L'Affaire Louis' Trio
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1982 in Lyon, France |
| Defunct | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Lyon , France |
| Products | Studio albums, singles |
L'Affaire Louis' Trio (abbreviated as L'ALT) was an art pop ensemble originating from Lyon, France, established in 1982. They secured a contract with Barclay Records in 1986, releasing their first album, Chic planète. The lineup consisted of vocalist and guitarist Cleet Boris (real name Hubert Mounier, who passed away in 2016), guitarist Karl Niagara (Vincent Mounier), and keyboardist and drummer Bronco Junior (François Lebleu, deceased 2008). In 1987, they received the award for best new act at the Victoires de la Musique in France.
The group continued until 1997, when Vincent Mounier departed amid the production of their last album, Europium. Following this release, the band dissolved. Hubert Mounier maintained a creative partnership with François Lebleu on his solo projects Le Grand Huit (2001) and Voyager léger (2005), while also developing a career as a comic artist under the pseudonym Cleet Boris. Mounier died at age 53 in May 2016 due to an aortic dissection.
Style
Their musical style blended expansive jazz-inspired arrangements crafted by composer Pierre Adenot with sharp-edged pop reminiscent of the English group XTC, combined with the pop-funk exotica influences of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. Early sessions included contributions from prominent French jazz instrumentalists. Over time, their sound transitioned toward more minimalist, guitar-centric compositions, culminating in the 1997 release Europium.
Lyrics
Hubert Mounier's songwriting was distinguished by cleverness and linguistic playfulness. Their most complex project was the 1993 concept album Mobilis in mobile, drawing thematic inspiration from Captain Nemo featured in Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
Collaborations
L'ALT worked alongside notable figures such as XTC bassist Colin Moulding on the 1995 album L'Homme aux mille vies and filmmaker Michel Gondry, who directed the video for "Il y a ceux" (1989). Pierre Adenot was responsible for the rich, romantic orchestration on their initial five albums, with Benjamin Biolay assuming arrangement duties for their final record.
Discography
The band scored French Top 40 singles including "Tout mais pas ça", "Chic Planète", and "Mobilis in Mobile" throughout the 1980s and 1990s, also enjoying popularity within Québec.
Studio albums:
- Chic planète (1987)
- Le Retour de L'âge d'or (1988)
- Sans légende (1990)
- Mobilis in mobile (1993)
- L'Homme aux mille vies (1995)
- L'Affaire Louis Trio / Europium (1997)
Compilation:
- Le Meilleur de l'Affaire (1998)