lush (band)
  Lush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label...
  
   (*01147 - Session no. 55; recorded live at studio 105 June 28, 1994 Paris, France)
• Elbow
  Elbow (band)
  Elbow are an English rock band. They have played together since 1990 and recorded five studio albums, the most recent of which is Build a Rocket Boys!, released in March 2011...
  
  
• Weezer
  Weezer
  Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
  
  
• The Rentals
  The Rentals
  The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...
  
  
• The Raveonettes
  The Raveonettes
  The Raveonettes are a Danish indie rock duo, consisting of Sune Rose Wagner on guitar, instruments, and vocals, and Sharin Foo on bass, guitar and vocals...
  
  
• Mojave 3
  Mojave 3
  Mojave 3 are a British band, consisting of Neil Halstead, Rachel Goswell, Simon Rowe, Alan Forrester, and Ian McCutcheon. Goswell, Halstead and McCutcheon previously played in Thames Valley shoegazing band Slowdive....
  
   (in their first public performance)
• The Eels
• Andrew Bird
  Andrew Bird
  Andrew Bird is an American musician, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist.- Early life and the Bowl of Fire :...
  
  
• Yann Tiersen
  Yann Tiersen
  Yann Tiersen is a musician from France. His musical career is split between studio albums, collaborations and film soundtracks with a distinctive sound that is always involved...
  
   (best known as the composer of the Amélie soundtrack
  Amélie (soundtrack)
  Amélie is the soundtrack to the 2001 French film Amélie.Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet chanced upon the largely accordion and piano driven music of Yann Tiersen while driving with his production assistant who put on a CD he hadn't heard before. Greatly impressed, he immediately bought Tiersen's entire...
  
  )
• Röyksopp
  Röyksopp
  Röyksopp is a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland....
  
   (with a power-out goof at the beginning)
• Feist
  Leslie Feist
  Leslie Feist , known professionally as simply Feist, is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene....
  
  
• Franz Ferdinand
  Franz Ferdinand (band)
  Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish post-punk revival band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy , and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single, "Take Me Out", reached #3 in...
  
  
• Interpol
  Interpol (band)
  Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
  
   (Interpol released The Black EP
  The Black EP
  -Track listing:#"Say Hello to the Angels" – 4:27#"NYC" [Demo Version] – 4:28#"Obstacle 1" [Black Session] – 4:18#"Specialist" [Black Session] – 6:33#"Leif Erikson" [Black Session] – 3:55#"PDA" [Black Session] – 5:19-Full-length Black Session :...
  
   which featured a number of tracks from their 2002 Black Session)
• Bloc Party
  Bloc Party
  Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
  
  
• The National
  The National (band)
  The National is an indie rock band formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 and currently based in Brooklyn, New York. The band's lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, a baritone...
  
  
• Nine Black Alps
  Nine Black Alps
  Nine Black Alps are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester, named after a line in The Couriers by Sylvia Plath and fronted by Sam Forrest.-Career:...
  
   (the Glitter Gulch EP released by Nine Black Alps contains "Coldhearted", the song performed on their Black Session)
• The Divine Comedy
  The Divine Comedy (band)
  The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Ireland, fronted by Neil Hannon. Formed in 1989, Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation bar drums. To date, ten studio albums have been released under the Divine...
  
  
• Klaxons
  Klaxons
  Klaxons are a British indie rock band, based in London. Following the release of numerous 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick" and "Golden Skans", the band released their debut album, Myths of the Near Future on 29 January 2007....
  
  
• Guillemots
  Guillemots (band)
  Guillemots are a BRIT Award nominated indie rock band formed in November 2004 by Fyfe Dangerfield. The band consists of 4 members: Fyfe Dangerfield, MC Lord Magrão, Aristazabal Hawkes & Greig Stewart. Although formed in Birmingham and now based in London, the band's members have been compiled from...
  
