[Roman]

Well, it's been a while; so here's some more (though it's at AF already)
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Had you given him any themes to follow?

No, I had not made any request of him, if not but a song about my daughter which became "L'effet". Even there, I had only tossed out the idea and left him be. I have known Jean even before I became pregnant. He's known me, therefore, before and after my daughter, he saw me live as a young girl, then with "l'effet-mère" (note: the mother effect). I think he really tried to be inspired by my life, even if I didn't want an autobiographical album. When one does not write one's songs oneself, it's difficult to describe one's feelings or to relate situations too intimate. I prefered to let the talent of the authors express itself around me.

Did you know of Jean Fauque's work for Alain Bashung, Jacques Dutronc, Johnny Hallyday, Marc Lavoine or Tchéky Karyo?

Yes, he has worked a lot with [male] singers, and wrote less for ladies (ie: Patricia Kaas on Dans ma chair, Carole Laure on Sentiments naturels, Isabelle Bouley on Mieux qu'ici bas, also Guesh Patti, Luz Casal, Romane Serda and Anggun) (note: In my flesh, Natural feelings, Better than here below) I knew the songs of Bashung and his recent lyrics for Vanessa Paradis. If I had wanted lyrics without asperity (roughness of manner or of temper), with simple words and immediately comprehensible expressions, I could have written them myself or I could have turned to someone else. In choosing Jean, I expected words that would carry me to a new dimention, but I conserved a certain magic and kept the mystical side of the double meanings of Mylène Farmer. I also feel as much at ease with Mylène's lyrics as with Jean's because each permits me to tell things while donning roles and none give to the public an unambiguous meaning. (note: oh, the inscrutable Alizée!) Their lyrics do not offer up everything and invite people to dream or to find the meanings they wish. When I listened to Bashung, I liked to here these oddities that no one understood the same way. Jean himself admitted to me to finding hidden meanings some months after having completed the lyrics. (note: oh yeah, I remember Alizée mentioning that before with regard to some more specific question. I think someone asked about Idéaliser and how it might have related to Mylène and Alizée said that Jean had no idea of that until later seeing how one might think that.)

Jean Fauque is also the narrator of the short film of Psychédélices (note: Spychédélices), available on the limited edition of the album. How did you come upon the idea for this bonus video?

I wanted to tell the story of this album in images and not on paper, which would have been less glamorous. I would have explained this disk in an interview, but I also wanted to have a filmed record of the tale of Psychédélices. And yet, who was the at the heart of it if not Jean Fauque? He wrote seven songs for it, was close to me since the beginning and I logically asked him to write this story. This short film summarizes me and summarizes my album with a nice story. A bit complicated, but a nice story!


Have you kept some unpublished texts (lyrics) or produced songs left behind due to time or place?

There were twelve songs on the song list of Psychédélices. An unpublished exists therefore, written by Jérémy and Jean. We didn't keep it because eleven was a good number and because it just didn't quite make it. It lacked the touch of magic that was in the others. I didn't want each composer to offer me ten songs and I pick from this repertoire. On the contrary, I preferred to take the time and focus on the melodies that pleased me and seemed to me indispensable, emphasize quality over quantity, and not find myself bothered about what to choose or regrette it afterward.


Were you surprised by some themes when you received the texts?

I was delighted by "Mademoiselle Juliette" which evoked my taste for the enchanting and my rather childish side. Everything that Jean has told in this song has called out to me. He knew how to turn Shakespeare's story around to his style to create from it another. "Fifty Sixty" was a godsend (note: as I find it rather amusing, I just wanted to point out the original words: "du pain béni" which means literally "blessed bread") for the fan of trends/style that I am, bringing together all the muses of style from the 50s into today. I am also very fond of "Lilly Town", a song crammed with references past and present. I still wonder how Jean was able to write it. He is terribly young in his head and his songs combine as much poetic images as characters anchored in their epoch or conversely, timeless. That's why a text by Jean Fauque is never at risk of becoming obsolete (demoded).

"Mademoiselle Juliette" is an effective song where the drum is precise and the first couplets form a grand introduction up to the refrain. Did it seem like a single since the beginning of recording?

It was obvious to make it the first single, because it seemed to me to be a good transition between what I had done before and my music today. Those who bought the album because they liked "Mademoiselle Juliette" shouldn't be surprised by the content. If I had released "Fifty Sixty", that would have been too obvious, if I had chosen "Décollage" for example, they would have expected an R'n'B album. A bit violent as a transition, pour le coup!


Have you taken a more detailed treatment in the production of this first single?

