French Goth / Coldwave
Since the mid-60’s British invasion, France’s music scene has been strongly influenced by the sounds coming from across the English Channel. Once the late 1970s Punk scene started to fade, most bands turned to Post-Punk, Synth-Pop, New Wave while a few joined a darker side to embrace goth music.
Strongly influenced by the likes of Joy Division, The Sisters of Mercy, The Cure and Depeche Mode, these French goth bands created what would be called the French Coldwave scene in early 1980s. In case you were wondering, the term cold wave was used by the French to describe any dark Post-Punk subgenre.
Because most of these bands lacked originality and insisted on singing in English with an accent, the local Goth rock scene was never really taken seriously and failed to take off. A few bands were however able to leave a mark, some even making it to North America. More surprisingly, with the recent emergence of Dark Wave and New Goth subculture, a new generation of French-speaking bands has been embracing the Goth scene.
Here is a selection of past and present French Goth bands worth the listen, as of 2024.
TRISOMIE 21
Probably the most influential French band coming from the 80’s Cold Wave scene, this duo is known for its dark melodies, post-punk, synth-driven and industrial sounds. They were signed to Belgian label Play It Again Sam and are still active, releasing studio albums and touring. “The Last Song” and “La Fete Triste” are probably their best-known songs.
MARTIN DUPONT
A band from Marseille – where yours truly is from -, Martin Dupont is a French Cold Wave band which released 4 albums between 1984 and 1987 and gained recognition with popular song “Inside Out”.
KAS PRODUCT
Kas Product was a Cold Wave / Electropunk duo – Spatsz on keyboards + Mona Soyoc on vocals & guitar – which sound was reminiscent of Siouxsie and Soft Cell. They released 4 studio albums and performed on and off until 2017, a couple years before Spatsz passed away. Their best track is the Suicide-influenced “Take Me Tonight”.
LITTLE NEMO
Mixing the sounds of a basic drum machine, big bass line with guitar arpeggios, Parisian band Little Nemo was strongly influenced by early Sisters of Mercy as well as And Also The Trees. They were part of the “Touching Pop” scene along Coldwave bands Mary Goes Round Asylum Party. They released 4 studio albums between 1989 and 2013, singing in both English and French.
MARY GOES ROUND
Starting with Sunset, am enjoyable debut album strongly influenced by the Sisters of Mercy, French duo Mary Goes Round then changed musical genre to embrace 70s psychedelic rock music. They went through various lineups and released 4 albums between 1989 and 1991 before the singer embarked on a solo career. They were part of the Touching Pop movement.
ASYLUM PARTY
A gothic trio with dark, atmospheric sounds and melodies reminiscent of early Cure, Asylum Party released 3 albums and best known for their song “Julia”. They were also considered a Touching Pop band and released 3 albums from 1988 to 1990.
CHARLES DE GOAL
Somewhere between minimal wave and electronic punk rock, Charles de Goal released 6 albums with various lineups from 1980 to 2006. Unlike their counterpart were mostly singing in French.
GUERRE FROIDE
This dark Post-Punk band from Lille has been releasing albums on and off since the early 80s, undergoing various lineup changes. They sing in French and one of their most memorable tracks is “L’espérance”.
THE NEW GENERATION
Surprisingly, 40 years later, the French Goth Darkwave scene is making somewhat of a comeback, the 80s sound making a comeback all around the world.
French American Coldwave duo Xeno & Oaklander is probably leading this new wave thanks to its haunting dark electronic – shall we say Dark Wave – vibe and, most particularly, the French singles “Sheen” and “Afar”. Another great French-speaking synthpop coldwave musical project Automelodi from Montréal, French Canada – their minimal synth single “La Poussiere” is one of my favorites. If you’re looking form something less minimalist and more eclectic, you might enjoy Grand Blanc from Metz. Last not but not least, Los Angeles-based French-American artist Noisegun blends old school Goth, Synth-Pop, Dark Wave, Shoegaze and Industrial music since early 2000s.
To listen to all these artists check out our French Goth Coldwave playlist on Spotify
