L'Œil Nu is a Montréal-based trio consisting of songwriter/producer Marie Davidson and frequent collaborators Pierre Guerineau and Asaël R. Robitaille. Differing from Davidson's minimal wave and techno material, the group's 2020 debut, Renegade Breakdown, is a sprawling, exploratory work influenced by folk, French pop, jazz, and disco. The three musicians have been regularly collaborating since the early 2010s, when they met at Montréal venue Le Brique, a loft space where Robitaille lived. Guerineau contributed to Davidson's solo recordings, while the married duo worked together as Essaie Pas, and Robitaille produced genre-bending solo work as Bataille Solaire, additionally producing or performing on releases by artists such as Femminielli and Jesse Osborne-Lanthier. Following the breakout success of Davidson's 2018 full-length Working Class Woman, which received widespread acclaim and featured the club-conquering "Work It," the songwriter announced that she was retiring from dance music, citing her disenchantment with club culture as well her constant touring schedule's impact on her physical and mental health. Along with her two collaborators, she began working on more song-driven material, incorporating electronic and acoustic instruments and taking inspiration from artists including the Carpenters, Mylène Farmer, and Billie Holiday. Yair Elazar Glotman and Osborne-Lanthier contributed arrangements to their first album, while musicians such as Jackson MacIntosh (TOPS, Sheer Agony) and drummer Guillaume Éthier accompanied the group for live performances. Renegade Breakdown was released by Ninja Tune in September of 2020. ~ Paul Simpson