A French experimental rock band, Red Noise was formed by Patrick Vian, son of writer Boris Vian, during a first concert at the Sorbonne faculty, then occupied by students during the events of May 1968. Guitarist and singer, he gathered around him musicians Francis Lemmonier (saxophone), Jean-Claude Cenci (saxophone, flute), Daniel Geoffroy (bass) and Serge Catalano (drums). In one day, on November 28, 1970, Red Noise recorded their only album, Sarcelles-Lochères, for Gérard Terronès' Futura Records label. Since then the object of a cult following as much for its radicalism as for its rarity, the record is divided between rock and free jazz and short-format sung or improvised pieces in its first half, ending with a nineteen-minute suite, "Sarcelles c'est l'avenir". Having left to form the group Kommintern, Lemmonier and Catalano were replaced by Briton Philip Barry (drums, guitar), alongside guests John Livengood (organ) and Austin Blue (percussion). Although the band disappeared in 1972, Red Noise left an indelible mark on the history of French alternative rock, appearing on the list of influences of British band Nurse with Wound. Its founder Patrick Vian, born in Angoulême on April 12, 1942, died in Apt, Vaucluse, where he had settled, on February 24, 2023 at the age of 80.
