Damien Saez
Released the 2001 triple album 'God Blast,' a French singer-songwriter who sells out arenas with politically charged rock while ignoring the mainstream.
Born 1977 (age 49)·French singer-songwriter and musician·Birthday: August 1·Generation X
Biography
Damien Saez issued 'God Blast' in 2001, a 38-track triple album that critiqued globalization, consumerism, and the rise of the far-right. He founded his own label, Saez Music, in 1998 after leaving EMI over creative disputes. The artist filled Paris’s Zénith arena for five consecutive nights in 2004, a feat he repeated in 2008 and 2012. His 2012 album 'Marseille' contained a 12-minute title track depicting the city’s social fractures. Saez performed at the 2015 Solidays festival to a crowd of 50,000, dedicating the set to Greek debt relief. He records all instruments on his studio albums, playing guitar, piano, bass, and drums. The French magazine Les Inrockuptibles labeled him 'the most important and irritating artist of his generation' in a 2008 profile. Saez has not granted a television interview since 2002, communicating solely through music, rare print media, and direct fan missives. His catalog comprises 11 studio albums, each a deliberate chapter in a dissident body of work.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Damien was born in 1977, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Damien Was Born
The biggest hits of 1977
#1 Movie
Star Wars
Best Picture
Annie Hall
#1 TV Show
Happy Days
Damien's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1977Born
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1982Started school
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1990Became a teenager
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1993Could drive
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1995Could vote
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
1998Turned 21
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2007Turned 30
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 40
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 49 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Sold out five consecutive nights at Paris's Zénith arena (capacity 6,900) in 2004, 2008, and 2012.
- Founded and operates the independent label Saez Music, retaining full artistic control since 1998.
- Released the ambitious triple album 'God Blast' in 2001, a critical and commercial risk that solidified his cult status.
Did You Know?
Saez is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist and produces all of his own records in his home studio.
He was born in Monaco to Spanish and Algerian parents and holds French nationality.
Saez named his 2008 album 'Varsovie - L'Alhambra - Paris' after three cities significant to his family's history.
“I sing against the machine, for those who have no voice.”
