Dominique Dalcan was born in 1964 in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where his parents were working at the time. (Dalcan senior, a photography director who works in television, is often called abroad for his work). When the Dalcans returned from Lebanon, they settled in the Paris suburbs where Dominique spent most of his teenage years.  

Dominique soon went on to develop a passionate interest in music and the young teenager would often spend his afternoons tinkling away on the family piano, but he received no formal training whatsoever. In fact, Dominique was set on following in his father's footsteps and when he finished school he began preparing for a film career. After gaining a degree in modern literature, Dominique actually went on to enrol at film school but he eventually ended up abandoning his film studies and launching a music career instead.  

In the early days of his career Dominique sought inspiration from a mixed bag of influences, listening to English rock from the 60's and 70's as well as the electronic sounds of Brian Eno and Philip Glass. The would-be singer also explored his own French heritage, digging out classic albums by Alain Bashung and Serge Gainsbourg. Dominique soon went on to launch his own career in the music world, but his first job was not as a singer or musician - Dominique landed his first job working as a press attaché for an English music magazine. But Dominique, who was determined to launch his own music career, spent every minute of his free time writing and composing.

The young musician soon had enough material to go into a studio and make a demo tape - and this was precisely what he did. Dominique spent the next few months hiking his demo tape around record companies, unfortunately without much success, it must be said. But Dominique ended up sending his demo tape to Crammed Discs and the innovative Belgian label promptly offered him a recording contract. Shortly afterwards, Dominique ventured into the studio to record his début album "Entre l'étoile et le carré". Released in 1991, the album proved an instant hit with the public. French music critics also appreciated "Entre l'étoile et le carré", writing in praise of Dalcan's superbly crafted songwriting, his melodies and his impressive voice.  

Following the success of this début album, French fans eagerly awaited Dalcan's first live shows - the only problem was that the singer, who was not used to the live circuit, suffered from serious bouts of stage fright and found himself unable to perform at his best in front of an audience. In December '91, Dalcan did put in an appearance at the Transmusicales Festival in Rennes, performing with a rock group (which stayed together for just two concerts). Dalcan then went on to support the French star Kent on tour. However, in the spring of '92 Dalcan finally plucked up enough courage to set off on his first solo tour.  

Dalcan kicked off his tour with a concert in St Etienne on February 15 and went on to perform in the French provinces up until March 14. Dalcan deliberately chose to give a series of simple acoustic concerts, feeling more at ease accompanied by a group of just four musicians (guitar, cello, double bass and percussion) than with an extensive backing band. Dalcan, who usually spent his days locked away in a solitary studio experimenting with the latest electro/techno sounds, found this collective acoustic experience a refreshing change from his normal routine. And his new acoustic approach also proved a huge hit with audiences up and down the country!  

Later that same year Dalcan returned to the studio to collaborate with the Belgian musician Hector Zazou on his album "Sahara Blue". Teaming up with the famous Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dalcan recorded a memorable duet on this occasion.

By 1994 Dalcan was back in the studio, putting the finishing touches to his second album "Cannibale". It was this album which would launch Dalcan's career in earnest. For as soon as "Cannibale" was released in March '94, music critics began showering it with rave reviews - indeed, many of them went so far as to hail Dalcan's second album as a "veritable masterpiece"!  

"Cannibale", master-minded by the French producer Bertrand Burgalat, was a laidback cocktail of easy-listening sounds which featured the most wonderful string arrangements. But then this was hardly surprising, given that Dalcan had chosen to work with the famous English musician and conductor David Whitaker (responsible for orchestrating the amazing string sections on Serge Gainsbourg's hits in the 60's). Whitaker's sophisticated musical sound was perfectly complemented by Dalcan's masterly vocals. Following the success of the singles "Le Danseur de java" and "Brian" - which really established Dalcan on the French music scene - the singer went on to perform an extremely popular concert at the Elysée Montmartre in Paris on December 20.  

The multi-talented Dalcan was extremely busy throughout '96 and '97, working on three radically different projects. Firstly, in 1996 he went into the studio to put the finishing touches to a five-track mini album entitled "Le Cheval de Troie". Then, at the end of that year Dalcan returned to the studio to record an entirely instrumental album, featuring the latest techno sounds. Released under Dalcan's pseudonym Snooze, the album - appropriately entitled "The Man in the Shadow" - was released in the spring of '97. French clubbers were already familiar with Dalcan's catchy techno beats - as the singer had already scored a hit on the Paris techno scene with two CD singles, "The Chase" and "Middle Class Lady".

Later that year Dalcan branched out in an entirely different direction, writing the soundtrack for Alain Berliner's film "Ma vie en rose". The theme tune "Rose", sung by French star Zazie, proved to be a huge hit with French cinema-goers.  

The film "La Vie en Rose" obtained worldwide recognition. It scooped up the Golden Globe award for Best Foreign Film and was nominated in the same category at the Academy Awards. Dalcan’s soundtrack also received a lot of attention and won a nomination at the Victoires de la Musique for the Best Soundtrack.

However, it was not long before Dalcan moved back to his singing career. In June 1998, he released his third album, entitled "Ostinato". Featuring a strong Brazilian influence, "Ostinato" offers Bossa Nova rhythms on most of its 14 tracks along with Dalcan’s Snooze style. As sexy as its cover, this album takes the listener on a musical journey through North and South America. Among the musicians who took part in the production, Clare Fisher a.k.a. Prince’s arranger at the piano, and Nancy Danino, Snooze’s female voice for the vocals. The single "L’air de rien" became a big radio hit. The following year, Dalcan went on to shoot the video clip of the lead track "Individualistic", directed by François Néméta, who learned the tricks of trade as Michel’s assistant director.

In 2001 Dalcan put on his Snooze outfit again and released a second album under this name, "Goingmobile". Mixing Brazilian trip hop with groove and emotional melodies, he invited several female voices to sing along. Nancy Danino, Nicole Graham, Deborah Brown were among them.

August 2001