The Kat Onoma story begins in Strasbourg, the hometown of all five members of the group. Lead singer and guitarist Rodolphe Burger and drummer Pascal Benoit had been friends from their schooldays, so it was natural that these two passionate music fans should go on to play in a variety of groups together. In the early 80’s Burger and Benoit met up with two other talented young musicians, trumpet-player Guy "Bix" Bickel and Philippe "Lamiral" Poirier, who played sax and guitar. (Bickel and Poirier had already worked together as part of Musik Aufhebung, an ‘experimental’ group renowned for its wildly improvised performances). Coming from the same rock and jazz background and sharing the same interest in "experimental" rock the four teamed up together in 1981 and began playing locally, calling themselves La Dernière Bande.
Over the next five years La Dernière Bande built up an excellent reputation for themselves on the local music scene, forging their own distinctive rock sound. When they were not performing as La Dernière Bande the members of the group would play in a more jazz-inspired group called Oeuvre Complète (led by La Dernière Bande’s sax-player Philippe Poirier and another musician by the name of Yves Dormoy).
"Like Its Name"
In 1986 La Dernière Bande underwent a slight change of line-up, with the arrival of bass-player Pierre Keyline. It was at this point that the group changed their name to Kat Onoma (which in Greek means "Like its name"). Shortly after the arrival of Keyline, the group travelled to Brussels where they went into the studio for the first time to record their début album "Beggar's Law" ( a mini-album featuring four original tracks). However, "Beggar's Law" failed to impress any of the major record companies in Paris and Kat Onoma began to despair of getting their first album released at all. But then the independent label Attitude came along and offered them a recording deal. Kat Onoma’s début album was thus released on the Attitude label later that year, but "Beggar's Law" failed to score a hit with the public, selling a ridiculously small number of copies. The French critics appeared to like the album, however, and wrote generally favourable reviews comparing Kat Onoma’s ‘alternative’ new wave rock to the legendary Velvet Underground.
Unfortunately Kat Onoma’s record label, Attitude, went out of business shortly after the release of "Beggar's Law" and the group had to look around for a new record deal. Unable to find one straight away Kat Onoma decided they would produce their second album themselves, clubbing together their savings to book a series of studio sessions in Brussels. The result was the interesting 14-track album "Cupid". Once again the group took their album to a number of French record companies and, after just one listen, Just'in signed Kat Onoma on the spot, releasing "Cupid" on their newly-created label Eurobond in 1988. Once again French music critics showered Kat Onoma’s album with rave reviews and, while the group did not exactly score a huge commercial hit, "Cupid" did increase the group’s steadily growing fan base. (The album also received a lot of support from French star Françoise Hardy who would ask Rodolphe Burger to write material for her own album a few years later).
Kat Onoma’s second album, "Cupid", revealed the group’s strong literary influences - "The Ditty of the Drowned Father" owed a great debt to Shakespeare while "Sam Song" was a direct tribute to the Irish writer Samuel Beckett. Three of the tracks on the new album were written by the young author Thomas Lago, who would also write material for the group under his pen name Pierre Alféri. (Lago continues to work with Kat Onoma on all their current projects, as do the group’s other loyal collaborators who include the talented sound engineer Luc Tytgat and graphic artist Carole Peclers).
Shortly after the release of Kat Onoma’s album "Cupid" the Just'in label was bought out by Fnac, and the group’s future began to look decidedly shaky again. Yet, somehow, Kat Onoma survived another round of record company upheavals and in January 1990 their third album "Stock Phrases" was released on the new Fnac label. The 11 tracks on this remarkably poetic rock album were mostly co-written by Rodolphe Burger and Thomas Lago, but "Stock Phrases" also included two surprise cover versions of the rock'n'roll classics "Be Bop a Lula" and "C'mon Everybody". Kat Onoma’s third album proved an enormous hit with the critics and also sold well in Europe, doing particularly well in Sweden and Greece. (While Kat Onoma failed to make any significant commercial impact in France they could pride themselves on being one of the rare French groups to successfully export their music abroad).
