River

by Stephen Cramer Composing and recording music in Nantes, France, since 1997, Fabrice Herve's indie pop project River wowed international audiences from the start with a unique brand of light orchestral pop. Herve's wildly prolific songwriting resulted in a staggering number of releases in the first six years of his recording career. Herve debuted on France's Windows Records with 1997's Happiness & Smiles CD, which covered topics far from what the title would suggest, including songs about separation and sadness over a jazzy/poppy backdrop. The Hairdresser single followed later that year on France's Plastic Pancake Records and the Spiderman single came next, again on Plastic Pancake. River's United States debut came in 1999 with the release of the Poseidon's Girlfriend single on international pop label Shelflife Records. That year also included another release on Safari Records out of France, the Strawberry Lipstick EP. In 1999 and 2000 came releases on Bliss Aquamarine Records, Home-Aid Recordings, and Blackbean & Placenta Records. A cassette-only release on Italy's Best Kept Secret Records followed in 2001, which led to River's most ambitious release to date, 2002's 20-song, self-titled disc on Shelflife. Despite years of releasing breathtaking indie pop, this release was River's introduction to many indie pop fans, simply by the album's sheer weight and press attention. The Streets of Desire single was released in 2003 on Plastic Pancake.