Olivier Bloch-Lainé

Olivier Bloch-Lainé is a French composer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist who recorded under his forename during the mid-1960s. In 1976, he released the album Des Mots on CBS.

Background

Olivier Bloch-Lainé was born in 1947 to François Bloch-Lainé, a French finance official. He played guitar as a child and built an electric-guitar amplifier with a speaker in the family fireplace. Film composer François de Roubaix taught him from the age of fifteen.

Under the name Olivier, Bloch-Lainé issued the four-song La Dérive EP in 1966 on Disques Mouloudji. De Roubaix orchestrated and conducted the paired “La Lavandière” and “La Dérive” recordings. Mouloudji recorded Bloch-Lainé’s music for “Les roses de décembre” the next year.

In 1967, Bloch-Lainé and Brigitte Fontaine developed songs in a Paris apartment on Rue de Lille, where he taped seven demos on a Revox recorder. Fontaine recorded seven Bloch-Lainé compositions for the 1968 Saravah album Brigitte Fontaine est folle, arranged by Jean-Claude Vannier. Christine Sèvres later recorded “Comme Rimbaud” and “Le beau cancer.”

In 1972, Bloch-Lainé composed “Brigitte” and performed on the Saravah album Brigitte Fontaine. He also played guitar and bass and sang backing vocals on David McNeil, the self-titled debut by the singer-songwriter and son of painter Marc Chagall. In 1974, Bloch-Lainé played electric guitar on “Au clair de la lune” by Gilbert Montagné. He played bass on summer sessions for McNeil’s 1975 release J’ai déjà fait mon arche, j’attends les animaux, then cut his own album at Châteaufort.

Discography:

• La Dérive (EP, 1966)
• Des Mots (1976)

References and notes

• La Frette Studio. Company record listing Bloch-Lainé’s birth year. (Societe.com)
• “Avis de messe,” March 13, 2002. Family notice identifying Olivier as a son of François Bloch-Lainé and giving François’s occupation. (Le Monde)
• “La Frette, manoir studio au diapason de Nick Cave et Arctic Monkeys.” Bloch-Lainé recalls his childhood guitar playing and first amplifier. (INA)
• “Pas si folle… Brigitte Fontaine en 68.” De Roubaix’s early instruction, the Rue de Lille rehearsals, Revox demos, and Fontaine session. (Technikart)
• Olivier Bloch-Lainé — La Dérive. Photographs and listing details for the 1966 four-song EP. (eBay)
• Olivier — “La Lavandière” / “La Dérive.” Paired single with de Roubaix’s orchestration and conducting credit. (Discogs)
• Mouloudji — Complaintes et ballades 1967. Credits Bloch-Lainé with the music for “Les roses de décembre.” (Qobuz)
• Brigitte Fontaine — Brigitte Fontaine est folle. Assigns seven compositions to Bloch-Lainé. (Saravah)
• Brigitte Fontaine — Brigitte Fontaine. Credits Bloch-Lainé as a musician and as composer of “Brigitte.” (Saravah)
• Christine Sèvres — Les belles chansons, 1958–1970. Gives Bloch-Lainé’s composition credits for “Comme Rimbaud” and “Le beau cancer.” (Qobuz)
• David McNeil — David McNeil. Original 1972 LP listing with “Hollywood” in the track list and Bloch-Lainé in the musician credits. (MusicBrainz)
• “Les années Saravah.” Identifies David McNeil as a son of Marc Chagall. (Saravah)
• David McNeil — Les années Saravah de McNeil. Groups Bloch-Lainé’s guitar, bass, and vocal credits on earlier recordings and dates a separate set of bass sessions to summer 1975. (Saravah)
• David McNeil — J’ai déjà fait mon arche, j’attends les animaux. Identifies the album and tracks associated with the 1975 Saravah sessions. (Qobuz)
• “Olivier Bloch-Lainé — Toutes ses œuvres.” Lists his electric-guitar credit on the 1974 Montagné recording. (Bibliothèque nationale de France)
• Olivier Bloch-Lainé — Des Mots. Sleeve transcription giving the Châteaufort recording dates and CBS coproduction credit. (The Record Centre)