Point de Suture
Encyclopedia
Point de Suture is the seventh studio album
by French
singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer
, and her 14th album overall. Preceded by the lead single
"Dégénération
", it was released digitally on 20 August 2008, then on CD five days later. The album is predominantly electronic dance music and, despite mixed reviews, it achieved commercial success on the French, Swiss, Belgian and Russian album charts. The five singles released from the album were all number ones in France.
that Farmer would release a new album in 2008. The following days, this information was covered by many media that also said that it would have been entitled Onirisme. At the time, it was announced that it would be composed of 11 tracks, and it would be released for the last quarter of 2008. Several song titles were relayed in the media, such as "Onirisme", "Faire... et défaire", "Dans ton antre", "Ma nature est...", "Excaliburia", "Who's Mylène ?", "Aux points cardinaux", "Je m'expose et m'impose", "Poésie visuelle", "The Witch of Dreams", "Voyage au bout de tes sens ", and it would also contain an acoustic version of Farmer's 1996 hit, "Rêver
". A rumor went around the Internet saying the first single would be "À propos de nous". But finally, Thierry Suc, one of the producers, announced on 21 May that it would be "Dégénération
". It was scheduled to be released on radio on 19 June. At the time, he also said that the album was not yet finished.
On 19 June, French radio RTL stated that the album would be released on 25 August. Finally, on 30 June, French internet store "Virginmega" revealed the name of the album, Point de suture, its cover and the track listing, and announced its release for 20 August. On 31 July, the newspaper Le Parisien
stated that the album would be released in two formats : digitally and as a mobil phone in a limited edition. According to its edition of 30 August 2008, a duet with David Bowie
was originally scheduled for this album, but was eventually canceled because of health problems of the English singer.
In December 2008, a limited collectible mobile phone edition (W980i) was released (2,000 numbered copies : 1,000 on the Internet + 1,000 at SFR Studios). This edition contained the album "Point de Suture", two remixes, a video, a making of, ringtones, visuals and themes of the singer.
"Si j'avais au moins...
" was released as the 3rd single on 16 February. On 27 March, Radio NRJ revealed the fourth single from the album was "C'est dans l'air
".
At the concerts in Douai
(Gayant Expo) and in St. Petersburg, a remix of "Sextonik" by French DJ Tomer G was played. The DJ stated on his site that his remix was done for a single, thus revealing that "Sextonik" was the fifth single from the album.
For the name of this album, Farmer drew her inspiration from a line of Al Pacino
's in the 1993 film Carlito's Way
, which appears inside the digipack edition of the CD: "All the stitches of the world cannot sew us again". To promote the album, Farmer appeared on the TV news of 31 August, 8 pm, on TF1
. Interviewed by Claire Chazal
, she explained that she used the singular in the title of the album because it is (in French-language) a pun between "Stitch" (which evokes a hope) and "No suture" (which expresses a despair). In an interview for French gay
magazine Têtu
Farmer confided that if somebody did not know her work, she would wish that this person learns to know her through the hidden track of the album, "Ave Maria
", which she had previously performed in June 2008 during the funeral of the composer Frédéric Botton
.
The photos illustrating this album were made by a Japan
ese photographer named Tani Atsushi. The cover as well as the booklet show a doll covered with scars, with surgical instruments in the foreground. There is only one photo of Farmer inside the booklet, with her back turned.
, it will probably be more electronic... with many "up tempo" songs." According to Thierry Suc, "in this album, there will be a little of all the universes that characterize Mylène's albums". Critics noticed that it contains "melancholy ballads" (even if they are fewer on this album than on Avant que l'ombre...
) as well as "songs with electro/techno sounds" and "electrodance" songs.
The subjects in this album are "sexuality
, uneasiness, mantra
s, coded plays on words", "melancholy", "extreme love, purity, loneliness", "life, death, love tackled in turn with seriousness or humor". The album also evokes "the resilience and the indelible scars of the childhood" with numerous quotations and literary references (Süskind, Schubert, Baudelaire...).
On 17 January 2009, the album was awarded 'Francophone Album of the Year' on the 2009 NRJ Music Awards
, broadcast on TF1
.
