MARTIN DUPONT + ESTETICA NOIR @Setmana Santa 2026 - Toulouse

XXXI-XIII & La Setmana Santa present: a warm-up show for the SETMANA SANTA 2026 festival. Curious minds, the full lineup is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1732707711107129 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ † MARTIN DUPONT (Synth pop, cold wave legend /FR) † ESTETICA NOIR (Darkwave, post-punk /IT) ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

♦️ MARTIN DUPONT (Synth pop, cold wave legend /FR)

Martin Dupont is an iconic French new wave and cold wave band, formed in Marseille from the ashes of the punk movement in the early 1980s. At the time, it consisted of Alain Seghir, Brigitte Balian, and Catherine Loy. After the band's first album, Beverley Jane Crew joined the team, and after a few months and a four-piece concert, Catherine Loy left the group. Martin Dupont ceased to exist as a band in 1987. During its short existence, Martin Dupont opened for concerts by The Lotus Eaters, The Lounge Lizards, and Siouxsie and the Banshees[1]. by Alain Seghir.

Created in 1982, the band deliberately chose a very ordinary name. Their style mixes futuristic synthesizers, cold rhythms, and dark, sensitive, and hypnotic melodies.

Unclassifiable despite its affiliation with the new wave, Martin Dupont plays essentially electronic music overlaid with a clarinet. They have often been compared to New Order for their mysterious aspect (their name composed of the most widespread surnames in France, the cover art designed by Yves Cheynet). Today, the band is considered "cult" by many. It came to an end after 1987 to allow its leader to dedicate himself to surgery.

The band gained a cult following abroad, particularly in the United States thanks to the Minimal Wave label, and influenced renowned artists like Tricky and Kanye West. After more than thirty years of interruption, Martin Dupont reformed to return to the stage and released a new album titled You Smile When It Hurts.

The album Kintsugi was recorded in 2022 with the new line-up and co-produced by the American label Minimal Wave and the French labels Infrastition and Meidosem records. The band is now structured around the original core of Seghir/Balian/Crew, joined by Thierry Sintoni and Sandrine Casado (from Rise and Fall of a Decade and Girls like you) and Ollivier Leroy (Olli and the Bollywood orchestra, Contréo, Olli and the secret church).

A European tour began in January 2023, followed by the release of the album Kintsugi on February 7, 2023, which features new versions of old tracks. This was followed by an American tour in May 2023, stopping in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Chicago, Montreal, and New York.

As part of the 2025 American tour, the band is scheduled at the SANCTUM Chicago, SUBSTANCE San Francisco, and SUBSTANCE Los Angeles festivals.

On October 17, 2025, a new album is finally released, You smile when it hurts, containing only recently composed tracks.

On April 18, 2026, the double album New Paradox is released, containing unreleased tracks, edits, and covers.

And on December 5, 2026, many of you will have the chance to see (or see again) them in Toulouse at the Metronum. Thank you Setmana Santa!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ ♦️ ESTETICA NOIR (Darkwave, post-punk /IT)

Estetica Noir answers an inner need, a passion: that of writing songs in a world now largely governed by sounds and software. Active since 2013 and originating from Turin (Italy), the band navigates between Darkwave, Art Rock, Post-punk, and Synthpop, and boasts an EP (self-titled, 2014) as well as three albums ("Purity", 2017, "This Dream In Monochrome", 2022, and "Amor Fati" in 2024).

Among their notable experiences, we can highlight:

- Participation in some of Europe's most prestigious festivals (Wave-Gotik-Treffen 2024, Castle Party 2025, Prague Gothic Treffen 2026). - Numerous concerts (France, Belgium, Alle