Souvenir are an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

band formed in 1999 in

Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...

. Known for their blend of dreamy

melodies A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of pitch and rhythm, while more figuratively, the term ca ...

and

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

influences, the group has released six studio albums, gaining recognition for their distinctive sound and

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

lyrics in both Spanish and French.

History

Souvenir perform their songs in French, sung by Patricia de la Fuente, and mainly written by multi-instrumentalist J'aime Cristóbal. They debuted with a 6-track self-titled EP in 2000, which was reissued in America by Shelflife Records, displaying

Europop Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...

and bossanova influences. In 2001, their first full-length album, ''Points de Suspension'', was released. Special editions of the record were released in Japan (on Tone Vendor records) and the United States (on Shelflife). Their second album, ''Recto/Verso'', was released in 2003, and the band were featured on several international compilations including a tribute album to

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French singer-songwriter, actor, composer, and director. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provocative rel ...

. Cristóbal was commissioned by French chanteuse

Françoiz Breut Françoiz Breut (2010) Françoiz Breut (born 10 December 1969, in Cherbourg) is the stage name of Françoise Breut, a French illustrator and chanteuse of moody and melancholic pop. Breut got involved with music when her then-fiancé, French p ...

to write songs for her ''Une Saison Volée'' album, which included his song ''Ciudad del Mar''. Souvenir's third album was released in 2005, ''Des équilibres'', featuring

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

songs with

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

s, mellow

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

s and

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of pla ...

s. In 2006, they collaborated on the

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

Caroline Now! ''Caroline Now!: The Songs of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys'' is a 2000 tribute album devoted to songs by the Beach Boys, consisting of cover versions recorded by independent artists. The chosen material focuses on rarities by the group, some o ...

'', which also featured

Belle And Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released twelve studio albums. They are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. The band took their name from ...

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (Scottish musician), Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), al ...

, Saint Etienne,

The High Llamas The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish chamber pop band formed in London circa 1991. They were founded by singer-songwriter Sean O'Hagan, formerly of Microdisney, with drummer Rob Allum and ex-Microdisney bassist Jon Fell. O'Hagan has led the group ...

, and

The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...

. The album ''Des équilibres'' followed. Their fourth studio album, ''64'', issued in 2007, has an

style. The record was followed by an album of remixes by

Johan Agebjörn Sally Shapiro is the pseudonym of a Swedish vocalist and the name of the Italo disco/synthpop duo composed of Shapiro and musician Johan Agebjörn. On 28 April 2016, Sally Shapiro announced the end of their 10-year career alongside the release ...

and other artists. In a ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

'' review, Dom Passantino opined, "Souvenir give us an austerity, poise, and hautiness of tone that would convince anyone they were born the wrong side of the Pyrenees".Passantino, Dom (2 May 2007)
Stylus Magazine review of ''64''

from the original on December 12, 2007, ''

'' In 2009, Souvenir released their fifth album, ''Drums, Sex and Dance'', which includes their first song in English (''The Sun Goes Out''). On February 21, 2011, the new Souvenir album ''Travelogues'' was released.

Discography

Albums

*''Points de Suspension'' (2001) Jabalina/Shelflife *''Recto/verso'' (2003) Jabalina *''Des Equilibres'' (2005) Jabalina *''64'' (2007) Jabalina *''Drums, Sex and Dance'' (2009) Jabalina *''Travelogues'' (2011) Jabalina

Singles, EPs

*''Souvenir'' EP (2000) Jabalina/Shelflife *''Premier essai'' (2001) Jabalina *''Présage de l’hiver'' (2005) Jabalina *''Extras 64'' (2007) Jabalina *''Aime-moi'' (vinyl) (2010) Jabalina

References

External links

Official Website of the Band SouvenirSouvenir at Last.fm
{{Authority control Spanish indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1999 1999 establishments in Spain