Band History
The group, from central France, more precisely Brive (in Corrèze), consisted of Jean-Louis (vocals), Paul (keyboards) and Patrice (keyboards). Mickaël, who played guitar on some tracks, quickly joined the band…
From that point on, more songs were born over the months, in different styles, some in English and others in French (not forgetting Stéphane's help on 2 tracks).
After a year devoted to writing 10 songs, the band decided to record a 'promotional' album to make itself known: the CD, "Summer Dreams", recorded at Eibon Prod studio in September 1994, was presented to the press and released in the region from October 1994.
This album was recorded as a promotional release, because we had neither enough means nor enough experience to make a record intended for national distribution. In addition, being manufactured by a small pressing plant, it suffered from poor dynamics and attenuated frequencies.
More than 200 copies were sold in the Brive area.
In January 1995, "SUNSET" became "SUNSET Beach", because a northern band already existed under that name.
Contacts with record labels and producers, thanks to their constructive criticism, helped our songs evolve… …and new tracks were born.
Then in 1997 by Christine (vocals) and Serge (bass).
Activities
• Throughout its career, the band played in several nightclubs in the region: "les écuries du roy", "la charrette", "la grange aux loups" and "les 2 mondes", among others.
• Took part in several events: Les Estivales Gourmandes (2 editions), La Nuit des Soldes (2 editions: one at Salle Georges Brassens and the other at Les 3 Provinces), Fête de la Musique (3 editions), … .
• Reached the quarter-finals of the 3rd Francophone Song Contest in Franconville (Val d'Oise).
• In 1997, for the 20th anniversary of EGC Brive, the band took part, alongside other artists, in recording an anniversary CD featuring 3 tracks.
The CD launch was followed by a major concert evening at the CCI hall in Brive.
• A little later, a concert was organised in that same venue as an opening act for the band PLP System from Bordeaux.
• In 1998, singer Jean-Louis finished joint first at Graine de Star in Limoges. He was among the 5 candidates selected throughout the tour, but not among the final 2 chosen for the TV show…
May 1998: Part. 1
In 1998, with new songs, strengthened by experience and new members, the band embarked on recording its first commercial album. This album aimed to be more accomplished, with a more « professional » sound.
After 6 months of work, recording of the new album "Part.1" was completed...
It is mainly composed of 2 parts: one synthetic (dance-oriented), the other acoustic/synthetic (slow and pop-dance).
A 3rd section completes the album: it is a style exercise, made up of a reggae track and a rap parody.
It was recorded in Brive at Studio Eibon in 32 digital tracks by Alain Séraudie and Patrice Malé, pre-mastered by E-SEI, mastered in Paris by Top Master and pressed by Polygram (PMDC).
With the help of the Service Information Jeunesse (SIJ) of the city of Brive and its manager Frédéric Soulier, as well as La Charrette (Brive), E-SEI (Brive) and Jerrygraphic (Souillac).
Before its release, a pre-sale with numbered sleeves was organised: more than 120 copies were sold.
It was available in record stores in Brive (Nouvelles Galeries, Musica, La Carmagnole, Leclerc, Music Lover), Tulle (Cogima), Limoges (Madisson Nuggets, Anecdotes, Point Show) and Bordeaux (Virgin Megastore) for at least 2 years.
Out of the 500 copies manufactured, more than 400 were sold over 2 years… the remaining copies being used mainly for promotion.
1999…
During that year, Mickael, then Christine, moved away from Brive for professional reasons.
For the same reasons, the band stopped performing live … …and this beautiful story came to an end, leaving memories forever engraved!
…2023 Happy Birthday
and Remastering!
30 years after the creation of Sunset Beach, and 25 years after recording the final album «Part. 1», we were surprised to discover SACEM royalties generated by listens in France, but also in the United Kingdom and Italy — even though the album had only been distributed regionally at the time.
Driven by this unexpected response, we went back to the raw studio versions for a complete remastering of the album, followed by a release on the main streaming and download platforms, then on YouTube a year later.
This revival is part of a broader effort to showcase our catalogue and pass on our musical identity, between the electronic heritage of the 1990s and contemporary listening habits…
© 1993-2026 Sunset Beach - Site by E-SEI - Legal notice