The Dream Koala Remix of Nouvelle Vague’s cover of the Joy Division classic “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is premiering now at PopMatters; stream/share it HERE. PopMatters notes that, “This airy Dream Koala remix reenvisions the tune as an ethereal, dreamy bit of ambient chill-out,” and hails the song as “very sleek and trippy.”
The track appears on Nouvelle Vague’s upcoming four-song EP Athol Brose, out September 2 via Kwaidan Records / !K7. The EP marks the group’s first new recordings since 2010. Stereogum recently premiered the title track—a reworking of a Cocteau Twins classic featuring Liset Alea—which can be streamed HERE and shared HERE. Following the Athol Brose EP, the band’s full length album I Could Be Happy is set for release on November 4 on Kwaidan Records / !K7.
“Nouvelle Vague has traded pogoing for a suave Parisian sway, some light cabaret swing and hints of the Caribbean.” —The New York Times
“Smoky-piped chanteuses + a ’60s bossa nova beat + ’80s newwave chestnuts =
one chouette cover band.”—Entertainment Weekly
“The French band Nouvelle Vague takes classic New Wave singles from the ’80s and adds a Brazilian twist — courtesy of the other new wave: bossa nova.”—NPR “World Café”
“Covering new wave and punk songs in a French-tinged, bossa nova-infused style, Nouvelle Vague takes classic songs to new places.”—NPR’s “All Songs Considered”
Nouvelle Vague is the brainchild of French producers Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, who started the unique project in 2004, appropriating classic 80’s and 90’s hits from the punk, post-punk and new wave cannon and reinterpreting them as Brazilian Bossa Nova. The band employed a legion of female singers, many unknown until their performances with the band. Over the course of four records, the band sold more than one million albums worldwide including their self-titled 2004 album and 2006’s Bande A Part —which were released in the U.S. The band toured internationally including sold out shows at Royal Albert Hall in London, The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and Olympia in Paris.
After a several year hiatus, Collin and Libaux embark on a new chapter in the Nouvelle Vague saga. Their new work not only contains the punk and post-punk reinventions that the band is known for but includes new remixes of Nouvelle Vague classic songs recorded with traditional live musicians and also marks the first original compositions by Libaux and Collin.
ATHOL BROSE EP
1. Athol-Brose featuring Liset Alea (Cocteau Twins cover)
2. La Pluie et Le Beau Temps (composed by Olivier Libaux)
3. Love Will Tear Us Apart (Dream Koala Remix of Nouvelle Vague, Joy Division cover)
4. Ever Fallen In Love (Unlocked Destination) (Buzzcocks cover)
