Marianne Dissard didn’t intend to become a professional singer, but now with her upcoming full-length album, L’Entre Deux, she definitely deserves that label.
The French-born singer moved to the U.S. when she was 16 and became known as a documentary filmmaker after studying film in Los Angeles.
Although Dissard always loved writing, she never really thought about becoming a musician until she moved to Tucson with her husband, Na’m Amor.
“”I went to Los Angeles to make movies and every little thing was film related,”” Dissard said. “”When I came to Tucson getting into film was a lot harder.””
Her first involvement with music occurred when Amor would have to travel to France and Dissard would write lyrics to him.
Adding to this was the strong music scene in Tucson, which also appealed to Dissard.
“”In Tucson there is much more of a music scene than a film scene,”” Dissard said. “”Being surrounded by musicians definitely was a big inspiration for me.””
Dissard’s opportunity to sing came from Joey Burns, lead singer of Calexico, when he asked her to collaborate with him on the song “”The Ballad of Cable Hogue”” in 1999.
Her music career then evolved into performing with other musicians and then creating her own music. From this, Dissard developed a sound that makes the listener feel like they should be in a dimly lit Paris lounge drinking wine.
Dissard describes her style as French pop, with her voice getting most of the attention. After doing plenty of shows and now awaiting the release of her CD next year, Dissard feels much more confident in her voice.
“”I didn’t think I could tackle more than the super-soft type of singing,”” Dissard said. “”But the more confidence I gained singing and performing, the more I wanted to experiment with a different singing style.””
These days Dissard spends many nights performing around town with other musicians, including her husband, who has supported her music career from the beginning.
“”The first thing we did when we met was collaborate on songs and it was our way of getting to know each other,”” Dissard said. “”Now we have done four albums together where I would write and he would do the music.””
Dissard sings in French, English and is now pursuing Portuguese. But according to her, whichever language she sings in is irrelevant.
“”There comes a point when it doesn’t matter what language you sing in,”” Dissard said. “”The music will be powerful either way.””
Dissard will perform with Na’m Amor Wednesday, Nov. 28, at Le Délice French Restaurant, 7245 E. Tanque Verde Rd. at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.
You can also catch her performance with Matt Mitchell at The Hut, 305 N. Fourth Ave., Friday, Nov. 30. Cover is $3 and the show begins at 9:00 p.m.