Following the release of the album "Stock Phrases" Kat Onoma set off on tour playing numerous dates across France. On 21 March the group gave a memorable performance in Paris at the famous jazz club Le New Morning.
"Billy the Kid"
Two years later the group returned to the studio to record another album entitled "Billy The Kid". Kat Onoma’s third album, released on 21 February 1992 and based on the work of the late American poet Jack Spicer (who died in 1965), received extremely favourable reviews from the critics. The two single releases from the album, "The Gun" and "The Radio", also received a fair amount of radio play. Yet the album failed to generate any significant commercial success, sales figures for "Billy The Kid" remaining disappointingly low. But the group, who were hardy aiming for international stardom, appeared content to maintain a low profile.
Following the release of "Billy The Kid" Kat Onoma put in an appearance at the Printemps de Bourges festival in April 1992 and gave another memorable performance in Paris at La Cigale (on 16 May 1992). Towards the end of the year the group embarked upon a new series of concerts, kicking off the tour in their native Alsace on 24 November.
As soon as the tour ended the group found themselves in the midst of yet another record company upheaval. It was at this point that Rodolphe Burger and Philippe Poirier decided it was time to take a temporary break from the group and work on their own projects and in 1993 each of them went off to record a solo album. Rodolphe Burger’s solo album, "Cheval Mouvement", (recorded almost entirely in English like so many of his group’s songs) had a distinctly Kat Onoma feel to it. However, Philippe Poirier’s solo effort, "Les Echardes", written and produced in collaboration with Yves Dormoy (from the group Oeuvre Complète) was in a much more experimental instrumental vein.
After undergoing a series of problems with the Fnac label, Kat Onoma switched record companies once again, signing a new deal with Chrysalis (an offshoot of EMI) in 1994. It was at this stage in their career that the group decided to set up their own production company, "Dernière Bande Production". In March 1995 Chrysalis re-released Kat Onoma’s entire back catalogue (with the exception of the group’s first mini album), adding a number of new tracks on each of the albums.
On 22 May 1995 Kat Onoma returned to Belgium, going into the studio to record their fourth album "Far From the Pictures". The majority of the tracks on this new album were co-written by Rodolphe Burger and Thomas Lago, but "Far From the Pictures" also included compositions by Philippe Poirier and Olivier Cadiot. Kat Onoma’s fourth album also featured an innovative cover version of the German group Kraftwerk’s legendary hit "Radioactivity". This new album received rapturous reviews from the French critics and in July of that year Kat Onoma were invited to perform at the famous Francofolies festival in La Rochelle. On 6 November the group got to play at the Olympia (the most prestigious music venue in Paris).
In 1996 French star Françoise Hardy, who had long been a loyal supporter of Kat Onoma, asked lead singer Rodolphe Burger to write two tracks for her album "Le Danger". Meanwhile, following the release of their 1995 album, Kat Onoma were proving increasingly popular with the music critics. Indeed, in April 1996 French rock journalists presented the group with the coveted "Bus d'Acier" (a special rock music award). In December of that year Kat Onoma gave another memorable performance in Paris, playing at a small unknown venue called Le Garage. They then went on to play six successful concerts at Pigall's (29 January - 3 February 1997).
This series of concerts were featured on Kat Onoma’s first live album which was released in June of that year. The album was entitled "Happy birthday Public" - lest anyone forget that the group had just celebrated their 10th year on the French music scene !
Following the release of this live album, Rodolphe Burger took a break from Kat Onoma’s busy touring schedule and spent the summer of 97 in Brittany, working on material for Kat Onoma’s next album. The group did play one important gig that summer, however, appearing at La Route du Rock Festival in St Malo in August.