No, all the songs were treated with as much heart. "Mademoiselle Juliette" had not evolved much from the maquette (first version or mock-up) to the final version, even if the sound is bigger. On the other hand, "L'effet" had nothing to do with it's first draft. It resembled something Bertrand would do. It grooved and if I loved the melody, I was not comfortable with the arrangements. I was not used to singing this type of melody and I was a little shaky at the time of the recording. Otherwise, it was a song about my daughter where I described what happens between her and me. It was better to soften it like a lullaby rather than make it a rhythmic song. Thus, it closes the album well and has became a little jewel, one of my favorite songs of the album, if not my favorite.



Since "Morgane de toi", wishing welcome to his child became an obligatory passage (note: Morgane from/of you, a song by Renaud about his daughter, Lolita) ("Lola majeure", "Cést de l'or", "Millésime", "La bienvenue"...). (note: 'Lola, of age', 'This is golden', 'Vintage year', 'Welcome') You have spared us the effusions of the type "Mère, mon plus beau rôle" (note: Mother, my most beautiful role), without avoiding the tribute. Did you hesitate before recording "L'effet"?

Yes, quite a while because I did not want to fall into the cliché. However, my daughter was born at the same time that I started the album. She is an integral part of the history of the disk. When I started to make the maquettes, she was but a few weeks old! I told myself that I could dare this song, as I did not write it and her father had not composed it. Presented by Bertrand and Jean, I found that this would be an elegant song of which she will be proud at my age. After 20 years, it might be said, "But what were my parents thinking!?" (no no Alizée, come on! ) I hope that in discovering "L'effet" when she grows up, she will be happy and at least not embarrassed. (I think she'll love it.)

Well I'm not French and I don't know those references and thus don't have those prejudices and besides, like I'm sure all Alizée fans, I wish she had written that herself.

For "Fifty Sixty" and "Mademoiselle Juliette," you've followed the Farmer school and offered many remixes. As usual?

No, it's an excercise that I am called to do and it's always fun to find different versions. After all, we give an a cappella to the remixers who imagine their own title. I have left it since the beginning. (note: she says, but it seems like I've heard her singing differently on different remixes suggesting a different recording. Do you think she did not go back to the studio later to record her voice again (and otherwise maybe actually recorded the different style in the same sessions as the original song)?) While we're at it, we'll keep this tradition. (note: Well, yeah, I guess. If it's between that and no extra songs, then sure. It might be nice to just have more original songs and a very few if any remixes, but as she suggests, this is a way to get more people working in parallel sort of. So, I guess it's easier to do the remixes. I think it would make sense to go around and do more performances of all her songs and try more as singles and then those that have the best response get more attention, like remixes. But that's a lot more work of course. If not that, then how about do some market studies to decide on remixes? Maybe that's both too much work and too impersonal and taking the artist out of the picture so her music is not so much hers. Then again, if it made her more successful, then she'd have more ability to spread her music and profit by it. DON'T EVER UNDERESTIMATE GOOD MARKETING! It is what makes things happen. It is why any product is sold! As some guys talking about inventions were saying, you can have the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, it won't sell. Of course, you must be ready to sell it for that to be of benefit too. You know what I'm talking about. I wish I had the aptitude for sales and marketing. I'd have a lot more options in any case.)

In a music industry that has so changed over the course of a decade, do you still believe in this proliferation of formats?

I am discreet about what affects my private life, because it has been to my benefit and I don't understand those who expose themselves more than makes sense to do. (note: unless I misunderstood, it sounds like she's lumping in her business decisions with her "private life" and not wanting to give away too much of her opinion, perhaps because it has to do with barganing. If so, I kind of wonder why she doesn't just say, that has to do with business decisions that I don't want to say too much about.) However, as long as it's about the music, I am for giving the maximum. This time, I actually made available on my myspace the a cappella of "Fifty Sixty". I received an enormous amount of mail from people who asked me for them and wish to remix my songs. It was impossible to make contact with each of them; so, I opted for this solution. Even though, I was put off before the release of my disk by "Fifty Sixty" being put online on the Internet, even though the song was neither mixed nor mastered.

Up to that, the most minimal of your remixes was "Moi... Lolita" piano version...

Yes, most of the remixes were destined for clubs and thus, especially dance. Excepting a version of "J'en ai marre" by DJ Abdel who was inspired by the lounge atmosphere of Costes. (note: apparently Hotel Costes: http://goparis.about.com/od/nightlif...otelCostes.htm)

Even though you have put your confidence in Julien Rotterman and Chainsaw for your return video, can you tell us more about the video that accompanies "Fifty Sixty"?

