I didn't see this interview out here already so, here is my translation. You will notice some of my own comments in there, unlabeled except by parentheses. I hope you can figure it out.
(Is there any kind of text editor I can use that will actually keep formatting when I copy and paste here without all kinds of extra junk that just messes things up?):
Sylvain
Carpentier
THE THIRD MAN OF PSYCHÉDÉLICES
(after Jean Fauque and Jérémy Châtelain of course)
Friend of the couple and inseparable from Jérémy in the studio, meeting with the co-producer of the bulk of Psychédélices.
Were you a musician before becoming a sound engineer or is all the time spent in studios that lead you to take up guitar?
I have been making music since my younger years and I started classical guitar at a school of music at eight years old. Like many, I made up a part of various groups in junior high and high school (approximate for collège and lycée). We touched a bit on everything: the blues, pop, rock… I felt more attracted to rock and I took up arms with the electric guitar. When it was necessary to chose what to study, I was rather inclined toward a scientific field of study and liked jobs in the sound field. I started with a classic curriculum at the university which I quickly abandoned to join SAE of Aubervilliers (
http://www.sae-france.fr/sae_contact.php ), which made available an education in the sound trades. In a year and a half, I obtained by diploma in the specialty of Audio Engineer, and I started internships in the Parisian studios. I served a brief stint at the Acousti studios, and a longer one at Twin Studios, over by the Porte de la Muette, where I observed how to comport myself during a session.
Do you consider your first steps as a professional to have been at the studio Plus XXX?
Yes, I have crossed paths with some international big shots (pointure is the word used which just means person who excels in a discipline) and I made the acquaintance of two people who have been particularly influential in the development of my path. I first met Téo Miller, a director who came to do mixing for a Georges Brassens cover album, Les Oiseaux de passage (something like, the birds who pass by or that one sees on the way) and who was really formed (educated) at an English school of sound. The British do not hesitate to invest themselves, to get their hands dirty, to test any idea that seems good, without precedent. I became his assistant and worked with Damien Saez, who had invested the studio towards work on the models which would become God Blesse (a play on words since blesse with an e at the end is a conjugation of the word blesser which means to injure). Since then, I have often worked jointly with Saez. And with Téo, we got back together along with a group of girls, Subway, for their album Rien ne se voit (nothing is obvious(?)) in 2003. As for my second important encounter, it is with another director (or might mean producer in this context), Mitch Olivier, who has recorded much hip-hop and also directed/produced many of the albums of big names in French music like Renaud and Rita Mitsouko.
It’s in working with Mitch Olivier that you met Jérémy Châtelain, no?
No, I knew Jérémy before Mitch produced his second album. Actually, I met him by way of a friend who was the assistant of his artistic director at Mercury. The recording of his first album was made a bit too quickly for his liking and he had wanted to remake the vocal takes for the release of a new single (i.e.: “J’aimerai” (I will love (?))). I think he liked my involvement, the manner with which I had conducted the session and the ideas that I had imagined for giving a little boost to the song. Following this session, we never split up.
Did you have time on Variétés françaises to work together?
No, I had followed his project since his maquettes (perhaps one could call this: mock-ups before setting out to produce the final version), but I didn’t produce that album and therefore, I was not involved in the artistic choices. It’s during this period that we met Jean Fauque. We passed an unforgettable moment that peeled us an incredible banana [smiles]! (French expression) Our first real project en duo is Alizée’s album.
Was it a given that you should be part of the recording of Psychédélices?
When we put up our studio, I don’t think Jérémy imagined that we would produce Alizée’s album together. We tested our set-up and set out vigorously (?) to produce a few pieces. Of this initial material, we haven’t saved anything, neither for Jérémy nor for Alizée. When Jérém’ started to write for her, the idea germinated to integrate me into the team.
How would you define your duality of producers?
We have learned to be more efficient. Today, we know exactly who does what. Jérémy is more centered on the rhythms, me on the guitars. He has references in hip-hop and variété française (French variety, a common classification of various French music), while my references are more rock, generally speaking. He influences me, I influence him and we progress together. (sounds like a really great way to work) For Psychédélices, he must have had six or seven pieces that he had piano maquettes of, with only a few programs (not sure what that means). He had me listen to them and we went to work immediately. At the beginning, we thought to only produce half of the album. After the withdrawal of certain other participants (Indochine? I’m always looking for what happened there, and who else?), we got back together with joy to produce more songs than initially expected. We first tackled “ Mon amour insulaire “, a very rockish song (dang! I want to hear it!) that we ultimately did not complete. We were fumbling about still as to the color of the album at that time, and resisting the mixing process (the song was hard to put together in mixing), this song was a bit below the others. (So, their first song didn’t work out, but they eventually got it together.)
How did Alizée intervene into the midst of your duo?