The following year Rodolpe Burger won critical acclaim for his solo work with the release of a new album entitled "Meteor Show" (on November 3 1998). Burger's new album was showered with rave reviews and just a few days after the release of "Meteor Show", Burger was awarded the prestigious 'Prix Charles-Cros'. "Meteor Show", which featured dance beats and jungle grooves mixed by Doctor L. (from the hardcore French rap group Assassin), marked a radical change of musical direction for Burger. But the singer's moody and experimental style (a million miles away from his first solo album!) appeared to go down well with his fans. Indeed, "Meteor Show" proved highly popular, thanks to Burger's innovative covers "Play with Fire" (The Rolling Stones), "Moonshiner" (Bob Dylan) and "Hey Baby" (Jimi Hendrix). The album also included a new version of "Cheval-Mouvement" and a song called "Kimono" which featured vocals by Burger's daughter.
The band got back together in 2001 and brought out a new album entitled "Kat Onoma" on March 6th. The group's first joint album since 1995, which featured an interesting mix of rock and electro sounds, was recorded in the Vosges region in France and mixed in London by the UK producer Ian Capple (famous for his work on Bashung's album "Fantaisie militaire"). The group hit the road again in the summer of 2001, performing at a number of music festivals up and down the country including Les Vieilles Charrues in Brittany.
In spite of the fact that Kat Onoma have chosen to pursue their own individual path rather than conforming to the French musical mainstream, the group have built up a loyal following of fans and their ‘alternative’ rock sound continues to prove incredibly popular with music critics.
The end
The band’s tour continued on and off until the spring of 2002. In October of that year, Kat Onoma reappeared in the music news with the album Live à la chapelle (recorded in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines almost a year earlier).
With different members of the group devoting an increasing amount of time and energy to other projects, many feared Kat Onoma would call a halt to their joint career. At the end of 2004, Philippe Poirier re-emerged with a new solo album. Meanwhile Rodolphe Burger, who continued to have a finger in several different musical pies, teamed up with traditional French singer Erik Marchand for a spot of studio recording and live work. But it came as no surprise to anyone when Kat Onoma finally decided to call it a day as a group. They left fans with the CD and DVD All The Best From Kat Onoma (released in November 2004).
*
In spite of the fact that Kat Onoma chose to pursue their own original rock sound rather than conforming to the French musical mainstream, the group built up a loyal following of fans in the course of their career and will be sadly missed.
December 2004
Over the next five years La Dernière Bande built up an excellent reputation for themselves on the local music scene, forging their own distinctive rock sound. When they were not performing as La Dernière Bande the members of the group would play in a more jazz-inspired group called Oeuvre Complète (led by La Dernière Bande’s sax-player Philippe Poirier and another musician by the name of Yves Dormoy).
"Like Its Name"
In 1986 La Dernière Bande underwent a slight change of line-up, with the arrival of bass-player Pierre Keyline. It was at this point that the group changed their name to Kat Onoma (which in Greek means "Like its name"). Shortly after the arrival of Keyline, the group travelled to Brussels where they went into the studio for the first time to record their début album "Beggar's Law" ( a mini-album featuring four original tracks). However, "Beggar's Law" failed to impress any of the major record companies in Paris and Kat Onoma began to despair of getting their first album released at all. But then the independent label Attitude came along and offered them a recording deal. Kat Onoma’s début album was thus released on the Attitude label later that year, but "Beggar's Law" failed to score a hit with the public, selling a ridiculously small number of copies. The French critics appeared to like the album, however, and wrote generally favourable reviews comparing Kat Onoma’s ‘alternative’ new wave rock to the legendary Velvet Underground.
