# Saez
Damien Saez (born 1977 in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Savoie) is a French singer-songwriter of engaged chanson and rock who broke through at the end of 1999 with the single "Jeune et con" from his debut album *Jours étranges*.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) His lyrics take a political position close to altermondialisme ([Anti-globalization movement](https://www.edgepedia.org/anti-globalization-movement) advocating alternative global cooperation), and he claims the heritage of engaged French chanson.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) RFI Musique called him a revelation of the French scene in 2000.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1977, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne (Savoie)[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) |
| Breakthrough | "Jeune et con", late 1999, from *Jours étranges*[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) |
| Debut album sales | More than 300,000 copies; double gold disc[3](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez) • [1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) |
| First label | Island (Universal subsidiary), signed 1999[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) • [4](https://www.qobuz.com/lu-fr/interpreter/saez/42801) |
| Signature protest songs | "Fils de France" (2002), "Premier mai" (2017), the album *J'accuse* (2010)[5](https://www.rtl.fr/actu/politique/presidentielle-2017-damien-saez-sort-une-nouvelle-chanson-contre-le-front-national-7788354636) • [6](https://www.focus-musique.com/3175031/saez/) |
| Recent album | *Apocalypse*, 28 titles lasting 3 hours (2025)[7](https://www.bienpublic.com/culture-loisirs/2025/03/27/l-apocalypse-selon-saez) |
| 2025 touring | Apocalypse Tour, 5 March to 10 April 2025, with concerts of about four hours[8](https://musique.evous.fr/concerts-tournees/saez-en-concert-l-apocalypse-tour-2025.html) • [9](https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/concert/a-quoi-ressemble-un-concert-de-damien-saez-en-2025-656496-18-04-2025/) |
## Early life and debut
Saez entered the Conservatoire national de musique de Dijon at age 8 and moved to Paris in April 1996.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) Discovered by the singer and composer William Sheller, he signed to Island in 1999, the year his first studio album appeared.[4](https://www.qobuz.com/lu-fr/interpreter/saez/42801) In July 1999 he opened for [Massive Attack](https://www.edgepedia.org/massive-attack) alone with a guitar.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique)
The debut changed his standing at once. *Jours étranges*, released at the end of 1999 and mixed by Ron St. Germain, known for his work with [Lou Reed](https://www.edgepedia.org/lou-reed), Soundgarden, U2, and [Sonic Youth](https://www.edgepedia.org/sonic-youth), became a double gold disc and earned Saez a "Révélation de l'année" nomination at the 2001 Victoires de la Musique.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) RFI reported in 2002 that it had sold more than 250,000 copies; the same outlet wrote in 2022 that it ultimately sold more than 300,000.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) • [3](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez) The album carries both "Jeune et con", its first single, and "J'veux m'en aller"; radio and television play followed, along with a French tour.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) In autumn 2000 he played the Eurockéennes de Belfort, the Paleo festival de Nyon and the Francofolies de Spa, and reached the Élysée-[Montmartre](https://www.edgepedia.org/montmartre) in Paris on 19 December 2000.[3](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez)
In December 2001 he appeared on the Brassens tribute album *Les Oiseaux de Passage* alongside Noir Désir, Arthur H, Tarmac, and Miossec, covering "La Prière", and published the poetry collection *A ton nom* with Actes Sud the same month.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419)
## Discography and musical evolution
His second album, printed by NRJ as "God Bless" and elsewhere as the double album *God blesse / Katagena*, was released on 26 March 2002 and reached tenth place in the Top albums; it was produced by the former Placebo producer, with Portishead drummer Clive Deamer.[10](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/damien-saez/biographie) • [2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) A tour followed, and the third album *Debbie* came in 2004.[10](https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/damien-saez/biographie) In 2008 he released the independent triple album *Varsovie / L'Alhambra / Paris*.[11](https://www.metalrock-magazine.com/news/35497/saez-en-concert-le-17-decembre-2025-au-bataclan/)
After an English-language interlude under the name Yellow Tricycle, Saez returned with the vigorous *J'accuse* in spring 2010, his seventh album.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) • [6](https://www.focus-musique.com/3175031/saez/) *Messina* followed in 2012 as a triple album, and *Miami* arrived in 2013 with a provocative cover.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) That year he disappeared completely from social media, returning three years later with *Le Manifeste*, a year-long project marking his 40th birthday that he called "Nouvel art"; it took shape as three albums, *L'Oiseau Liberté*, *Lulu*, and *Le Dernier Disque*.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) The relaunch came through the site culturecontreculture.fr on 16 June 2016.[3](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez) Universal describes his music as ranging from British rock to electro and classical music.[1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419)
