Marianne Dissard


Marianne Dissard is a singer, lyricist and author, and filmmaker who lived in the United States from 1985 to 2013, including Tucson, Arizona from 1994 to 2013. "A central figure in Tucson's desert music community" with her unique hybrid of French Chanson and Americana, she is noted as a "charismatic performer" and for the quality of her lyrics.

Biography

Dissard was born in Tarbes, France, and grew up in the countryside near the French city of Toulouse before moving at the age of 16 to Mesa, Arizona in the United States following her parents. Dissard relocated to Los Angeles in 1989, briefly roommating to musician Howe Gelb while attending film school at the University of Southern California. Active in Los Angeles' independent film-making scene, she collaborated with directors Clay Walker and Gregg Araki as well as French distribution company Haut Et Court with the selection of the "Inédits d'Amérique" film series by Jon Jost, Allison Anders and Alex Cox.
In 1994, Dissard arrived in Tucson, Arizona to direct a documentary on Howe Gelb's alt-Americana band Giant Sand. She remained in Tucson for nearly two decades, taking an increasingly active part in the city's music scene, from lyricist and muse, to full-fledged producer and performer with her own touring career. Her eleven-year marriage with French musician Naïm Amor ended in 2008.
Dissard left Tucson and moved back to Europe in 2013. She has been based in Ramsgate, England since 2017, with one foot still in Tucson, Arizona and another in Paris, France.

Creative life

Dissard has collaborated with Tucson band Calexico's Joey Burns, who composed her first two albums: lo-fi demo debut 'Dedicated To Your Walls' and 'L'Entredeux', which he also produced. An album of bitter love songs, L'Entredeux won a Coup de Coeur prize from France's Académie Charles Cros in 2009 and was released in Europe by labels Le Pop Musik and Vacilando'68. Dissard's second album, L'Abandon, also garnered worldwide accolades. Co-produced by BK-One, it tackled subject matters such as her hometown of Tucson, abortion, Mexican porn comic books and marriage. Third album The Cat. Not Me was co-written by Dissard and composer Sergio Mendoza of the Tucson mambo ensemble Orkesta Mendoza. Dealing with emotional and physical exhaustion, nightmares, addiction and botched connections, the nonetheless upbeat album premiered at SXSW in 2013, with Seattle producer/musician Budo and violinist Andrew Joslyn.
The live studio album, 2009 Paris One Takes is the first in the ongoing Cities Series of albums recorded with band while on tours. Berlin Two Takes , the series' second album, was released in 2012 and included a duet with Belgian singer Arno. Third in the series, Cologne Vier Takes was recorded in Germany in 2015 with guitarist Yan Péchin and vocalist Allyson Ezell. A compilation album Cibola Gold: Best Of 2008-2015 was released in 2016, tracklisted by BK-One. Marianne Dissard has performed from Europe to North America, China as well as Turkey, New Zealand and Australia. Most notable live shows include those at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City in July 2010 and in Europe, at the Dortmund's KonzertHaus in 2010, but also a walking tour of the Pyrénées with donkey in 2010. Festival performances include New Zealand's Sounday in 2010, South By Southwest in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, Joshua Tree Roots Festival, USA and Split Works' Black Rabbit Festival in China.
As a documentary filmmaker, Marianne Dissard has collaborated with Tucson band Giant Sand and Howe Gelb on the music documentary 'Drunken Bees' and with artists Robbie Conal, Robert Kramer on camera for French TV-funded film 'Low Y Cool' and Keja Kramer. Dissard's first fiction film, 'Lonesome Cowgirls', a remake of Andy Warhol's 'Lonesome Cowboys', was conceived as a conceptual companion piece to album 'L'Abandon' and shot in Tucson, Arizona over a strictly-timed 24hrs period in June 2010. Several music videos and short video pieces are also credited to Dissard, including collaborations with Orkesta Mendoza, Bones & Beeker and Amor Belhom Duo.
Marianne Dissard's performance collaborations with American-born, Berlin-based choreographer Ami Garmon have been presented at Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Fondation Cartier, Galleries D'Art Contemporain de Marseille and Videoteca de Lisbon, Arte TV Lounge, Dortmund Konzerthaus, Zurich's Rote Fabrik, Tanz Im August Festival in Berlin.
As a lyricist, Marianne Dissard has written for Naïm Amor, Fredda, Françoiz Breut, Giant Sand's Howe Gelb, Christian Ravaglioli, Allyson Ezell and herself. She was the main lyricist for French avant-pop duo Amor Belhom Duo. Her bilingual French-English poetry and writings have been published in Spork and other English-language literary magazines. Her first book Not Me, a lauded memoir of her life struggles with eating disorders, was released in 2019. The book was adapted to the stage in 2018, and toured in 2019.

Discography

Albums