Les Innocents

Formed in France in the early 1980s around Jean‑Philippe Nataf and several musicians, the band Les Innocents moved toward francophone pop rock combining the heritage of chanson, melodic guitars and vocal harmonies. After beginnings on the independent rock scene, Les Innocents drew attention at the end of the 1980s, notably with the album “Cent mètres au paradis” (1989), which placed their songwriting between subdued melancholy and instantly memorable choruses. The record “Fous à lier” (1992) and “Post‑partum” (1995) confirmed this focus on French pop, with particular care given to arrangements and the precision of the lyrics. Gradually refocused around the duo Jean‑Philippe Nataf and Jean‑Christophe Urbain, Les Innocents increased touring in France, played medium‑capacity venues and festivals, and established themselves in the pop‑song landscape of the 1990s. After a split at the end of that decade, members pursued individual projects before reforming Les Innocents in the mid‑2010s, producing “Mandarine” (2015) and “6 1/2” (2019), which extended their aesthetic of luminous ballads, moderate tempos and narrative lyrics. Still centered on the Nataf–Urbain duo, Les Innocents’ recent activity alternates between recordings, acoustic formats and concerts, in a deliberate continuity with the sound developed since their first albums.