Unfortunately Kat Onoma’s record label, Attitude, went out of business shortly after the release of "Beggar's Law" and the group had to look around for a new record deal. Unable to find one straight away Kat Onoma decided they would produce their second album themselves, clubbing together their savings to book a series of studio sessions in Brussels. The result was the interesting 14-track album "Cupid". Once again the group took their album to a number of French record companies and, after just one listen, Just'in signed Kat Onoma on the spot, releasing "Cupid" on their newly-created label Eurobond in 1988. Once again French music critics showered Kat Onoma’s album with rave reviews and, while the group did not exactly score a huge commercial hit, "Cupid" did increase the group’s steadily growing fan base. (The album also received a lot of support from French star Françoise Hardy who would ask Rodolphe Burger to write material for her own album a few years later).
Kat Onoma’s second album, "Cupid", revealed the group’s strong literary influences - "The Ditty of the Drowned Father" owed a great debt to Shakespeare while "Sam Song" was a direct tribute to the Irish writer Samuel Beckett. Three of the tracks on the new album were written by the young author Thomas Lago, who would also write material for the group under his pen name Pierre Alféri. (Lago continues to work with Kat Onoma on all their current projects, as do the group’s other loyal collaborators who include the talented sound engineer Luc Tytgat and graphic artist Carole Peclers).
Shortly after the release of Kat Onoma’s album "Cupid" the Just'in label was bought out by Fnac, and the group’s future began to look decidedly shaky again. Yet, somehow, Kat Onoma survived another round of record company upheavals and in January 1990 their third album "Stock Phrases" was released on the new Fnac label. The 11 tracks on this remarkably poetic rock album were mostly co-written by Rodolphe Burger and Thomas Lago, but "Stock Phrases" also included two surprise cover versions of the rock'n'roll classics "Be Bop a Lula" and "C'mon Everybody". Kat Onoma’s third album proved an enormous hit with the critics and also sold well in Europe, doing particularly well in Sweden and Greece. (While Kat Onoma failed to make any significant commercial impact in France they could pride themselves on being one of the rare French groups to successfully export their music abroad).
Following the release of the album "Stock Phrases" Kat Onoma set off on tour playing numerous dates across France. On 21 March the group gave a memorable performance in Paris at the famous jazz club Le New Morning.
"Billy the Kid"
Two years later the group returned to the studio to record another album entitled "Billy The Kid". Kat Onoma’s third album, released on 21 February 1992 and based on the work of the late American poet Jack Spicer (who died in 1965), received extremely favourable reviews from the critics. The two single releases from the album, "The Gun" and "The Radio", also received a fair amount of radio play. Yet the album failed to generate any significant commercial success, sales figures for "Billy The Kid" remaining disappointingly low. But the group, who were hardy aiming for international stardom, appeared content to maintain a low profile.
Following the release of "Billy The Kid" Kat Onoma put in an appearance at the Printemps de Bourges festival in April 1992 and gave another memorable performance in Paris at La Cigale (on 16 May 1992). Towards the end of the year the group embarked upon a new series of concerts, kicking off the tour in their native Alsace on 24 November.
As soon as the tour ended the group found themselves in the midst of yet another record company upheaval. It was at this point that Rodolphe Burger and Philippe Poirier decided it was time to take a temporary break from the group and work on their own projects and in 1993 each of them went off to record a solo album. Rodolphe Burger’s solo album, "Cheval Mouvement", (recorded almost entirely in English like so many of his group’s songs) had a distinctly Kat Onoma feel to it. However, Philippe Poirier’s solo effort, "Les Echardes", written and produced in collaboration with Yves Dormoy (from the group Oeuvre Complète) was in a much more experimental instrumental vein.
After undergoing a series of problems with the Fnac label, Kat Onoma switched record companies once again, signing a new deal with Chrysalis (an offshoot of EMI) in 1994. It was at this stage in their career that the group decided to set up their own production company, "Dernière Bande Production". In March 1995 Chrysalis re-released Kat Onoma’s entire back catalogue (with the exception of the group’s first mini album), adding a number of new tracks on each of the albums.
