Oui Oui were a French pop group formed in 1983. Guitarist-singer Étienne Charry and drummer
Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...
met at secondary school in
Sèvres
Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...
in 1978. The repertoire of songs Oui Oui built up was a reaction to what was termed
cold wave
A cold wave (known in some regions as a cold snap, cold spell or Arctic Snap) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air. Specifically, as used by the U.S. National Weather Service, a cold wave is a rapid fall in temp ...
music in France and the more politicised rock groups of the era. Numerous musicians passed through the group's ranks in the early years. With the addition of keyboardist Gilles Chapat and bassist Nicolas Dufournet, a more settled line-up was established.
In 1989, Oui Oui released their first album, ''
Chacun Tout Le Monde'' on the Just'in label. Following the departure of Gilles Chapat, the second Oui Oui album ''Formidable'' (1991, released by FNAC Music) was recorded by the trio of Charry, Gondry, and Dufournet. Keyboardist Matthieu Ballet later took Chapat's place. Both Oui Oui albums are currently out of print, having been issued by labels which ceased operations within months of the respective albums' releases.
Oui Oui disbanded in 1992. Michel Gondry has since gone on to become an acclaimed movie and music video director. The film clips he directed for Oui Oui would later feature on the 2003 DVD ''
The Work of Director Michel Gondry''.
In 2011, at the
Centre Georges Pompidou
The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...
in Paris, Gondry gave an introduction to his workshop Amateur Film Factory, followed by three video clips and short movies. He then proceeded to reform Oui Oui for a one-hour performance in the forum of the museum. The line-up was composed of Gondry at the drums, Étienne Charry for the guitar and vocals, and Nicolas Dufournet as bassist.
Discography
Album
*''
Chacun Tout Le Monde'', 1989
*''Formidable'', 1991
Videography
*"Un Joyeux Noël", 1988
*"Junior Et Sa Voix D'Or", 1988
*"Bolide", 1988
*"Les Cailloux", 1989
*"Ma Maison", 1990
*"La Ville", 1992
External links
Étienne CharryDirector File - Michel Gondry
{{Authority control
French pop music groups
Musical groups from Île-de-France