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 DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

band formed in 1999 in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, Spain, who have released six studio albums.

History

Souvenir perform their songs in French, sung by Patricia de la Fuente, and mainly written by multi-instrumentalist J'aime Cristóbal.Cramer, Steven "'' Points de Suspension' Review", allmusic, Macrovision Corporation They debuted with a 6-track self-titled EP in 2000, which was reissued in America by

Shelflife Records Shelflife Records is a Portland and San Francisco based independent record label run by Ed Mazzucco and Matthew Bice and has produced such bands as Days, Acid House Kings, and The Radio Dept. History Shelflife Records traces its 1995 origins t ...

, displaying Europop and bossanova influences.Fink, Matt "''

Souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

'" (review), allmusic, Macrovision Corporation Their popularity spread to the Asian independent market, and 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 musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

. Cristóbal was commissioned by French chanteuse

Françoiz Breut image:Francoiz Breut Konzert.jpg, 230px, Françoiz Breut (August 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 involve ...

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'' featured pop songs with

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

s, mellow

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s and

lap steel guitar The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian 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 playing a traditional ...

s. In 2006, they collaborated on the

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

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 of ...

'', 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 eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

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

, Saint Etienne,

The High Llamas The High Llamas are an Anglo-Irish avant-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 si ...

, 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'' 82006) followed, with songs in the vein of the ''Nouvelle Chanson'' genre. For their fourth studio album, ''64'', issued in 2007, the band took a radical turn in their sound into

. 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 (2007)
Stylus Magazine review of ''64''

,

, 2 May 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