, "a gothico-melancholic muddle fills some vaporous songs of the album". The newspaper blamed it for the lack of novelty and the "disappointing duet" with Moby
, but also said that this one "shows itself finally effective when it accelerates the rhythm, takes up the sound, let itself overcame by the electro heart-beat". Ouest-France said this album is "a true marketing
blow", noting that "the electro turning point of the artist surprises, delights or disappoints..." According to Metro, Point de Suture is "an electro-pop album without surprise". After underlining the lack of promotion, French newspaper Le Figaro
qualified this album as "massive", "discreet" and "commercial". It also stated that with this new album, "Farmer does not envisage a revolution or even a revelation", and that it has "a methodical faithfulness" to her previous works. It also reproached the "naivety of certain texts" and their "tendency for abstraction". Libération
said, throughout this album, "the music seems to be only a pretext in a whole declination of subsidiary yields" ; it contains "ten songs unwinding a ambient techno
punctuated with ballads with voice of head without conviction". For RFI Musique, this "disc [is] not really daring", "rather usual, even routine", which seems especially made for the French tour of the next year. For Le Monde
, this album constitutes "a slight disappointment" : it has a "dance rhythmic efficiency" but "a mere nothing of formal ambition is missing". La Meuse, as well as Télé Moustique, concluded that, with this album, "Farmer has definitively ceased to surprise".
newspaper La Dernière Heure described Point de Suture as "an album rather disjointed, without any real surprise, but containing some potential hits". Le Journal du Dimanche deemed this "seventh studio disc confirms the breakdown of inspiration" of the duo, adding : "When we listen to the disc, we hesitate between distress and frank laugh". "Point de Suture oscillates between bad taste, streetwalkers melodies and noisy tunes", with a "poetry a mere nothing pretentious". The Canadian musical critic Voir qualified this disc as "a pompous and overproduced, static and cold electro-pop album". For Cité Gay, this album is "fair" and "kitsch
". And for Télé 2 Semaines, "the lyrics are naive, the electro-pop music foreseeable".
magazine Télé Top Matin, certain songs from the album are musically similar to Depeche Mode
's universe and concluded that nothing can be reproached to this album. According to Music Orange, the songs are "impeccably worked", adding : "A unique style, recognizable at first listening", "a succession of puns of words (of pains) or of texts with double-meanings on background of melodies easy to remember and terribly effective". Le Nouvel Observateur
noted that the Farmer's "voice remains fine, but is clear and most often put forward", and made a comparison with Jeanne Mas
. L'Humanité
deemed "the singer tries something new with Point de Suture". As for Voici
, this album is a "beautiful deal" in which "Farmer has been able to regenerate after 25-year career", with this "collection of energy songs". Musiqueradio.com website elected Point de suture as "album of the year".
With 5,121 downloads on four days, the album went straight to number-one on the French digital albums chart, on 23 August, which is one of the records of the year. Universal Music even declared it was the record for a francophone
artist. The album stayed for another week at number one with 1,510 downloads, then dropped to number three with 968 downloads, then continued to drop and remained on the chart (top 50) for 13 weeks.
With 108,596 sales, the album was directly number one on the SNEP Albums Chart on 30 August, which was to date the third weekly best-selling debut for an album in 2008 in France. It dropped to number two the week after, with 48,144 sales (616 sales of difference with the number-one album), then to number three and fell off the top ten after five weeks and spent nine non-consecutive weeks on the top 20. After dropping, it jumped directly to number 18 in January, due to the singer's performance at the NRJ Music Awards 2009
, reentered the chart after the release of the single "C'est dans l'air
" in March/April, and also during her Stadium concerts in September. Overall, it spent 64 weeks on the chart, 34 weeks in the top 50 and 48 weeks in the top 100.
In addition, Pascal Nègre, Universal Music's president, revealed on 2 September that about 175,000 Sony Ericsson mobile phone
s containing the album Point de Suture were sold.
This album was the singer's first one to provide five number-one hits in France.
Other countries
In Russia, Europa Plus radio aired the album for the first time on 23 August. It was available two days later and was certified Platinum
on a single day for over 20,000 units sold. Five months later, it hit double Platinum.
In Switzerland, the album was certified Gold
in one week and debuted at number two on 7 September 2008, then it dropped and remained on the chart (top 100) for nine weeks, but re-entered the chart after Farmer's concerts in Geneva.
In Belgium (Wallonia), the album reached number one in its first week, on 6 September, and stayed there for other two weeks. Thereafter, it dropped regularly and fell off the top 50 after 26 weeks. In Belgium (Flanders), the album was number 32 on 13 September 2008, and stayed for a sole week on the chart, but became Farmer's highest ranked album on this chart.
