Nadège (3)

An acid jazz group with French vocals, active in Japan during the 1990s. The group debuted as the first recording project of independent label Samson Records (5), with vocalist and lyricist/composer Nadège Sellier (alternately spelled "Nadège Cellier") and producer and composer Sine Qua Non (4). As with many acts debuting on Samson, the group was quickly signed to major label Victor, but became the only such act to jump to another major label, WEA Japan (with the creation of the short-lived imprint Photon Records (3)). After two albums, a previously unnamed technician on the earlier albums rose to a production role as Abou El Fida, while Sine Qua Non left to pursue solo projects. Other core contributors were producer and keyboardist "T. Forrestier" and guitarist "U. Lucas," and many more pseudonymous composers, instrumentalists, and engineers also contributed. Abou El Fida's role on later albums led to a diverse electronic sound based heavily on numerous commercial sample loop libraries, while the other contributors also became more prominent, experimenting with orchestral arrangements and even purely acoustic jazz sessions. In the 1990s, the group was promoted without revealing the members' names and backgrounds, but nearly all personnel on these albums are now known to have been Japanese musicians working behind Westernized pseudonyms (for example, Sine Qua Non semi-openly identified himself as Shintaro Ashizawa after departing). The group ceased activity after a final independent album released by Consipio Records, though the former members collaborated further on other musical projects. Nearly 20 years later, Nadège Cellier and Sine Qua Non reunited and crowdfunded a 12" mini-album on Qrates, released on Ashizawa's new record label and media production venture, rhapsodie musique.