On 22 May 1995 Kat Onoma returned to Belgium, going into the studio to record their fourth album "Far From the Pictures". The majority of the tracks on this new album were co-written by Rodolphe Burger and Thomas Lago, but "Far From the Pictures" also included compositions by Philippe Poirier and Olivier Cadiot. Kat Onoma’s fourth album also featured an innovative cover version of the German group Kraftwerk’s legendary hit "Radioactivity". This new album received rapturous reviews from the French critics and in July of that year Kat Onoma were invited to perform at the famous Francofolies festival in La Rochelle. On 6 November the group got to play at the Olympia (the most prestigious music venue in Paris).
In 1996 French star Françoise Hardy, who had long been a loyal supporter of Kat Onoma, asked lead singer Rodolphe Burger to write two tracks for her album "Le Danger". Meanwhile, following the release of their 1995 album, Kat Onoma were proving increasingly popular with the music critics. Indeed, in April 1996 French rock journalists presented the group with the coveted "Bus d'Acier" (a special rock music award). In December of that year Kat Onoma gave another memorable performance in Paris, playing at a small unknown venue called Le Garage. They then went on to play six successful concerts at Pigall's (29 January - 3 February 1997).
This series of concerts were featured on Kat Onoma’s first live album which was released in June of that year. The album was entitled "Happy birthday Public" - lest anyone forget that the group had just celebrated their 10th year on the French music scene !
Following the release of this live album, Rodolphe Burger took a break from Kat Onoma’s busy touring schedule and spent the summer of 97 in Brittany, working on material for Kat Onoma’s next album. The group did play one important gig that summer, however, appearing at La Route du Rock Festival in St Malo in August.
The following year Rodolpe Burger won critical acclaim for his solo work with the release of a new album entitled "Meteor Show" (on November 3 1998). Burger's new album was showered with rave reviews and just a few days after the release of "Meteor Show", Burger was awarded the prestigious 'Prix Charles-Cros'. "Meteor Show", which featured dance beats and jungle grooves mixed by Doctor L. (from the hardcore French rap group Assassin), marked a radical change of musical direction for Burger. But the singer's moody and experimental style (a million miles away from his first solo album!) appeared to go down well with his fans. Indeed, "Meteor Show" proved highly popular, thanks to Burger's innovative covers "Play with Fire" (The Rolling Stones), "Moonshiner" (Bob Dylan) and "Hey Baby" (Jimi Hendrix). The album also included a new version of "Cheval-Mouvement" and a song called "Kimono" which featured vocals by Burger's daughter.
The band got back together in 2001 and brought out a new album entitled "Kat Onoma" on March 6th. The group's first joint album since 1995, which featured an interesting mix of rock and electro sounds, was recorded in the Vosges region in France and mixed in London by the UK producer Ian Capple (famous for his work on Bashung's album "Fantaisie militaire"). The group hit the road again in the summer of 2001, performing at a number of music festivals up and down the country including Les Vieilles Charrues in Brittany.
In spite of the fact that Kat Onoma have chosen to pursue their own individual path rather than conforming to the French musical mainstream, the group have built up a loyal following of fans and their ‘alternative’ rock sound continues to prove incredibly popular with music critics.
The end
The band’s tour continued on and off until the spring of 2002. In October of that year, Kat Onoma reappeared in the music news with the album Live à la chapelle (recorded in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines almost a year earlier).
With different members of the group devoting an increasing amount of time and energy to other projects, many feared Kat Onoma would call a halt to their joint career. At the end of 2004, Philippe Poirier re-emerged with a new solo album. Meanwhile Rodolphe Burger, who continued to have a finger in several different musical pies, teamed up with traditional French singer Erik Marchand for a spot of studio recording and live work. But it came as no surprise to anyone when Kat Onoma finally decided to call it a day as a group. They left fans with the CD and DVD All The Best From Kat Onoma (released in November 2004).
*
In spite of the fact that Kat Onoma chose to pursue their own original rock sound rather than conforming to the French musical mainstream, the group built up a loyal following of fans in the course of their career and will be sadly missed.
December 2004
RFI Musique
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