  
• Mazzy Star
  Mazzy Star
  Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in Santa Monica, California, in 1989 from the group Opal, a collaboration of guitarist David Roback and bassist Kendra Smith...
  
   (1993-10-25)
• The Shins
  The Shins
  The Shins are an American indie rock band comprising singer, songwriter, and guitarist James Mercer, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez, Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats, drummer Joe Plummer and bassist Ron Lewis. Their sound draws on several musical genres, including pop, alternative rock, indie rock,...
  
  
• The Cardigans
  The Cardigans
  The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
  
  
• Grandaddy
  Grandaddy
  Grandaddy was an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden later joined the band in 1995...
  
  
• Emilie Simon
  Émilie Simon
  Émilie Simon is a French singer and composer of electronic music.-Émilie Simon:In May 2003, she released her debut album Émilie Simon. The electronic album was critically acclaimed and went on to become a commercial success. To promote her album, she did numerous live performances and TV...
  
  
• Goldfrapp
  Goldfrapp
  Goldfrapp are an English electronic music duo, formed in 1999 in London, England, that consists of Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory ....
  
  
• Broadcast
  Broadcast (band)
  Broadcast are an electronic music band, founded in Birmingham, England. Original members were Trish Keenan , Roj Stevens , Tim Felton and James Cargill . Various drummers played with the band, including Keith York, Phil Jenkins, Jeremy Barnes, Steve Perkins, and Neil Bullock...
  
  
• Rufus Wainwright
  Rufus Wainwright
  Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
  
  
• Editors
  Editors
  Editors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors have so far released two platinum studio...
  
  
• Beirut
  Beirut (band)
  Beirut is an American band which was originally the solo musical project of Santa Fe native Zachary Francis Condon, and later expanded into a band. The band's first performances were in Wollaston, United Kingdom, in May 2006, to support the release of their debut album, Gulag Orkestar...
  
  
• Lloyd Cole
  Lloyd Cole
  Lloyd Cole is an English singer and songwriter, known for his role as lead singer of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989, and for his subsequent solo work.-Early life:...
  
   (1993 [covered Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Bringing It All Back Home album, released on March 22, 1965 by Columbia Records . The song was originally recorded on January 15, 1965 with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and William E. Lee's bass...
  
  "], 1995)
• The Smashing Pumpkins
  The Smashing Pumpkins
  The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
  
  
• Morphine
  Morphine (band)
  Morphine was an American alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1989. They disbanded in 1999 after frontman Sandman died of a heart attack....
  
  
• Paul Weller
  Paul Weller
  Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter. Starting with the band The Jam , Weller then went on to branch out musically to a more soulful style with The Style Council...
  
  
• Nick Cave
  Nick Cave
  Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
  
  
• Los Campesinos!
  Los Campesinos!
  Los Campesinos! are a seven piece indie pop band from Cardiff, Wales, formed in early 2006 at Cardiff University. Although the band formed in Wales, none of its members are Welsh. They released their debut album, Hold on Now, Youngster..., in February 2008 and followed this up by releasing a record...
  
  
• Band of Horses
  Band of Horses
  Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
  
  
• Arctic Monkeys
  Arctic Monkeys
  Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
  
  
• Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
• The Verve
  The Verve
  The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
  
  
• Madrugada (Session no. 159; recorded live at studio 105 April 3, 2000)
• Calexico (Session no. 163; recorded live at studio 105 May 22, 2000)
• Field Music
  Field Music
  Field Music are a band from Sunderland, England who formed in 2004. The band's core consists of brothers David and Peter Brewis , with Andrew Moore. Their line-ups have at times featured members of both Maxïmo Park and The Futureheads...
  
  

External links

• List of bands who have performed Black Sessions
• C'est Lenoir Official Homepage (in French)
• Black Sessions photos (1998 - 2000) by Laurent Orseau
• The Black Sessions: la musique pas comme les autres - list of Black Sessions