Daho was born in
Oran,
French Algeria. He sings in a low, whispery voice somewhat akin to
Leonard Cohen or
Chet Baker and his music established him as a pop cult hero. He cites
Serge Gainsbourg,
The Velvet Underground,
The Beach Boys and
Syd Barrett as his musical influences. All his albums have been certified at least gold or platinum, including "Mythomane" in 1981, "La notte, la notte" in 1984, "Pop satori" in 1986, produced with a young
William Orbit, "Pour nos vies martiennes" in 1988 and the double platinum "Paris ailleurs" in 1991, recorded in New York. A best-selling recording artist in his own right in France, Daho is best known in Britain for his appearance on the number 11
Saint Etienne hit single "He's on the Phone", which is an English-language adaptation of his 1984 French-language big hit "Weekend à Rome". He also collaborated with Saint Etienne on the
Reserection EP, his album
Eden, and his single hit
Le Premier Jour. Daho's collaborations and productions both on stage and in the studio with other artists have been extensive. He has worked with
Brigitte Fontaine,
Arthur Baker,
Air,
Working Week, '80's
new wave bands
OMD and
Comateens,
Jane Birkin,
Marianne Faithfull,
Françoise Hardy,
Charlotte Gainsbourg,
Vanessa Paradis,
Dani and more. His music has also been remixed, among others, by
Air,
Fischerspooner,
Amon Tobin and
William Orbit. Daho's 1996 album
Eden displayed a diverse array of electronic-oriented songs that included downtempo ballads,
drum and bass-influenced tracks, and
Hi-NRG dance. He duetted with
Astrud Gilberto ("Les bords de Seine") and was accompanied by
The Swingle Singers on "Timide intimité". Backing vocals on several songs were provided by Lyn Byrd of the
Comateens,
Sarah Cracknell (who co-wrote "Les passagers"), and
Elli Medeiros.
Eden was subsequently re-released for the anglophone market with great reviews with the song "A New World", which was an English-language version of "Au Commencement". Daho performed in a sold out
Institute of Contemporary Arts. He also sang at the Marquee in 1989. After a double platinum greatest hits compilation
Best of Singles in 1998, the number one
Corps & armes in 2000 saw Daho eschewing electronics in favour of a more orchestral sound fuelled by traditional instruments: piano, acoustic guitar, horns, directed by
Wil Malone. One of the tracks included an English-language duet with
Vanessa Daou ("Make Believe"). It includes also "Le brasier", "La baie" and "Ouverture". Daho shifted gears once again for his dark and moody 2004 album
Réévolution, which featured a guitar-heavy rock sound. He released the single hit "If" with
Charlotte Gainsbourg as well as the Phil Spector influenced "Retour à toi" and "Les liens d'Eros" with
Marianne Faithfull, reading her great-uncle
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's
Venus in furs. In 2005, Daho released a live album
Sortir Ce Soir, which featured many of his greatest hits performed in concert. In 2007, his new album, ''L'Invitation
, which was created with Edith Fambuena, was released to good press reviews. In 2008, a compilation of covers was released, called Tombés pour Daho'' (after Daho's single,
Tombé pour la France). The recording artists include Benjamin Biolay, Doriand, Elli Medeiros, Daniel Darc, and Arnold Turboust. In the same year, on 8 March, Daho received a
Victoire de la Musique award in the category Album Pop / Rock of the Year. ''Les Chansons de l'innocence retrouvée
was released in 2013 and was a critical success in France, being included in several best end-of-year lists, including Les Inrockuptibles and Télérama''. For record sleeves and music videos, Daho has collaborated with
Pierre et Gilles,
Michel Gondry,
Nick Knight,
Doug Nichol,
Jean-Pierre Jeunet,
M/M,
Abake,
Inez van Lamsweerde and
Guy Peellaert among others. In 2016, Daho was invited by John Cale to sing "
I'll Be Your Mirror" at the 50th anniversary celebration of
The Velvet Underground and Nico at the
Philharmonie de Paris. == Translations and covers ==