Marianne Dissard is a French born singer-songwriter, producer, performance artist, photographer, film-maker and writer. As a solo artist she has released three studio albums of original material as well as numerous singles, EPs, live albums & contributions to compilation albums, and she has collaborated with artists including Calexico, Giant Sand, Amor Belhom Duo, The Inspector Cluzo & Lunatraktors, as vocalist and/or lyricist.
‘Rappel’ collects a series of transformative cover versions recorded during 2020 & ’21, in collaboration with English producer & multi-instrumentalist Raphael Mann, whilst they were stuck as the result of lockdown restrictions in different cities. Five songs were released as singles as they were completed - Steely Dan’s ‘Dirty Work’, Richie Valens’ ‘Come On, Let’s Go!’, Bobbie Gentry’s ‘Refractions’, Janis Ian’s ‘At Seventeen’ (recorded as two different versions, “His” & “Hers” with contrasting moods), and Townes Van Zandt’s ‘If I Needed You’, as a duet with Mann - and the album includes an additional four tracks; her take on Scott Walker’s ‘Rosemary’, a grunge-punk burst through Richard Harris’s ‘A Tramp Shining’, a chilling deconstruction of War’s ‘Slippin’ Into Darkness’, and a version of the Spanky & Our Gang hit, ‘Give A Damn’, recorded in the summer of 2021, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and as her adopted home of Arizona was bursting into flames. Vocalist Art Terry was invited to contribute to the recording, and the spoken word piece that he came up with ended up becoming a track its own right, entitled ‘Nests On The Ground’, forming a sort of extended coda to ‘Give A Damn’ and a poetic exploration of its themes of injustice and social degeneration…
Also included with the album download are five bonus tracks - the earlier single, a version of Phil Och’s ‘The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns’, repurposed as a comment on the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020 just as the virus was spreading around the world, Adriano Celentano’s Italian novelty hit ‘Prisencolinensinainciusol’ reinvented as an incendiary condemnation of contemporary politicians, released as a single the following April; as well as the radio versions of ‘Give A Damn’ & ‘Prisencolinensinainciusol’ and the “Hers” version of ‘At Seventeen’.
‘Rappel’ is available exclusively on Bandcamp.
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credits
released April 9, 2022
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MARIANNE DISSARD vocals; samples on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
GABRIEL NAïM AMOR - electric guitars on ‘A Tramp Shining’ & ‘Come On, Let’s Go!; acoustic guitars on ‘At Seventeen’ (“His” & “Hers”)
SAYLOR BRECKENRIDGE - harmonica on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
VICKI BROWN - loops & violin on ‘The Scorpion Departs…’
LUKE DOUCET - electric guitar on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
CLAIRE DUGUE - hurdy-gurdy on ‘Slippin’ Into Darkness’
TERRY EDWARDS - tenor sax on ‘Dirty Work’; tenor & baritone saxes on ‘Come On, Let’s Go!’; flute on ‘At Seventeen’ (“His” & “Hers”)
CONOR GALLAHER - electric guitars & 12-string acoustic on ‘Dirty Work’; electric guitar on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
TOM HAGERMAN - violas & violins on ‘Refractions’, ‘Give A Damn / Nests On The Ground’, Slippin’ Into Darkness’ & ‘If I Needed You’
THØGER TETENS LUND - bass guitar on ‘Dirty Work’; bass guitar & double bass on ‘The Scorpion Departs…’; double bass, cello & synths on ‘At Seventeen (“Hers”)
MATT MITCHELL - acoustic guitar on ‘If I Needed You’
CHRISTIAN RAVAGLIOLI - Clavinet on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
MATT RENDON - drums & vocals on ‘Dirty Work’
MARCO ROSANO - tin flute & trombone on ‘The Scorpion Departs…’
BELÉN RUIZ - cellos on ‘At Seventeen (“HIs”)’, 'Refractions', 'Give A Damn / Nests On The Ground' & 'If I Needed You'
ART TERRY - vocals on ‘Give A Damn / Nests On The Ground’
JON VILLA - trumpets on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
ARTHUR VINT - drums & tambourine on ‘A Tramp Shining’; drums on ‘Prisesencolinen…’
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String arrangements by RAPHAEL MANN
Basic tracks for ‘Dirty Work’ recorded by MATT RENDON at Midtown Island, Tucson.
Basic tracks for ‘Prisesencolinen…’ recorded by JIM WATERS at Waterworks West Studio, Tucson.
All other tracks and overdubs were recorded by the musicians from their homes.
Mixed by RAPHAEL MANN, except ‘The Scorpion Departs…’ which was mixed by JIM WATERS at Waterworks West Studio, Tucson, and ‘At Seventeen (“Hers”)’ which was mixed by JOE MABBOTT at The Hideaway Studios, Minneapolis.
"...it's hard to argue against "Am Letzen" being probably her most compelling and complete song. Everything here - the analogue tape hiss, haunting cello and soothing piano, Marianne's whispered and weary vocals - portray the fragility of a New Year's Eve dawn's hazy light..."
http://reclaimingthecolonies-onestateatatime.blogspot.com/2016/03/marianne-dissard.html steveinsocal
"…probably my favourite "City Series" album, heightened by the intimacy and with Marianne's voice having never sounded so enthralling, while gasping at the sheer dynamism the recording captures… the version of "Oiseau" for instance, is in my mind, the definitive one, while the theatrics of "Les Draps Sourds" are all captured here… and those who argue as to how many versions of "Les Confettis" do I need are totally missing the point…"
https://reclaimingthecolonies-onestateatatime.blogspot.com steveinsocal
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