The album reached number 60 on the albums chart in Canada, on 14 September 2008, was number 11 in Quebec City
and number six in Montreal
.
In the 37th week of 2008, the album entered the Greek International Albums Chart at number 25, then peaked at number 16 for two weeks, and remained ranked for five weeks.
The album was also released in Ukraine and Poland on 6 October.
>
1 Does not contain "Ave Maria"
1 Duet with Moby
2 Hidden track
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
, and her 14th album overall. Preceded by the lead single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Dégénération
Dégénération
"Dégénération" is a 2008 electro / techno song by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her seventh studio album Point de Suture, and was released first digitally and on radio in June 2008, then in a CD in August 2008. The song marked an important musical change in...
", it was released digitally on 20 August 2008, then on CD five days later. The album is predominantly electronic dance music and, despite mixed reviews, it achieved commercial success on the French, Swiss, Belgian and Russian album charts. The five singles released from the album were all number ones in France.
Background
Pascal Nègre, president of Universal Music, officially announced on 28 January 2008 in the French newspaper Le FigaroLe Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
that Farmer would release a new album in 2008. The following days, this information was covered by many media that also said that it would have been entitled Onirisme. At the time, it was announced that it would be composed of 11 tracks, and it would be released for the last quarter of 2008. Several song titles were relayed in the media, such as "Onirisme", "Faire... et défaire", "Dans ton antre", "Ma nature est...", "Excaliburia", "Who's Mylène ?", "Aux points cardinaux", "Je m'expose et m'impose", "Poésie visuelle", "The Witch of Dreams", "Voyage au bout de tes sens ", and it would also contain an acoustic version of Farmer's 1996 hit, "Rêver
Rêver
"Rêver" is a 1995 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the fifth single from her fourth album Anamorphosée and was released on 16 November 1996...
". A rumor went around the Internet saying the first single would be "À propos de nous". But finally, Thierry Suc, one of the producers, announced on 21 May that it would be "Dégénération
Dégénération
"Dégénération" is a 2008 electro / techno song by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her seventh studio album Point de Suture, and was released first digitally and on radio in June 2008, then in a CD in August 2008. The song marked an important musical change in...
". It was scheduled to be released on radio on 19 June. At the time, he also said that the album was not yet finished.
On 19 June, French radio RTL stated that the album would be released on 25 August. Finally, on 30 June, French internet store "Virginmega" revealed the name of the album, Point de suture, its cover and the track listing, and announced its release for 20 August. On 31 July, the newspaper Le Parisien
Le Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...
stated that the album would be released in two formats : digitally and as a mobil phone in a limited edition. According to its edition of 30 August 2008, a duet with David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
was originally scheduled for this album, but was eventually canceled because of health problems of the English singer.
In December 2008, a limited collectible mobile phone edition (W980i) was released (2,000 numbered copies : 1,000 on the Internet + 1,000 at SFR Studios). This edition contained the album "Point de Suture", two remixes, a video, a making of, ringtones, visuals and themes of the singer.
"Si j'avais au moins...
Si j'avais au moins...
"Si j'avais au moins..." is a song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. This pop rock ballad was written by Farmer with music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. It was the third single released, from her eight studio album Point de suture , on 16 February 2009...
" was released as the 3rd single on 16 February. On 27 March, Radio NRJ revealed the fourth single from the album was "C'est dans l'air
C'est dans l'air
"C'est dans l'air" is a 2008 electronic dance song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It is the fourth single from her seventh studio album Point de suture. The CD single was released on 27 April 2009, then the other formats one week later...
".
At the concerts in Douai
Douai
-Main sights:Douai's ornate Gothic style belfry was begun in 1380, on the site of an earlier tower. The 80 m high structure includes an impressive carillon, consisting of 62 bells spanning 5 octaves. The originals, some dating from 1391 were removed in 1917 during World War I by the occupying...
(Gayant Expo) and in St. Petersburg, a remix of "Sextonik" by French DJ Tomer G was played. The DJ stated on his site that his remix was done for a single, thus revealing that "Sextonik" was the fifth single from the album.
Title and cover art
"All the stitches of the world cannot sew us again" |
| — Al Pacino Al Pacino Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared... , Carlito's Way Carlito's Way Carlito's Way is a 1993 crime film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Jorge Porcel, Joseph Siravo, and... |
For the name of this album, Farmer drew her inspiration from a line of Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
's in the 1993 film Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way is a 1993 crime film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Jorge Porcel, Joseph Siravo, and...