She and Jérémy talked a lot amongst themselves. That helps, to be a couple! She never hesitated to tell us with her words what she wished to hear on this or that song, or what color she imagined. Regularly, we would have her hear our work. The objective was to mix together the synthetic with the organic, to obtain an eighties sound, into the new-wave movement while adding to it a touch of modernity. In the course of time, we also came to have the desire of a more urban side, which is felt perhaps less since the idea came to us later. (That’s where Oxmo Puccino, for example, came in – right at the end of the album.)
Did you use vintage instruments to recreate an 80s atmosphere?
We worked with our own material and the back line of the Juno studio, but also some time mixing at the studio Relief where we added rhythm boxes (synthetic drum machine) and synths very much in the eighties style for a final result all the more homogeneous. I passed an enormous amount of time in studio with Jérém’, without ever taking account of the hours, but I must admit all the same to have passed some excellent moments at studio Relief. We got together for three weeks in the Swiss country-side, in total independence, very far from Paris, very far from everyone, to discover the codes and customs of our Swiss friends. [laughs]! We slept in the studio and really broke out of our normal selves. (?) Some great encounters were made there, notably the team of the producer Nellson with whom we worked on “Par Les Paupières”, but also Rukisa who became the personal assistant of Alizée, and a talented producer of music videos who may very well work with her in the near future…
The recording, did it go without a hitch?
I have no memory of having struggled with any parts. In general with Jérémy, one listens to a piece a lot before starting and once the work commences, one lets oneself be guided by the spirit of the piece and that which inspires us. We are still young producers. The freshness of youth and naïveté to believe that when one heads off in a direction it will necessarily be good remains with us [laughs]! For my part, I played the guitar on the majority of the songs. And it was a first, even if I had already recorded some guitars with indy (independent) groups.
When I recorded the self-productions of my friends in Normandie, for example, I always had a little featuring [laughs]! Not necessarily on the guitar, however!
Have you had the pleasure of recording Alizée’s voice?
It is a pleasure to record it. Like many, she had a little apprehension at the moment of final takes for the voice recordings, but once in the pool (approximate figurative translation) she was very professional.
Did you sense any kind of pressure on Jérémy’s shoulders?
During the recording, we didn’t feel any pressure. We launched ourselves into this adventure without thinking about the extent of the work or the fact that it was an important album for Alizée. If Jérém’ was feeling stress, he never made me feel it, even when we had some doubts. The pressure was the desire that the album please and that it fit the style of the period (as was discussed, this should mean an 80s style I suppose).
What have you learned from the encounters from this album?
With each new encounter, one learns from the person one has before one, from their influences, or their manner of work. For a lover of sound like me, this recording experience was a good school. In this case, I have had the delight to meet Bertrand Burgalat who, in addition to being a super musician, is an adorable man. As for Nellson, who was more a part of the desires of Jérém’ for his total US hip-hop culture, to see him work enriched my experience. I was also glad to come across the guitarist Steve Critall who recommended Téo Miller and Norscq to me, who I knew a bit by chance and who knew how to fiddle with the sounds like we would never have been able to do ourselves. Finally, even if Jérémy and I have learned music theory and play guitar and piano, Daniel Zimmerman brought us his experience of the conservatory and the comfort of seeing scores for sets of strings written.
The «programmations» of "Psychédélices" evoke certain albums of Björk. You met her when you were an assistant at the Plus XXX studios…
Well, more like crossed paths, to tell the truth. She spent some hours checking a video for the album Vespertine. She is an artist whom I respect, often at the forefront in terms of audio textures.
Of which song are you most proud?
I am very attached to “Par Les Paupières”. This one was made the quickest and last. Therefore, it’s the one I heard the least number of times and that which I re-listen to the most. Three of us had a hand in doing the mixing and I really like what came out of this song.
How are the rehearsals of Alizée’s coming concerts going, which you debuted the 21st of last April? (21st of April 2008? I don’t know what he’s talking about.)
The group which will accompany Alizée is a mixture of new faces and of people we know well! Thomas Saez will be on bass. He participated on Alizée’s album and has followed Jérémy since Jérémy’s first tour. On the drums, one of [his?] friends was chosen, Jérôme. On guitar, there will be Pascal Rode, who recorded the two songs from Fred Lo and Daniel Darc. As for me, I will play some guitar and a bit of keyboard. There will also be a DJ on the turn-tables to launch sequences. We started with the freshest tracks of Psychédélices. The challenge now is to make the songs of her first albums work. One starts gently in order to then attack next a period where one will need to be more creative! (Start with the easy stuff?)
This will be your first tour?
Yes. I did do some concerts before really starting to work at Plus XXX as an assistant, but never went on a tour of this magnitude.
Do you have other production projects with Jérémy?
We have some projects together, but I would prefer not to talk about them since nothing has been release about them yet. However, we also continue to work each in his own place. This enables us to meet with new ideas, new inclinations and more motivation!