I don’t remember exactly what year it was when I first heard French band Les Rita Mitsouko. I do remember that it was thanks to one of the wizards at WZRD—late one night in the early 90s, somebody played an entire side of the band’s 1986 album, The No Comprendo. Perhaps whoever it was just needed to duck out of the booth for a smoke break, but this mystery DJ made me a fan of the band’s mix of punk sensibilities and jazz-influenced synth-pop.
In 2007, as the duo were working on what they’d decided would be their final album as a band, Chichin passed away from cancer. Ringer continues to perform as a solo act, and in December 2020 she released a box set (two CDs or three LPs, plus a DVD) called Catherine Ringer Chante Les Rita Mitsouko à la Philharmonie de Paris, which captures two live performances of the band’s songs from 2019. Her backing band for those shows included guitarist Raoul Chichin, her son with Fred, and the album artwork is by their daughter, Simone Ringer. French audiences have responded warmly and immediately to Ringer’s revival of Les Rita Mitsouko’s songs, and she seems to be enjoying this return to the spotlight, doing interviews and launching a band TikTok. v