, which appears inside the digipack edition of the CD: "All the stitches of the world cannot sew us again". To promote the album, Farmer appeared on the TV news of 31 August, 8 pm, on TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
. Interviewed by Claire Chazal
Claire Chazal
Claire Chazal is a French journalist, romance writer, and director of news at a national television station, TF1....
, she explained that she used the singular in the title of the album because it is (in French-language) a pun between "Stitch" (which evokes a hope) and "No suture" (which expresses a despair). In an interview for French gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
magazine Têtu
Têtu
Têtu is a gay magazine published in France. It is subtitled in French le magazine des gays et lesbiennes .-History:...
Farmer confided that if somebody did not know her work, she would wish that this person learns to know her through the hidden track of the album, "Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Ave Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:...
", which she had previously performed in June 2008 during the funeral of the composer Frédéric Botton
Frédéric Botton
Frédéric Botton was a French lyricist and composer.- Songs :He has written many songs, in particular for:* Barbara : "Il me revient"* Mireille Darc : "Compartiment 23" , "Où est mon zèbre ?"...
.
The photos illustrating this album were made by a Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese photographer named Tani Atsushi. The cover as well as the booklet show a doll covered with scars, with surgical instruments in the foreground. There is only one photo of Farmer inside the booklet, with her back turned.
Music and lyrics
This album was announced as being very different from the previous ones in musical and promotional terms. About this album, Farmer explained during an interview : "If I compare it with the previous album Avant que l'ombre...Avant que l'ombre...
Avant que l'ombre... is the sixth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on April 4, 2005. Mainly composed of acoustic ballads, this album produced five singles which were all top ten hits in France, including "Fuck Them All" and "L'amour n'est rien..."...
, it will probably be more electronic... with many "up tempo" songs." According to Thierry Suc, "in this album, there will be a little of all the universes that characterize Mylène's albums". Critics noticed that it contains "melancholy ballads" (even if they are fewer on this album than on Avant que l'ombre...
Avant que l'ombre...
Avant que l'ombre... is the sixth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on April 4, 2005. Mainly composed of acoustic ballads, this album produced five singles which were all top ten hits in France, including "Fuck Them All" and "L'amour n'est rien..."...
) as well as "songs with electro/techno sounds" and "electrodance" songs.
The subjects in this album are "sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
, uneasiness, mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
s, coded plays on words", "melancholy", "extreme love, purity, loneliness", "life, death, love tackled in turn with seriousness or humor". The album also evokes "the resilience and the indelible scars of the childhood" with numerous quotations and literary references (Süskind, Schubert, Baudelaire...).
Critical reception
The album received mixed reviews. La Voix du Nord published reviews from the singer's fans proving that the reactions are shared between "disappointed love and ecstasy". La Meuse and 20 Minutes summed up many critics deeming this album is "nor completely failed nor completely exciting", "without surprise but pleasant".On 17 January 2009, the album was awarded 'Francophone Album of the Year' on the 2009 NRJ Music Awards
NRJ Music Awards
The NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
, broadcast on TF1
TF1
TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
.
Neutral reviews
According to Le ParisienLe Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...
, "a gothico-melancholic muddle fills some vaporous songs of the album". The newspaper blamed it for the lack of novelty and the "disappointing duet" with Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
, but also said that this one "shows itself finally effective when it accelerates the rhythm, takes up the sound, let itself overcame by the electro heart-beat". Ouest-France said this album is "a true marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
blow", noting that "the electro turning point of the artist surprises, delights or disappoints..." According to Metro, Point de Suture is "an electro-pop album without surprise". After underlining the lack of promotion, French newspaper Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
qualified this album as "massive", "discreet" and "commercial". It also stated that with this new album, "Farmer does not envisage a revolution or even a revelation", and that it has "a methodical faithfulness" to her previous works. It also reproached the "naivety of certain texts" and their "tendency for abstraction". Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
said, throughout this album, "the music seems to be only a pretext in a whole declination of subsidiary yields" ; it contains "ten songs unwinding a ambient techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
punctuated with ballads with voice of head without conviction". For RFI Musique, this "disc [is] not really daring", "rather usual, even routine", which seems especially made for the French tour of the next year. For Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
, this album constitutes "a slight disappointment" : it has a "dance rhythmic efficiency" but "a mere nothing of formal ambition is missing". La Meuse, as well as Télé Moustique, concluded that, with this album, "Farmer has definitively ceased to surprise".
Negative reviews
Very critical, 20 Minutes stated the album "does not play either in the sobriety or in the sharpness. Abstruse lyrics, erotic allusions, vapid melodies or agreed electro: Mylène Farmer is not afraid of the ludicrous". BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
newspaper La Dernière Heure described Point de Suture as "an album rather disjointed, without any real surprise, but containing some potential hits". Le Journal du Dimanche deemed this "seventh studio disc confirms the breakdown of inspiration" of the duo, adding : "When we listen to the disc, we hesitate between distress and frank laugh". "Point de Suture oscillates between bad taste, streetwalkers melodies and noisy tunes", with a "poetry a mere nothing pretentious". The Canadian musical critic Voir qualified this disc as "a pompous and overproduced, static and cold electro-pop album". For Cité Gay, this album is "fair" and "kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
". And for Télé 2 Semaines, "the lyrics are naive, the electro-pop music foreseeable".
Positive reviews
According to Le Matin, this disc "tries to reconcile all the publics of [the singer]". In it, "she combines all that which makes her strength: techno lightings, evident melodies, easy to remember, ballads touching straight to the heart, ambiguous texts". It also said that the last two songs are the best ones of the album. Sud-Ouest deemed that Farmer "remains faithful to the universe and the sound that ensure her success since 1985". La Provence underlined "the evident quality of the album, taking up again with the romantic and restless run-ups of the past, but with a beautiful tonic vigour". For the SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
magazine Télé Top Matin, certain songs from the album are musically similar to Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
's universe and concluded that nothing can be reproached to this album. According to Music Orange, the songs are "impeccably worked", adding : "A unique style, recognizable at first listening", "a succession of puns of words (of pains) or of texts with double-meanings on background of melodies easy to remember and terribly effective". Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur
Le Nouvel Observateur is a weekly French newsmagazine. Based in Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation ....
noted that the Farmer's "voice remains fine, but is clear and most often put forward", and made a comparison with Jeanne Mas
Jeanne Mas
Jeanne Mas, born on 28 February 1958 in Alicante, Spain, is a French pop singer and actress.She was well known in France, Switzerland and Belgium for a number of hit singles released in the 1980s. From the late eighties onwards her career slid into the has-been category. Her first success was...
. L'Humanité
L'Humanité
L'Humanité , formerly the daily newspaper linked to the French Communist Party , was founded in 1904 by Jean Jaurès, a leader of the French Section of the Workers' International...
deemed "the singer tries something new with Point de Suture". As for Voici
Voici
Voici is a French weekly celebrity, women's magazine and tabloid, published by Prisma Presse . It was founded in 1987, and believes television reality shows in 2002 boosted circulation to 12.4 million copies per month . It claims the title of best selling French celebrity magazine, and second or...
, this album is a "beautiful deal" in which "Farmer has been able to regenerate after 25-year career", with this "collection of energy songs". Musiqueradio.com website elected Point de suture as "album of the year".
Chart performances and records
FranceWith 5,121 downloads on four days, the album went straight to number-one on the French digital albums chart, on 23 August, which is one of the records of the year. Universal Music even declared it was the record for a francophone
Francophone
The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
artist. The album stayed for another week at number one with 1,510 downloads, then dropped to number three with 968 downloads, then continued to drop and remained on the chart (top 50) for 13 weeks.
With 108,596 sales, the album was directly number one on the SNEP Albums Chart on 30 August, which was to date the third weekly best-selling debut for an album in 2008 in France. It dropped to number two the week after, with 48,144 sales (616 sales of difference with the number-one album), then to number three and fell off the top ten after five weeks and spent nine non-consecutive weeks on the top 20. After dropping, it jumped directly to number 18 in January, due to the singer's performance at the NRJ Music Awards 2009
NRJ Music Awards 2009
-Disc 1:# "Womanizer" - Britney Spears — 3:45# "Hot n Cold" - Katy Perry — 3:42# "Lovers in Japan" - Coldplay — 6:53# "So What" - P!nk — 3:36# "Rain on Your Parade" - Duffy — 3:29# "C'est ma terre" - Christophe Maé — 3:51...
, reentered the chart after the release of the single "C'est dans l'air
C'est dans l'air
"C'est dans l'air" is a 2008 electronic dance song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It is the fourth single from her seventh studio album Point de suture. The CD single was released on 27 April 2009, then the other formats one week later...
