Avant que l'ombre...
| Avant que l'ombre... | ||||
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| Studio album by Mylène Farmer | ||||
| Released | April 4, 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2004–2005 | |||
| Genre | synthpop, pop rock, Europop, house, trip hop | |||
| Length | 71:01 | |||
| Label | Polydor | |||
| Producer | Laurent Boutonnat | |||
| Mylène Farmer chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
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Collector edition
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| Singles from Avant que l'ombre... | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
Avant que l'ombre... is the sixth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on April 4, 2005. Mainly composed of acoustic ballads, this album produced five singles which were all top ten hits in France, including "Fuck Them All" and "L'amour n'est rien..."
"Avant que l'ombre" marked Farmer's longest break between studio albums, following "Innamoramento" by exactly six years. As such, the album was, perhaps, the most anticipated of her career. Rumours of the disc began circulating in 2003 when it was revealed that Universal was planning a new release of Farmer for the fourth quarter; however the project turned out to be Farmer's second remix album. By the end of 2004, Universal's President Pascal Nègre confirmed that Farmer would release an album in the following months, stating then that it would be a double album. Persistent rumours continued to circulate including the possibility of duets with artists such as Benjamin Biolay, Diam's and Lara Fabian.
In December 2004, Farmer held a major press conference with longtime collaborator Laurent Boutonnat in which she confirmed the upcoming release of the album, including the title, and announced a series of concerts to coincide at Paris Bercy. After several postponements, the album's release was pinned for 4 April 2005. Contrary to Nègre's previous comments, the album was a single disc with 14 titles, which remains the largest number of songs on a Farmer album, and an additional hidden track entitled "Nobody Knows". On this album, Farmer abandoned the American musicians who had previously worked with her since Anamorphosée, and reunited with several musicians with whom she had worked in her early career.
The digipack version, first limited to 2,000 units, is composed of the CD and a DVD containing the making-of of the music video for "Fuck Them All" with commentaries by director Augustin Villaronga. The album was produced in a triptych version, with a central section that unfolds itself in the shape of a cross to discover the booklet in which the order of the lyrics is not the same as that of the songs. The refrain's lyrics of the eponymous song is put forward within the digipack. The various photographs of the booklet were directed by Dominique Isserman, and cost about 85,000 euros. Isserman also made the cover's photo, on which Farmer appears lengthened, "asleep as Sleeping Beauty on an ochre and shades of red background". Around the neck, she is wearing a cross made with two matches.
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Wikipedia