## Political engagement and controversies
The 2002 election made his protest persona explicit. On 22 April 2002, the day after [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-marie-le-pen) qualified for the presidential runoff, Saez published "Fils de France" online, written and recorded in about ten hours, and given away free with a black-background lyric clip; RTL dates this online publication to 22 April, while RFI gives the single's release as 25 April.[5](https://www.rtl.fr/actu/politique/presidentielle-2017-damien-saez-sort-une-nouvelle-chanson-contre-le-front-national-7788354636) • [3](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez) Its lyrics carry both anti-Le Pen and civil-liberties accents, including the lines "20% pour l'horreur/20% pour la peur".[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) In 2017 he repeated the formula with "Premier mai", released on YouTube on 30 April as an anti-Front national anthem ahead of that year's runoff.[5](https://www.rtl.fr/actu/politique/presidentielle-2017-damien-saez-sort-une-nouvelle-chanson-contre-le-front-national-7788354636)
The *J'accuse* album cover was banned in the Paris metro and at bus stops; Saez answered that the cover was "au contraire un acte féministe" and a mirror of society's self-censorship.[6](https://www.focus-musique.com/3175031/saez/) Around the 2019 album *Ni dieu ni maître* he reaffirmed his solidarity with the [Gilets jaunes](https://www.edgepedia.org/yellow-vests-protests) and the world of labor, writing that "il est l'heure poing levé de sonner la révolte" and that his solidarity was with people rather than with a yellow vest.[12](https://www.weculte.com/featured/rencontre-damien-saez-ni-dieu-ni-maitre-ni-compromis/)
## Place in French protest song
Saez is sometimes compared to Noir Désir, but he claims the influence of [Jacques Brel](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacques-brel), Barbara, Léo Ferré, and Georges Brassens.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) Qobuz situates his engaged style against the poetry of Baudelaire and the work of Brel, Ferré, and Noir Désir, noting controversies that did not stop a loyal audience from receiving his albums with enthusiasm.[4](https://www.qobuz.com/lu-fr/interpreter/saez/42801) Focus Musique calls him an outsider, an "OVNI" in French rock, a modern poet who mocks conventions, and reads *J'accuse* as a cry for social change doubled with a love hymn in the form of an S.O.S.[6](https://www.focus-musique.com/3175031/saez/)
## Recent developments
Saez played summer 2024 festival dates including Saint-Malo-du-Bois (3 July), La Rochelle (12 July), and Port-Barcarès (13 July).[8](https://musique.evous.fr/concerts-tournees/saez-en-concert-l-apocalypse-tour-2025.html) His album *Apocalypse* contains 28 titles and lasts 3 hours.[7](https://www.bienpublic.com/culture-loisirs/2025/03/27/l-apocalypse-selon-saez) The Apocalypse Tour 2025 opened at the Zénith d'Amiens on 5 March, included an [Accor Arena](https://www.edgepedia.org/accor-arena) date in Paris on 29 March, and closed at the Geneva Arena on 10 April 2025, with a Zénith de Dijon date on 8 April that Le Bien Public framed as the return of a "Dijonnais et Savoyard d'origine".[8](https://musique.evous.fr/concerts-tournees/saez-en-concert-l-apocalypse-tour-2025.html) • [7](https://www.bienpublic.com/culture-loisirs/2025/03/27/l-apocalypse-selon-saez) Les Inrocks reported in April 2025 that these "grands-messes" of about four hours were filling large venues across France.[9](https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/concert/a-quoi-ressemble-un-concert-de-damien-saez-en-2025-656496-18-04-2025/) A Bataclan concert was announced for 17 December 2025.[11](https://www.metalrock-magazine.com/news/35497/saez-en-concert-le-17-decembre-2025-au-bataclan/)
## By the numbers
*Jours étranges* is the only album with a stated sales figure in the sources: more than 250,000 copies as of 2002, later reported at more than 300,000, with a double gold certification.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) • [3](https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez) • [1](https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419) *God blesse / Katagena* reached tenth place in the French Top albums.[2](https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique) "Fils de France" was written and recorded in about ten hours.[5](https://www.rtl.fr/actu/politique/presidentielle-2017-damien-saez-sort-une-nouvelle-chanson-contre-le-front-national-7788354636) *Apocalypse* runs 28 titles over 3 hours, and its 2025 tour presented concerts of about four hours.[7](https://www.bienpublic.com/culture-loisirs/2025/03/27/l-apocalypse-selon-saez) • [9](https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/concert/a-quoi-ressemble-un-concert-de-damien-saez-en-2025-656496-18-04-2025/)
## References
1. Saez, Universal Music France. https://universalmusic.fr/artistes/20000333419
2. Saez, RFI Musique (2002), SaeLive archive. https://www.saezlive.net/press/view/307/2002-saez-rfi-musique
3. Saez, RFI Musique, 22 July 2022. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/musique/20220722-saez
4. Discographie de Saez, Qobuz. https://www.qobuz.com/lu-fr/interpreter/saez/42801
5. Présidentielle 2017 : Damien Saez sort une nouvelle chanson contre le Front national, RTL. https://www.rtl.fr/actu/politique/presidentielle-2017-damien-saez-sort-une-nouvelle-chanson-contre-le-front-national-7788354636
6. Saez, Focus Musique. https://www.focus-musique.com/3175031/saez/
7. L'Apocalypse selon Saez : le Dijonnais de retour au Zénith, Le Bien Public, 27 March 2025. https://www.bienpublic.com/culture-loisirs/2025/03/27/l-apocalypse-selon-saez
8. Saez en concert : L'Apocalypse Tour 2025, Evous. https://musique.evous.fr/concerts-tournees/saez-en-concert-l-apocalypse-tour-2025.html
9. À quoi ressemble un concert de Damien Saez en 2025 ?, Les Inrocks, 18 April 2025. https://www.lesinrocks.com/musique/concert/a-quoi-ressemble-un-concert-de-damien-saez-en-2025-656496-18-04-2025/
10. Damien Saez, Biographie, NRJ.fr. https://www.nrj.fr/artistes/damien-saez/biographie
11. SAEZ en concert le 17 décembre 2025 au Bataclan, MetalRock Magazine. https://www.metalrock-magazine.com/news/35497/saez-en-concert-le-17-decembre-2025-au-bataclan/
12. Rencontre. Damien Saez : "Ni dieu ni maître" ni compromis, We Culte. https://www.weculte.com/featured/rencontre-damien-saez-ni-dieu-ni-maitre-ni-compromis/
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Continental European scenes › French-language popular music: chanson, variete, French pop, and yeye › Artists, groups, and people: French-language popular music: chanson, variete, French pop, and yeye*
*Initially written Sep 19, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 19, 2026*
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