" in March/April, and also during her Stadium concerts in September. Overall, it spent 64 weeks on the chart, 34 weeks in the top 50 and 48 weeks in the top 100.
In addition, Pascal Nègre, Universal Music's president, revealed on 2 September that about 175,000 Sony Ericsson mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s containing the album Point de Suture were sold.
This album was the singer's first one to provide five number-one hits in France.
Other countries
In Russia, Europa Plus radio aired the album for the first time on 23 August. It was available two days later and was certified Platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
on a single day for over 20,000 units sold. Five months later, it hit double Platinum.
In Switzerland, the album was certified Gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in one week and debuted at number two on 7 September 2008, then it dropped and remained on the chart (top 100) for nine weeks, but re-entered the chart after Farmer's concerts in Geneva.
In Belgium (Wallonia), the album reached number one in its first week, on 6 September, and stayed there for other two weeks. Thereafter, it dropped regularly and fell off the top 50 after 26 weeks. In Belgium (Flanders), the album was number 32 on 13 September 2008, and stayed for a sole week on the chart, but became Farmer's highest ranked album on this chart.
The album reached number 60 on the albums chart in Canada, on 14 September 2008, was number 11 in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and number six in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
In the 37th week of 2008, the album entered the Greek International Albums Chart at number 25, then peaked at number 16 for two weeks, and remained ranked for five weeks.
The album was also released in Ukraine and Poland on 6 October.
Singles
| Year | Title | Date of release | Sales (France) |
Certification | Peak position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
BE Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... (WA) |
FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
FR France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... (DD) |
BE Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... (WA) |
SWI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
||||
| 2008 2008 in music 2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such... |
"Dégénération Dégénération "Dégénération" is a 2008 electro / techno song by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her seventh studio album Point de Suture, and was released first digitally and on radio in June 2008, then in a CD in August 2008. The song marked an important musical change in... " |
19 June 2008 (Digital) 18 August 2008 (CD) |
— | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 26 | |
| "Appelle mon numéro Appelle mon numéro "Appelle mon numéro" is a 2008 song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. Released on 3 November 2008, it was the second single from her seventh studio album, Point de Suture. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was more aired on radio and television than Farmer's previous... " |
3 November 2008 | — | — | 1 | 22 | 7 | 53 | ||
| 2009 2009 in music The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year... |
"Si j'avais au moins... Si j'avais au moins... "Si j'avais au moins..." is a song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. This pop rock ballad was written by Farmer with music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. It was the third single released, from her eight studio album Point de suture , on 16 February 2009... " |
16 February 2009 | — | — | 1 | — | 25 | 72 | |
| "C'est dans l'air C'est dans l'air "C'est dans l'air" is a 2008 electronic dance song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It is the fourth single from her seventh studio album Point de suture. The CD single was released on 27 April 2009, then the other formats one week later... " |
27 April 2009 | — | — | 1 | 26 | 13 | 44 | ||
| "Sextonik Sextonik "Sextonik" is a 2008 song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. It is the fifth single from her seventh studio album Point de suture and was released on 31 August 2009... " |
24 August 2009 | — | — | 1 | — | 25 | 77 |
Release history
| Date | Label | Country | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 20, 2008 | Polydor | Belgium, France, Switzerland | Digital | — |
| August 25, 2008 | CD - Collector | 5310131 | ||
| 12" | 5310126 | |||
| CD - Super Jewel box | 5310124 | |||
| CD - Digisleeve | 5310125 | |||
| September 9, 2008 | Canada, EU | Digital | — | |
| CD | 5310833 | |||
| January 16, 2009 | France | CD - Fourreau | 5315542 | |
| March 23, 2009 | CD - Slidepac | 5316303 | ||
| September 14, 2010 | Universal Music | Mexico | Super Jewel box |
Formats
- CD - Super Jewel box (limited edition — 350,000)
- CD - Digisleeve limited edition, includes "Dégénération" music video
- CD - Catalog no. 5310833 1
- CD - "Fourreau" limited edition. Includes catalog no. 5310124 CD.
- CD - Slidepac edition. No CD booklet with this edition. Includes catalog no. 5310124 CD.
