Mélanie Pain is a French

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 ...

singer from

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. She performs with the band

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

as well as being a solo artist.

Biography

Hailing from

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

, Pain studied political sciences before moving to Paris to work in a web agency, and then a design agency. Not originally intending to be a singer, a demo she had recorded vocals on for a friend accidentally found its way into the hands of

. Subsequently, she has toured for five years with the band. She sings in both

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, after years of covering English songs for Nouvelle Vague. Her influences include

The Pixies The Pixies are an American alternative rock band from Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1986 by Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals) and David Lovering (drums). The Pi ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

and

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. An accomplished acoustic guitarist, Drake signed to Island Records at the age of twenty while still a student at the University of Cambridg ...

. In April 2009, Pain released her first solo album entitled '' My Name'' featuring artists such as

Julien Doré Julien Doré (; born 7 July 1982) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is the winner of the fifth season of the television show ''Nouvelle Star'', aired on the French Television M6 channel. Life Doré was born in Alès (Gard, ...

Phoebe Killdeer Phoebe Killdeer (born 1977) is an Australian producer, songwriter and the lead singer of the groups Phoebe Killdeer & the Short Straws and Phoebe Killdeer & the Shift. She is best known for her song " The Fade Out Line", which became a major in ...

and

Thomas Dybdahl Thomas Dybdahl (born 12 April 1979) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Background Thomas Dybdahl grew up in Sandnes, Norway. He started his musical career as the guitarist in the band Quadraphonics. The band released o ...

Discography

*'' My Name'' (2009) *'' Bye Bye Manchester'' (2012) *''Parachute'' (2016)

With ''Nouvelle Vague''

Singles

* ''

This is Not a Love Song "This Is Not a Love Song" is a single released by the English post-punk band Public Image Ltd in 1983. It is the band's biggest commercial hit, peaking at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and at No. 3 on the Irish Singles Chart. The 12" remixed v ...

'' * ''

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by J.J. O'Neill, the band's rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially rele ...

Albums

* '' Bande à Part''

References

External links

* English-language singers from France French women singers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Love Da Records artists {{france-singer-stub