Индошина: Француздық рок және жаңа толқын тобының тарихы

French rock and new wave band

Indochine (ɛ̃dɔʃin) is a French rock and new wave band formed in Paris in 1981. They became very successful in the Francophonie, Europe and Latin America in the 1980s, with songs like "L'Aventurier" and "Canary Bay". Following the release of several critically acclaimed, but commercially unsuccessful, albums in the 1990s, the group returned to stardom with the release of Paradize in 2002. The band has sold over 13 million albums and singles.

Indochine (French for Indochina) was formed in 1981 by two Frenchmen in their early twenties, Nicola Sirkis and Dominique Nicolas, in Paris. They soon added Dimitri Bodiansky, the cousin of one of Nicola's friends. They gave their first concert at Le Rose Bonbon, a café in Paris on 29 September 1981. This brief performance on stage earned them their first contract with a record company. They recorded their first single in November 1981. It included two songs, "Dizzidence Politik" and "Françoise", but drew more attention from critics than from the mainstream media and only reached a limited audience. Stéphane Sirkis, Nicola's twin brother who had already performed with the band on stage, officially joined the band, and in April 1982 the group recorded their first album, L'Aventurier, which sold more than 250,000 copies. The album was well received by the press and by an emerging new wave audience. L'aventurier is the song of the summer 1982 in France. In 1983, Indochine released a second album entitled Le Péril Jaune ("Yellow Peril") which sold 225,000 copies. Indochine had by this stage become a major act in French music. In 1984, the band toured France. They were also successful in Scandinavia, most notably in Sweden. By 1985, they had achieved a large following, reflected by the success of such songs as "Troisième sexe" ("third sex"), "Canary Bay", and "Trois nuits par semaine". Their third album, 3, sold 750,000 copies in Europe. Serge Gainsbourg directed the video to "Tes yeux noirs", one of the group's most successful songs. Indochine becomes the largest "new wave" band in France. The single "L'Aventurier" won the French awards "bus d'acier 1983". In 1986, to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the band, Indochine decided to release the recording of the concert given at the Zénith in Paris. Their fourth album, 7000 Danses, produced by Joe Glasman, was released in 1987. It sold about 320,000 copies making it a successful album though far less so than its predecessor, 3. This is partly due to the band's efforts to produce a less mainstream, commercial album. 7000 Danses was also released amidst a controversy stemming from rock critics claiming that Indochine were a mere copy of British band The Cure. In spite of the controversy fans continued to support the group.

Starting in 1986 the band gained a following in Lima, Peru as a result of the radio broadcast of their 'L'Aventurier' single. Then, in early 1987, the small record label, El Virrey, negotiated the rights to the 'Au Zénith' album, which it released as 33 rpm LP and on cassette tape. Surprised by this development, Indochine decided to add a stop in Lima after their transatlantic debut in Montreal. In that period the band sold some 400,000 recordings in Peru.

Indochine was the first French band to perform at the Stade de France, on 26 June 2010 their biggest gig ever, sold out and in front of 80,000 people. In November 2012, the band released their new single Memoria, from their upcoming album Black City Parade. Black City Parade was released on 11 February 2013 with much anticipation from the fans. The album, despite its almost gloomy cover art, features much brighter and warmer music than the last two albums. The band seemed to want include references to their synthpop and new wave beginnings. Indochine played several sold out shows during the first leg of the "Black City Tour" which kicked off on 21 February 2013. Five legs are planned for the "Black City Tour". The band stated that they will be playing around the world. They later announced that they will return to the Stade de France on 27 June 2014. The second single for Black City Parade was College Boy, a song widely acknowledged to narrate the life of a homosexual teenage boy dealing with bashing and harassment. The video for the single was directed by Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan. The video premiered online with a disclaimer stating that it contained violent scenes and would not be suitable for a young audience. The video depicts a young male student facing mobbing and harassment from his schoolmates. The video culminates in him being brutally crucified and shot in the torso by his fellow students. Many criticisms have poured over the Internet about whether the video should be broadcast or not. The band played two nights at the Stade de France on 27 & 28 June 2014. They followed the stadium concerts with a much smaller show at London's O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on 14 July 2014. In April 2015, the band undertook the eight dates Europe City Club Tour, which saw the band extend beyond its Francophone base by visiting Spain, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. 2016 was the year of The Festival Tours with performances at Papillons De Nuit (20 May), Les Ardentes (6 July), Carcassonne festival (15 July), Sion Sous Les Etoiles (18 July), Poupet (22 July), La Fête Du Bruit (12 August) and Cabaret Vert (25 August). Their 13th album, named 13 (2017) had a big success in France, with singles like Un été français or La vie est belle. In 2020 the band announced a new tour to come in 2021 to celebrate their 40 years of career, the Central Tour, with 5 dates in the biggest French stadiums, making their 4th Stade de France.