OLIVIER LIBAUX OF NOUVELLE VAGUE RELEASES COVER ALBUM

“Producer Olivier Libaux is obviously in it for more than just a laugh...The arrangements are more richly detailed and cinematic in scope, the singers free to wail as much as whisper.”
—Pitchfork 

Music for Music Lovers will release Olivier Libaux’sUncovered Queens Of The Stone Age on July 16. The album is a compilation of covers from across QOTSA’s discography, performed by a cast of female singers in a mélange of styles from folk to bossa nova. Libaux is a founding member of the French band Nouvelle Vague, known for their bossa nova-style covers of post punk and new wave hits—thus, he is no stranger to cover songs. For this album, Libaux hoped to “take things to another level.” A longtime QOTSA fan, Libaux reached out to the band’s leader Josh Homme to ask for his permission before starting the project. Homme sanctioned the album enthusiastically, calling it a “fantastic idea.”

Uncovered QOTSA features 12 tracks, intricately arranged and produced by Libaux at his home in Paris. Libaux recorded the backing arrangements, then sent them to his performers, who would send him back their vocals. The songs were mixed by Frédéric Carayol at Mercredi 9 Studio and Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound in New York.

A different singer performs each song on Uncovered QOTSA, except Inara George, who performs two. For “No One Knows,” Libaux selected George, one half of the band The Bird and the Bee. George recorded test vocals for Libaux on her laptop while traveling, and Libaux found her interpretation so perfect that he chose not to re-record the track in a proper studio, stating “I can’t even understand how Inara managed to deliver such mixed feelings (emotion, loneliness, beauty, hope and concern) in one take.” Other performers include award winning Korean jazz singer Youn Sun Nah, acclaimed American singer-songwriter Alela Diane, and many more.

Olivier Libaux founded French pop group Les Objets and co-founded Nouvelle Vague with Marc Collin in 2004. Les Objets released two albums and was a critical success in France with two music videos directed by Michel Gondry. Of Nouvelle Vague’s self-titled first album, NPR said “In its own quiet way, the juxtaposition of sunny music and aching lyrics makes [the covers] work as well as the originals.” The commercial success of the album allowed the band to tour extensively. Numerous Nouvelle Vague covers have been featured in film and television. Their cover of Modern English’s “I Melt with You” including the 2005 film Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the television shows The Hills,Grey’s Anatomy, and Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, as well as advertisements for GMC, Vicks and T-Mobile. Libaux has also released two critically successful solo albums and has collaborated with artists such as Carla Bruni, Alex Gopher, Emilie Simon and Helena Noguerra.

River In The Road performed by Rosemary Standley

Medication performed by Katharine Whalen

Burn The Witch performed by Clare Manchon

No One Knows performed by Inara George

In My Head performed by Susan Dillane

3’s and 7’s performed by Skye

Tangled Up In Plaid performed by Gaby Moreno

The Blood Is Love performed by Ambrosia Parsley

Running Joke performed by Youn Sun Nah

Hangin’ Tree performed by Inara George

Go With The Flow performed by Emiliana Torrini

I Never Came performed by Alela Diane