Ainsi soit je...

Ainsi soit je... (a play on ainsi soit-il, which can mean either "so be it" or "amen") is the second album by Mylène Farmer, released on March 18, 1988.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It contains the hit singles "Sans contrefaçon", "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" and "Sans logique". Generally well received by critics, it was very successful and is, to date, Farmer's second best-selling LP.

Background

After the success of the album Cendres de lune and the hits "Sans contrefaçon" and "Ainsi soit je...", Farmer had no problem releasing a second album that would be well received by the public, enabling her to consolidate her growing popularity, thus preventing her from slipping back into anonymity. The album took from five to six months to be finished.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It was recorded at studio Mega, Avenue Maréchal-Maunoury, in Paris (XVIe arrondissement) under the leadership of Thierry Rogen, a renowned sound engineer who had already worked in particular with Michel Sardou.<ref>Violet, 2004, p. 93.</ref>

The cover of the album shows Farmer turned sideways, accompanied by the puppet used in the music video for "Sans contrefaçon". The photographs of the booklet were made by Elsa Trillat.

The album was released in April 1988 and met great success, both critically and commercially.

Lyrics and music

The texts, which contain many literary references to famous authors (such as Baudelaire, Poe, etc.), were written by Mylène Farmer, except "L'Horloge" (a poem by Charles Baudelaire), "Déshabillez-moi" (originally sung in 1966 by Juliette Gréco) and "The Farmer's Conclusion" (which is an instrumental song). The album has a melancholy and sad tone, and deals with death, suicide, madness with gloomy and desperate texts. Sexual ambiguity, sodomy and provocation are also tackled.<ref>Chuberre, 2007, p. 26.</ref><ref name="Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 67-68">Cachin, 2006, pp. 28-29.</ref>

Critical reception

Template:Album ratings The album was generally well received in the media and remains sometimes considered as "one of the most successful",<ref name="La part d'ombre">Bee, 2006, p. 362.</ref> even the singer's "best album".<ref name="Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 67-68"/> When the album was released, the press said: "Mylène shows an imagination and a new maturity in these charming libertine poems and her synthetic hits containing literary references" (20 Ans).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This "great" (Gaipied)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and "successful" (Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> album has "an intellectual and musical universe always so creative" (Gaipied).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Its songs were described as "powerful, sometimes catchy and often spellbinding compositions" (Paris Nuit),<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> whose texts are "chiseled but perfectly licentious" (France Soir).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The "poetic quality of the texts" and "the sense of the melody" (Le Télégramme)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> were also mentioned. Rock and Folk said this Laurent Boutonnat's production is "impeccable", demonstrating his "undoubted talent".<ref>
* Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link
* Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link</ref> According to Télé Poche, "the time of success has come for Mylène Farmer" with this album.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The journalist Caroline Bee said this album is "an ambiguous, bright, romantic and beautifully produced gem".<ref name="La part d'ombre"/> A review in Pan-European magazine Music & Media praised Ainsi soit je..., ranking it as "Album of the week", and added: "A first-class electro-based pop LP... That sophisticated sensuality! Laurent Boutonnat's production and compositions are flowing with a commerciabdity, comparable to the works of the Pet Shop Boys. Farmer... reveals the full palette of her caressing and dreamy voice."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Some criticisms were also made against Ainsi soit je... For example, according to L'Humanité, this album uses an "old-fashioned stylistic mannerism to reinvent poetry" (L'Humanité).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Rock Land qualified this album as a "second collection of bad thoughts with a spectacular flippantly", whose "B-side is flat".<ref>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link</ref>

Commercial performance

In France, the album debuted at number 8 in April 1988, but it dropped to number 26 five months later. However, thanks to the successful single "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (number-one hit in December 1988), the album reached number one for two weeks in December 1988. The album managed to stay for eleven months in the top ten and about one year on the chart.<ref name="Charts">Template:Cite web</ref> On 29 June 1988, the album was certified Gold by the SNEP for 100,000 copies sold, then Platinum for 300,000 sales, then Double Platinum on 17 February 1989 for 600,000 sales, and eventually Diamond on 14 November 1989 for a minimum of 1,000,000 copies sold.<ref name="frcert"/><ref>Template:Cite journalTemplate:Dead link</ref> The album was also released in Germany, where it reached number 47.<ref name="germany"/>

