French Post-Punk
Post-Punk emerged as a response to the original punk rock movement, .featuring a more experimental music and diverse form of music, incorporating elements of punk, art rock, avant-garde, and other genres. Post-punk bands often rejected the simplicity and rawness of punk in favor of more complex song structures, atmospheric soundscapes, and introspective lyrics.
Post-punk bands drew influences from a wide range of musical styles, including punk, new wave, reggae, funk, and electronic music. They experimented with different sounds, incorporating synthesizers, drum machines, and other electronic instruments alongside traditional rock instrumentation. The music often featured jagged guitar riffs, driving basslines, and angular rhythms, creating a distinctive and edgy sound. Because of the French’s fondness for electronic sounds, the scene gave birth to other subgenres including Cold Wave and Minimal Wave.
Lyrically, post-punk addressed a variety of themes, such as social and political issues, personal introspection, existentialism, and urban decay. The genre’s lyrics often explored darker and more poetic subjects than those typically found in punk rock. Joy Division remains to this day the most influential Post-Punk band.
Plenty of exciting French Post-Punk bands emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, making it a great time for live shows and cool records. Unsurprisingly, some ended up breaking into the mainstream on the long run while others faded into darkness. A few kept going with a cult following, still sporadically releasing albums to this day in 2024.
Here is a selection of notable French Post-Punk bands and artists
MARQUIS DE SADE
Led by the charismatic Philippe Pascal, this band released 2 albums between 1977 and 1981. Pascal then moved on as the singer for the more successful New Wave band Marc Seberg. The band reformed in 2017 for a few shows until Pascal committed suicide. The band continues under the name Marquis with guest singers and released a new album in 2021.
STINKY TOYS
Transitioning between Punk and Post-Punk, the band which featured husband and wife Jacno and Elli Medeiros released one album and shared the stage with The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees. They then turned New Wave as Elli & Jacno before going solo. Elli Medeiros found success with a 1987 album Bom Bom.
DOMINIC SONIC
This French singer released 6 albums between 1998 and 2015 (he passed in 2020). He got a minor hit with his early single “When my tears run cold” from his first album Cold Tears and opened for The Stooges.
JAD WIO
A bondage-theme band mixing Post-Punk, New Wave and Cabaret, Jad Wio released 6 albums since 1989 and is still performing. Their exuberant singer was friend with Stiv Bators (Lords of the New Church).
EDITH NYLON
Edith Nylon released 4 albums between 1979 and 1982. They opened for The Police and were another band that went from Punk to Post-Punk by adding synthesizers.
NOISEGUN
Based in Los Angeles, French-born Noisegun mixes Post-Punk, Synth-Pop and Shoegaze influences with lyrics in both French and English.
There are plenty of other French bands that could be listed here but are closer to New Wave, Goth / Coldwave such as Trisomie 21.
To listen to all these artists check out our French Post-Punk playlist on Spotify
