French folk-rock band Louise Attaque is set to perform at Bow Barracks next Tuesday

They are extremely private by nature, and savagely against grandiose shows. They organised their own festivals with like-minded outfits and performed only at gigs of which they approved. Nonetheless, the born-again Louise Attaque, one of the most famous contemporary French bands, are set to blaze Calcutta on their comeback trail next week.

The concert, part of the French folk-rock quartet?s reunion India tour, will be held at the Bow Barracks on April 12 (?Louise Attaque attacks Bow Barracks?). The event, projected to underline the need for conservation of heritage buildings in Calcutta, is being presented by Alliance Fran?aise de Calcutta, in association with The Telegraph.

Initially formed in 1997, Louise Attaque ? with vocalist Gaetan Roussel, bassist Robin Feix, drummer Alexandre Magraff and violinist Arnaud Samuel ? disbanded by mutual consent following the tour of 2000. ?After a four-year sabbatical, when we all did different musical projects, we decided to get back together and see what we could get out of this gathering,? Gaetan tells Metro over e-mail.

?A new album is lined up for next September and we are touring various countries. The French cultural society told us India would love to have us and we can?t wait to discover this vast country with so many diverse traits,? adds Arnaud.

The name of the band is both a tribute to the nineteenth-century anarchist Louise Michelle and a reference to punk-rock group Violent Femmes, virtual godfathers to the quartet. The Clash, Jimmy Hendrix and Jim Morrison have been other significant influences on the band, whose timbre lies somewhere between folk, rock and realist music.

Louise Attaque?s self-titled debut album assembled simple texts by Gaetan, embellished by a great folk-rock sound offset by violin pieces that fit the musical mosaic perfectly. The phenomenal success of the album led to the outfit being crowned ?Musical Group of the Year? in France in 1999.

The quartet?s second offering in 2000, Comme on a dit, too, made a huge splash, with Gaetan?s voice and Arnaud?s violin striking a magical chemistry. Their repertoire at Bow Barracks is expected to draw from these projects, even though Louise Attaque are returning with ?a different sound and new songs?.