- Double 12" 1
- Mobil phone SFR Walkman Sony Ericsson W980 and W910 (limited edition — 200,000)
- Collector mobil phone SFR Walkman Sony Ericsson W980 (limited edition — 2,000)
- Collector edition: Digisleeve CD, Promotional single "Dégénération" + (fake) surgical instruments (6,500)
1 Does not contain "Ave Maria"
Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Writer(s) | Composer(s) | Comment, performances on tours and TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Dégénération Dégénération "Dégénération" is a 2008 electro / techno song by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her seventh studio album Point de Suture, and was released first digitally and on radio in June 2008, then in a CD in August 2008. The song marked an important musical change in... " |
5:24 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 2 | "Appelle mon numéro Appelle mon numéro "Appelle mon numéro" is a 2008 song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. Released on 3 November 2008, it was the second single from her seventh studio album, Point de Suture. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was more aired on radio and television than Farmer's previous... " |
5:30 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 3 | "Je m'ennuie" | 4:22 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
Comme j'ai mal "Comme j'ai mal" is a 1995 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. Fourth single from her fourth album Anamorphosée, it was released on 1 July 1996... " and lyrics referring to a void, empty feeling of boredom. |
| 4 | "Paradis inanimé" | 4:23 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
Anamorphosée Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work... album. |
| 5 | "Looking for My Name" 1 | 4:17 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
Moby Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early... deals with broken relationship, loneliness, and poor self-confidence. |
| 6 | "Point de Suture" | 4:48 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 7 | "Réveiller le monde" | 4:16 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 8 | "Sextonik Sextonik "Sextonik" is a 2008 song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. It is the fifth single from her seventh studio album Point de suture and was released on 31 August 2009... " |
4:35 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 9 | "C'est dans l'air C'est dans l'air "C'est dans l'air" is a 2008 electronic dance song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It is the fourth single from her seventh studio album Point de suture. The CD single was released on 27 April 2009, then the other formats one week later... " |
4:29 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 10 | "Si j'avais au moins... Si j'avais au moins... "Si j'avais au moins..." is a song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. This pop rock ballad was written by Farmer with music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. It was the third single released, from her eight studio album Point de suture , on 16 February 2009... " |
5:30 | Farmer | Boutonnat |
|
| 11 | "Ave Maria" 2 | 5:00 | Franz Schubert Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music... |
Ave Maria Ave Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:... ". It begins and ends with a heartbeat. |
1 Duet with Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
2 Hidden track
Credits and personnel
- Produced by Laurent BoutonnatLaurent BoutonnatLaurent Pierre Marie Boutonnat is a French composer and film and music video director, best known as the songwriting partner of Mylène Farmer and the director of moody, provocative and literature-inspired music videos.- Career :...
- Sound and mixing : Jérôme Devoise
- Management : Thierry Suc for TS3
- Executive production : Paul van Parys for Stuffed Monkey
- Arrangements, programmation and keyboards : Laurent Boutonnat
- Guitars : Sébastien Chouard
- Tristan Monrocq on "C'est dans l'air"
- Basses : Bernard Paganelli
- Drum kit : Matthieu Rabaté
- Mellotron, flute, percussion : Pol Ramirez del Piu
- Background vocals : Mylène Farmer, Alexia Waky, Desta Huilé, Mamido Bomboko, Aline Bosuma
- Esther Dobong' Na Essiene and Dominique Rosier on "C'est dans l'air"
- Recorded at Studio ICP (Brussels), assistant : Vincent van Driesten at Studio Calliphora
- Mixed at Studio Guillaume Tell (Paris), assistant : Tristan Monrocq
- Mastering : André Perriat at Top Master, assistant : Jérémy Henry
- Boutonnat's assistant : Emeline Chetaud
- Administration : Corinne Potier
- Photos : Atsushi Tani, assistant : Volvic Nakano
- Doll made by Etsuko Miura
- Made in the E.U.
Peak positions
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart | 32 |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart | 60 |
| French Digital Chart | 1 |
| French SNEP Albums Chart | 1 |
| Greek International Albums Chart | 16 |
| Greek Albums Chart | 33 |
| Russian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 2 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart | 13 |
| French Albums Chart | 12 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 88 |
| Chart (2009) | Position |
| Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart | 75 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified | Digital downloads |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Platinum | 27 December 2008 | 35,000 | |
| France | 3 x Platinum | 5 February 2009 | 600,000 | 10,000 |
| Switzerland | Gold | 7 September 2008 | 15,000 | |
| Russia | 2 x Platinum | 21 January 2009 | 40,000 |
- Worldwide sales : 650,000 - 700,000 as of 4 September 2009, according to AFPAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
.