Renan Luce

Biography

Renan Luce (French: [ʁənɑ̃ lys]; born 5 March 1980) is a French singer-songwriter from Paris. His songs are inspired by the 20th-century singer Georges Brassens and depict everyday life with a dose of humour and poetry. He is the voice of Wirt in the French dub of Over the Garden Wall; this is also his only acting role.

Biography

Born in Paris, Luce spent his childhood and adolescence in Plourin-les-Morlaix, Brittany.
He started his musical career singing in a choir with his brother Damien and his sister Claire. Later, he took up classical piano at the conservatory of Brest and then at Saint-Brieuc. He gave up the piano for the saxophone and taught himself the guitar, on which he composed his first songs.
After two years of preparatory classes in Rennes, where he performed in bars and at a few festivals (e.g., as a support act for Matmatah), he was admitted to the Toulouse Business School.

Musical career

Luce has been successful in France with songs like "Les Voisines×Les Voisines2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Les Voisines3:36" and "La Lettre×La Lettre2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1La Lettre3:17".
In September 2006 Luce released his first album, Repenti×Repenti25 September 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Les Voisines3:372Repenti4:063Le Lacrymal Circus3:544Je suis une feuille4:285La Lettre3:186Chien mouillé3:017Monsieur Marcel4:07824h013:479Camelote3:0210Mes racines4:2611I Was Here4:5712Nuit blanche3:5013L'Iris et la Rose5:34, which includes 13 tracks + 3 live versions. The album sold more than 800,000 copies.
In October 2009, Luce released his second studio album, Le Clan des Miros×Le Clan des miros12 October 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Le Clan des miros3:312La Fille de la bande3:503Les gens sont fous3:254Nantes3:405Rue de l’oiseau lyre2:596Chez toi3:567Ridicule3:298Grand‐Père2:499Grand‐Père II2:1810On n’est pas à une bêtise près3:0011Aux timides anonymes5:1212Femme à lunettes4:10, which includes the song "On n'est pas à une bêtise prês" from the original soundtrack of the movie Le petit Nicolas.
His third album, D'Une Tonne a Un Tout Petit Poids, was released in 2014.

Early days

After three years of study at Toulouse, Luce moved to Paris and soon decided to focus exclusively on song writing and performing. He quickly found his publisher Olivier Lefebvre (Universal Publishing) and his manager, Jeff Genie, who set him up for several months of concerts at the theater Méry (Place de Clichy). Among his early followers are the singers Renaud and Bénabar, and many artistic directors. Luce signed a record deal with Barclay in late 2005.
Luce got exposure through several festivals (Francofolies de La Rochelle, Montauban So Sing) and Bénabar had him play as support act at the Paris Zénith on 7 June 2006. He is often invited by other artists, having opened the show for Maxime Le Forestier, Clarks, Jeanne Cherhal, Thomas Fersen amongst others.

Repenti (2005–2009)

His first album, Repenti×Repenti25 September 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Les Voisines3:372Repenti4:063Le Lacrymal Circus3:544Je suis une feuille4:285La Lettre3:186Chien mouillé3:017Monsieur Marcel4:07824h013:479Camelote3:0210Mes racines4:2611I Was Here4:5712Nuit blanche3:5013L'Iris et la Rose5:34 (Repentant), was released in September 2006. It was directed by Jean-Louis Pierot and recorded at Studio Manor (in Landes), Studio de la Seine (Paris) and Studio ICP (Brussels).
Luce was on the road until spring 2008, touring French speaking destinations, performing in front of nearly 200,000 spectators. He played four times in Quebec during 2007. Over a period of 18 months, all his concerts in Paris were fully booked: Café de la danse, Trianon, La Cigale, and Olympia Grand Rex.
Bernard Chereze of France Inter radio station added Luce to his playlist long before other stations picked him up. For several months, Luce had three singles simultaneously in the French rankings (Yacast): "The Letter", "The Neighbours", and "The Repentant".
His album Repenti was certified platinum in December 2007, with more than 250,000 copies sold. In August 2009, the album reached 800,000 copies sold. It went platinum in Belgium in April 2008, with 40,000 copies sold.
Nominated in three categories, this album won two prizes at Victoires de la Musique 2008: Album Revelation of the Year and Stage Revelation of the Year.
He participated in the show Enfoirés in 2009, from 21 to 26 January 2009 at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy.
At the Victoires de la Musique 2009, he was nominated for Song of the Year with "Repenti". The victory went to Thomas Dutronc.

Clan Des Miros (2009–2014)

12 October 2009, his second album, The Clan Des Miros, was released. Its singles were "La Fille de la Bande×La Fille de la bande2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1La Fille de la bande3:49" and "On n'est pas à une bêtise près×On n'est pas à une bêtise près2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1On n'est pas à une bêtise près3:00", which was used for the film Le Petit Nicolas, and Nantes.
Luce began a tour on 1 October 2009 which extended into 2010, including concerts at La Cigale in Paris in October, three in Olympia (fully booked) from 10 to 12 May 2010 and some time in Quebec.
Following one of his concerts at the Olympia, he received a double platinum album for the sale of 230,000 albums in France (and received a gold disk in Belgium).

D'Une Tonne À Un Tout Petit Poids (2014–present)

On 7 April 2014, after a three-year break, Luce brought out a new album, D'Une Tonne À Un Tout Petit Poids×D'une tonne à un tout petit poids2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Voyager4:102La Boîte3:153Appelle quand tu te réveilles3:574J’habitais là3:385Au téléphone avec maman3:126Réponse à tout4:377Amoureux d’une flic3:498Damoclès3:109Les Secrets chuchotés4:1410Courage3:16Disc 21La Boîte2Courage3Appelle quand tu te réveilles ("From a Ton to a Very Small Weight"). This album was produced with the Swede Peter von Poehl. On 10 February 2014, a single from the album was released: "Appelle Quand Tu Te Réveilles×Appelle quand tu te réveilles10 February 2014 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Appelle quand tu te réveilles3:56" ("Call Me When You Wake Up").

Personal life

Luce was married to Lolita Séchan, the daughter of Renaud. Their only child Héloïse was born on 3 August 2011. They separated in 2016.

Singles

2006: "Les Voisines×Les Voisines2006 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Les Voisines3:36"
2007: "La Lettre et Lacrymal Circus"
2008: "Repenti×Repenti25 September 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Les Voisines3:372Repenti4:063Le Lacrymal Circus3:544Je suis une feuille4:285La Lettre3:186Chien mouillé3:017Monsieur Marcel4:07824h013:479Camelote3:0210Mes racines4:2611I Was Here4:5712Nuit blanche3:5013L'Iris et la Rose5:34"
2008: "Monsieur Marcel×Monsieur Marcel2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Monsieur Marcel3:40" (new version)
2009: "La Fille de la bande×La Fille de la bande2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1La Fille de la bande3:49"
2009: "On n'est pas à une bêtise près×On n'est pas à une bêtise près2009 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1On n'est pas à une bêtise près3:00"
2010: "Nantes×Nantes2010 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Nantes3:40"
2014; "D'une tonne à un tout petit poids×D'une tonne à un tout petit poids2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Voyager4:102La Boîte3:153Appelle quand tu te réveilles3:574J’habitais là3:385Au téléphone avec maman3:126Réponse à tout4:377Amoureux d’une flic3:498Damoclès3:109Les Secrets chuchotés4:1410Courage3:16Disc 21La Boîte2Courage3Appelle quand tu te réveilles"