Anamorphosée
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''Anamorphosée'' is the fourth studio album by
Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...
, released on 17 October 1995. Led by the number-one single " XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work. Although it received mixed reviews from critics, the album was very successful, peaking at no.1 and staying on the French album chart for almost two years.


Background and writing

The movie '' Giorgino'', produced by Laurent Boutonnat and in which
Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...
starred, was both a critical and financial failure. Released on 5 October 1994, it was seen by barely 25,000 spectators in the first week and was the first setback in Farmer's career. As a result, the musical duo separated on bad terms, Boutonnat making Farmer responsible for this failure. The singer decided to go to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, where she fell into anonymity and changed hairstyle (she became blond with long hair). There she composed a new album, drawing inspiration from a
Sogyal Rinpoche Sogyal Rinpoche (; 1947 – 28 August 2019) was a Tibetan Dzogchen lama. He was recognized as the incarnation of a Tibetan master and visionary saint of the 19th century, Tertön Sogyal Lerab Lingpa. Sogyal Rinpoche was the founder and form ...
's book, ''Le Livre tibétain de la Vie et de la Mort''. The singer's perception of life changed through her travels, and she confided in an interview that she was no longer afraid of death; so, she was more optimistic. Finally, she called Boutonnat who joined her in Los Angeles for the recording. Jeff Dahlgren, who performed the role of Giorgio Volli in '' Giorgino'', had a great influence in the early composition of this album and was part of the musical team involved in preparing it. Boutonnat later came and the three finished the project. The album was recorded in the A&M studios and Record One in Los Angeles, and Boutonnat, who oversaw the production, chose the best American musicians at the time. Bertrand Châtenet, who had previously worked with
Vanessa Paradis Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model and actress. Paradis became a star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single " Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's highest ho ...
, was selected to mix the album.''Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer'', Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 59-61


Lyrics and music

The album's title, "Anamorphosée" is a
neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
in
French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-Romance, a descendant of the Latin spoken in ...
(the noun exists, but not the past participle of the anamorphoser (
denominative verb In grammar, denominal verbs are verbs derived from nouns. Many languages have regular Morphological derivation, morphological indicators to create denominal verbs. English English language, English examples are ''to school'', from ''school'', me ...
from anamorphose + -er
infinitive Infinitive ( abbreviated ) is a linguistics term for certain verb forms existing in many languages, most often used as non-finite verbs that do not show a tense. As with many linguistic concepts, there is not a single definition applicable to all ...
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...
)). The Hachette dictionary defines "anamorphose" as an "image of an object, distorted by certain optical devices (cylindrical mirrors, for example)." That word thus refers to the new music style of the singer. This album represents a departure from her previous work, in that the music is much more
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
oriented. Five of the twelve tracks are
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
s with melancholy text punctuated by American R&B-inspired arrangements. The lyrics are easier to understand and less cryptic than her previous albums. Although some themes dear to the artist are addressed in ''Anamorphosée'', sadness and pain are much less present in this album which is more about the
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...
(
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
).''L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer'', Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 37-38 () For the first time, Farmer wrote a song completely by herself, "Tomber 7 fois..."


Critical reception

The album was sometimes well received in media that have mainly noted the change in musical style. For example: "Farmer has moved away from the images that she stuck to the skin just to keep a sensuality remained intact" (''Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace''). The singer "has abandoned her eternal pessimism: the Mylène of 2000 is arrived, turned towards humanity with a big H and spirituality, via Lao Tzeu" (''Double Face''). "It is a shift announced by the new disc" (''La Dernière Heure''). With this album, "Farmer excels but against the current". "The tonic music have a hope in its infancy, words less drawn by the taste of nothing" (''Télérama''). "''Anamorphosée'' has filled all hopes" (''Vamp Canada''). "The production is, as always, impeccable" (''Platine''). However, some musical critics were very virulent to this album. For example, ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' stated that "the diversion of melodies from the band
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
makes hesitate between indignation and open laughs", while ''L'Evènement du jeudi'' concluded its article saying it should better "to avoid" this album. A Victoire de la Musique was awarded to this album, which was regarded as the French album the most exported in 1996.


Commercial performance

The album went straight to #2 on French Album Chart on 15 October 1995, behind
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...
's ''
D'eux ''D'eux'' (French for "of them, "about them", or "from them"; homophonic with , meaning "two") is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her tenth French-language album. It was released by Sony Music on 30 March 1995 in ...
''. It stayed at this place on the following chart edition, before dropping. However, it re-reached the #2 in its 13th week and for four other non-consecutive weeks. Surprisingly, the album became number one for two weeks on 18 and 25 January 1997, about one year and a half after its release. It remained on the Top ten for 34 weeks and on the chart (Top 50) for a total of 77 weeks.''Anamorphosée'', French Albums Char
Lescharts.com
(Retrieved 1 February 2008)
The album was also charted for four weeks on the Top Mid'Price, from 20 March to 10 April 2005, because it was re-released in a digipack version by
Polydor Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...
. The album was certified Double platinum disc by the
SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...
in 1996,Mylène Farmer certification
Chartsinfrance.net
(Retrieved 1 February 2008)
then diamond in 2009. In Belgium Wallonia, the album was charted for 71 weeks, from 4 November 1995 to 12 April 1997. It peaked at number two in its three first weeks, but was unable to reach number one (the chart was topped then by
Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...
's ''
D'eux ''D'eux'' (French for "of them, "about them", or "from them"; homophonic with , meaning "two") is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her tenth French-language album. It was released by Sony Music on 30 March 1995 in ...
''); it appeared for 25 weeks in the top ten.''Anamorphosée'', Belgian (
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
) Albums Char
Ultratop.be
(Retrieved 1 February 2008)
In Switzerland, the album entered the chart at #25, its highest position, on 12 November 1995, before dropping. It left the chart after its sixth week.''Anamorphosée'',
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
Albums Char
Hitparade.ch
(Retrieved 1 February 2008)


Track listing

All tracks written by
Mylène Farmer Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...
and produced by Laurent Boutonnat.


Personnel

* Fred Attal – programming * Laurent Boutonnat – arranger, clavier, keyboards, producer * Bertrand Châtenet – mixing * Jeff Dahlgren – guitar * Pol Ramirez del Piu – flute * Mylène Farmer – vocals * Denny Fongheiser – drums *
Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...
– mastering * Abraham Laboriel, Sr. – bass * Kate Markowitz – background vocals * Chad Munsey – engineer, sound recording * Henry Neu – design * André Perriat – mastering *
Herb Ritts Herbert Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952 – December 26, 2002) was an American fashion photographer and director known for his photographs of celebrities, models, and other cultural figures throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His work concentrated on b ...
– photography * Thierry Rogen – engineer, mixing, sound recording * Larry Schalit – assistant, mixing * Mike Scotella – assistant, mixing * Paul Van Parys – executive producer * Ken Villeneuve – assistant, mixing *
Shelly Yakus Sheldon Gershon "Shelly" Yakus (born November 1945) is an American music engineer and mixer. Formerly chief engineer and vice president of A&M Records, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1999. Yakus is referenced ...
– engineer, sound recording


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Formats

* CD – Crystal case * CD – Digipack * Casket – Format : 12" – Numbered – Limited edition (5,000) * Promotional casket – Format : 12" * 12" * Cassette * CD – Japan1 * CD – Taïwan 1 + "
Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
" (new mix), " XXL" (extra large remix)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anamorphosee 1995 albums Mylène Farmer albums Polydor Records albums