With “The Return of Beautiful Days” carried by Étienne Daho and Jean-Louis Piérot, Vanessa Paradis delivers an album steeped in a sixties soul aesthetic. Spirit that drives the tour which has just started and will notably include the festivals La Nuit de l'Erdre (July 2), Cognac Blues Passions (July 3) and Beauregard (July 5)…
In his song “Ouverture” on the album “Body and Arms”, Étienne Daho wrote “It is not chance, it is meetings, not a coincidence”. These words clearly characterize your relationship which led to the development of your new record, right?
There's a lot of stuff in your question but it's true! Indeed Étienne Daho and Jean-Louis Piérot composed this song as a record opening song. It evokes the precious meetings, the reunions, the waiting, the knowledge of each other. In fact I'm not going to explain the text, I don't like explaining them, it makes it less universal perhaps. I find that everyone must make their own story from a text.
But still! This “Ardent Heart” which evokes the relativity of space and time which goes beyond the intensity of feelings, is overwhelming…
Yes of course, there is something that is very strong and very moving. It's quite impressive that he is so powerful with so few words, in fact. And then, this space which is in the song and also in the music, means that the words are also very highlighted. The first sentences “An ardent heart which has grasped the elusive, the magic of the inevitable” are from Étienne who is too strong, but the ones you mention are my little part! In fact, for the preparation of this record, some songs were composed before we really started working and others that we did together. I simply said to Étienne “I don’t know what we’re going to do, but we’re going to need at least two dancing songs!” » I wanted songs that danced and even if on stage there are no dancers, no choreography, the music always makes me dance! Well ok, it's a very broad framework because there is dance and dance, but that's also why we spent ten months making this record, pre-producing it, Jean-Louis, Étienne and me, before meeting the musicians in the studio.
And at the same time it’s the record of first times! An entire disc of twelve songs with Étienne Daho, first time in the Abbey Road and Motorbass studios, the celebration of love from the first moment…
In fact it is perhaps due to our friendship with Étienne which has lasted for more than 30 years. We talk a lot. He's someone I'm intimate with so it's easier to tell things that are a little more intimate to make them universal in the text. And then, it's not about singing about a diary, it's about talking about universal things because the subjects that I address are universal, they resemble subjects that concern most people. Apart from those who are much less born than us, who are in ravaged countries, that's really something else. But when life is normal, we all really tend towards that, towards love, and even in countries at war of course.
How do you adapt such an album on stage, what arrangements have you planned for the current tour?
We find the musicians of the record, that is to say Jean-Louis Piérot on keyboards and musical direction, Marcello Giuliani on bass, Colin Russeil on drums and François Poggio on guitar. These are musicians who have always played with Étienne and among others since they play with lots of other people but they also recorded the record with us. And in addition there is Adelaïde Songeons on trombone, Olena Powichroski on saxophone, and Natascha Rogers on percussion. And everyone sings too, everyone does backing vocals! So I'm amazed, it's quite magical to sing with these people.
And “varnished” to have collaborated with Serge Gainsbourg, Lenny Kravitz, -M-, Benjamin Biolay…
Yes, but these collaborations didn't fall from the sky; I went looking for them. But, perhaps “varnished” they say “yes”, it’s true! (laughs) I often talk about luck but this time, it's work and it's my work which, certainly I hope, has convinced people to join my projects.
The work was therefore also intense with Étienne but, in the studio, you took particular pleasure because it is a place that you consider as a cocoon I believe…
Exactly. It is a very protected place for creation, protected from anyone's gaze and judgment. So we feel free from everything, from making mistakes, from succeeding, from searching. And then, there is really something magical because the songs are prepared, pre-produced for months and the fact of recording them with real instruments changes everything, because our preproduction is not that of synthesizers and computers.
Also magical to find yourself with 27 musicians at Abbey Road?
I had never been there but obviously being in the studio where the Beatles and George Martin recorded was crazy! The studio is in its original state, it has not changed and if you look for photos you will see, we were in the same decor, with the same elements! So that was huge but what also played a role was the journey, taking the train, going through the tunnel, arriving in London then at Abbey Road, all that was thrilling. And what added enormously to my emotion was that it was the end of the recording. All the instruments had been recorded and we had saved Abbey Road for last, to record the strings, the ones I had heard in synthetic form for months. And to find myself there, with these great musicians recording, it was truly beautiful. It was very strong.
The reissue of your albums on vinyl must touch you…
It's really cool because it's really the most beautiful way to listen to music. If you close your eyes you almost have the impression that the musicians are there. I am very happy that my records are being released on vinyl.
And then the cinema?!
I shot for the second time with Yann Gonzalez who is a director that I admire, the film “I will forget your name” which is coming out soon is very close to my heart.
Album “The return of beautiful days” by Vanessa Paradis (Barclay) and single “Les épines du coeur” (limited edition, released April 24). And vinyl reissue of the albums “Les Sources”, “Love Songs”, “Divinidylle”, “Bliss”, “Vanessa Paradis”, “Variations on the same theme” and “M&J”.
You can also consult our interview with Vanessa Paradis via our reader below:
