Le Monde has reported that Catherine Ribeiro passed away overnight in a retirement home located in Martigues, France, as confirmed by her representatives to Agence France-Presse.
Born in Lyon in 1941 to Portuguese parents, Ribeiro initially appeared in Jean-Luc Godardโs 1963 film Les Carabiniers before venturing into music. During the ’60s, she released several singles and emerged as a yรฉ-yรฉ star. In 1969, she teamed up with Patrice Moullet to release their debut album Catherine Ribeiro + 2Bis.
The group later rebranded as Alpes and shifted towards psychedelic prog rock throughout the ’70s, moving away from her yรฉ-yรฉ beginnings. Their music tackled political themes like the Vietnam War and Palestine. The last studio album from Ribeiro + Alpes was La Dรฉboussole, released in 1980. Subsequently, Ribeiro pursued a solo career through the ’80s and ’90s.
“Catherine Ribeiroโs voice is so amazing and the music sounds soโI hate to use the word organic, but I just kind of relate it to the music,” Kim Gordon told The Quietus in 2018. “She is definitely an influence on me.”
Circuit des Yeux covered โSลur de Race,โ while Weyes Blood admired her “extremely powerful, wild, improvisatory voice.” In September 2018, Mexican Summer’s Anthology Recordings reissued three albums from Ribeiro + Alpes: Nยฐ2, รme Debout, and Paix.
I think fans really felt connected to her unique style.
