Philippe Katerine

by Jason Ankeny
Along with perfomers like Dominique A. and Valerie LeMercier, singer/songwriter Philippe Katerine was among the leaders of the 'minimalist variete' movement in French pop during the mid-1990s. Drawing on influences as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Michel Legrand to the Clash and the Buzzcocks, Katerine signed to the Rosebud label and debuted with the album Les Mariages Chinois; for the follow-up, L'Education Anglaise, he moved out from behind the microphone, allowing his sister Bruno and girlfriend Anne to share vocal duties. A set of four EPs followed, on which Katerine returned to the forefront of his music; the EPs were later collected under the title Mes Mauvaises Frequentations.