Track listing

#	Title	Length	Writer(s)	Composer(s)	Notes
1	"L'Horloge"	5:03	Charles Baudelaire	Laurent Boutonnat	Adaptation of the poem of the same name by Charles Baudelaire, from Les Fleurs du mal. The music begins and ends with the sound of a clock pendulum, as well as cries of a baby. The words evoke the passage of time which leads to death. A male voice repeatedly says, "Souviens-toi!" (the French for "Remember", itself spoken in the song as well).<ref>Cachin, 2006, p. 120.</ref> Performed during the 1989, 2019 tours and never on television.
2	"Sans contrefaçon"	4:07	Mylène Farmer	Boutonnat	Performed during the 1989, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2019 and 2023 tours and 16 times on television.
3	"Allan"	4:46	Farmer	Boutonnat	Performed during the 1989 tour and one time on television.
4	"Pourvu qu'elles soient douces"	4:52	Farmer	Boutonnat	Performed during the 1989, 1999, 2009 and 2019 tours and 12 times on television.
5	"La Ronde triste"	4:13	Farmer	Boutonnat	Although the title is in French, the lyrics are in English. The song discusses suicide and death, while a male voice repeatedly says, "Don't cry". It was never performed on stage, but was once on television (Domicile A2, 15 December 1987, Antenne 2). It served as the B-side of "Sans contrefaçon".<ref>Cachin, 2006, p. 234.</ref>
6	"Ainsi soit je..."	6:18	Farmer	Boutonnat	Performed during the 1989, 1996, 2009 and 2019 tours and 12 times on television.
7	"Sans logique"	4:30	Farmer	Boutonnat	Performed during the 1989 and 2019 tours and five times on television.
8	"Jardin de Vienne"	5:17	Farmer	Boutonnat	Opens with a few notes of Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser. The lyrics discuss a young boy who hanged himself in a garden in Vienna. In the refrain, the death is seen as a release.<ref>Cachin, 2006, p. 135.</ref> Performed during the 1989 tour, but never on television.
9	"Déshabillez-moi"	3:45	Robert Nyel	Gaby Verlor	Performed during the 1989 and 2006 tours and twice on television.
10	"The Farmer's Conclusion"	2:15	Template:N/a	Boutonnat	A wordless piece with the cries of various animals, mixed with Farmer's sighs. The title is a play on Farmer's last name and is a humorous reply to journalists who sometimes give her that name in a literal way.<ref>Cachin, 2006, p. 105.</ref> Never performed on stage, nor on television.

Charts

Weekly charts

Template:Album chart

Chart (1988–90)	Peak position
European Albums (Top 100)<ref name="eu">Template:Cite web</ref>	10
French Albums (SNEP)<ref name="peak">Template:Cite web</ref>	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1988)	Position
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	71
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	2

Chart (1989)	Position
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	16
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	2

Personnel

• Mylène Farmer – lead vocals
• Laurent Boutonnat – keyboards, synthesizer, producer
• Thierry Rogen – sound, mixing, programming
• Slim Pezin – guitar
• Bernard Paganotti – bass
• Pol Ramirez del Più  (a pseudonym for Farmer and Boutonnat) – pan flute, shakuhachi
• Les Moines Fous du Tibet  (a pseudonym for Farmer and Boutonnat) – background vocals
• Frédéric Rousseau – programming
• Bertrand Le Page / Polygram Music – editions (tracks 1–8, 10), Intersong Paris editions (track 9)
• André Perriat (Top Master) – mastering, engraving
• Elsa Trillat – photo
• Jean-Paul Théodule – model
• Benoît Lestang – puppet
• Bertrand Le Page – management
• Recorded and mixed at Studio Mega

Release history

Date	Label	Region	Format	Catalog
1988	Polydor	France	CD	835654-2
			Picture CD
			12"	835564-1
			Cassette	835465-4
			Collector edition	?
		Allemagne	CD	835564-1
			12"	835564-2
		Canada	12"	835564-1
			Promo 12"
			Cassette	835564-4
		Italy	Cassette	835564-4
		Japan	CD	POCP1001
			Promo CD
		Korea	12"	RG2039
		Netherlands	Cassette	835564-4
		Spain	12"	835564-1
1994	Polygram	France	CD	8355642
1998	Polygram France			835564
2005	Polydor		Digital	—
2005	Universal		CD - Digipack	9828262

Formats

France

• 12"
• CD
• CD – Picture disc
• Cassette
• CD – Digipack (since 2005)

Other countries

• Collector edition – Promo – Europe (Germany, Italy, UK, Spain)¹
• 12" – Spain
• 12" – Korea
• 12" – Canada
• 12" – Germany

• 12" – Promo – Canada
• CD – Germany
• CD – Japan
• CD – Taïwan
• CD – Promo – Japan
• Cassette – Netherlands
• Cassette – Italy
• Cassette – Canada

¹ Contains the CD maxi for "Sans contrefaçon", the CD single for "Ainsi soit je...", the biography of Farmer translated into the language of the country, a documentary on video cassette and a lighter. Template:Col-end