I've dreamed for a long time of a video in black and white with very colorful graphics, that's one thing done! I've had the chance to meet artists who knew how to decline the world of fashion and add something to this song, by an animation at the same time trendy and accessible.

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note: text in orange designates notably tenuous translation

The guitare of the Londoner Steve Crittall on "Fifty Sixty" is reminiscent of Chris Stein of Blondie, and the scenery of this song plunges us into the Warhol years in evoking Nico, Lou Reed, or The Velvet [Underground]. Is this a period that interests you? (note: my uncle seems to be rather perceptive. He got me a memoire book by Danny Goldberg, long time rock fan and music industry exec., who in the recent chapter I'm reading, as I recall, mentions having known Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground and generally being all involved in that whole scene. He has been all over the music business, from covering Woodstock as a rock reporter to working with Led Zepplin and whatever else you can imagine including having worked with Madonna by the way. His book is called Bumping into Geniuses. Seems like Alizée has met a few.)

I like the pop when it rocks. I admire Andy Warhol at lot, even if I do not pretend to know all of his works. I recognize myself in that which his painting sets free. In addition, I had the chance to the stylist Maripol who was my adviser on "Moi... Lolita", "J'en ai marre" and worked on my concerts. I knew her through Mylène who frequently called on her services. (i.e.: notably on the videos "California", "Souviens-toi du jour" (Remember the day)). I learned more about her and quickly came to know that she was the stylist of Madonna in the 80s. On the internet, one can easily find an interview where she asks her some questions in her New York shop. (note: Does that remind you of anything? More interesting Maripol info: http://www.madonnatribe.com/idol/maripol.htm) In other videos, one can see her with Blondie. Maripol gave me some jewelry worn by Madonna and she represents the link with this artist whom I admire. I am proud to know this woman who has experienced such incredible things and who has retained a great simplicity.

Maripol was one of the icons of the eighties hype with Madonna, Kevin Donovan, Kenny Scharf, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Edo Bertoglio and Andy Warhol. Another coincidence, she is also... the sister of Jean Fauque!

When I learned of their parental link, I could not believe the world was so small! I understood "Fifty Sixty" differently. The song was written when I knew that they were brother and sister. One evening, we were dining together at the house, Maripol, Jean, Jérémy and me, and she recounted for us some anecdotes of the era. At that moment, I really realized it was about my song. The life of these men and women, it was "Fifty Sixty". Jean was inspired by everything that he had lived and that Maripol had told him about this New York wildlife. I was pleased to have recorded a song which, unwittingly, I had known she who inspired it. Again this morning, I received a message from Maripol who asked me if I thought about her with the release of "Fifty Sixty".
(unfortunately, I wouldn't expect that many people in Alizée's age group have any idea about all this stuff. It's all beyond me. I've learned more about it in the last year because of Alizée than I knew before that. Alizée is turning out to be an interesting source of cultural information, but does it resonate with anyone who would be her audience? Maybe they learn too and that brings her more substance. But, I can see why she would expect new fans and lament the idea that the public will brook no significant change in this industry.)

Live, you sing the musical bridge of "Fifty Sixty" through a megaphone. This was the case in the studio?

Yes, I recorded it with a megaphone. Nothing has been tampered with on my voice. Jérémy and Sylvain were very inspired in the production and gave coherence to this album's sound.


Jérémy joined with the services of Norscq for the programming. How did you meet this figure of the electro underground from the 80s?

Norscq was part of the greater family of the Studio Juno. He knew Sylvain Carpentier well and it is thus that had the chance to work with him. When I heard my parts before and after his intervention, the difference was so obvious that I understood everything that he could bring to my universe.

Have you been listening since the records of The Grief or his own Lavatronic? (note: http://the.grief.free.fr/ http://www.norscq.org/ Wow. Alizée likes some off the wall stuff apparently.)

Yes, of course. I am happy that he agreed to participate on this album. Everyone we thought of was delighted to construct it with us from the beginning, we were convinced that they never would be. Norscq, Daniel Darc, Bertrand Burgalat, Jean Fauque ... I believed them to be well above average and I thought that they would not waste their talent with a little girl like me. (note: Well, Alizée, was so delightful and loved by so many.) I had been reassured of meeting caring and talented people. Sometimes, artists refuse something on pre-judgement. Because one did this, one can not do that... (note: I think she's saying that an artist that has done one kind of work sometimes feels like they can't change and do something else. So, maybe they wouldn't work with her because she and they had done different kind of work.)

Today, do you find it unfair that some think that Psychédélices is powered by a huge machinery, while it is much more independent then some disks released on obscur labels and passing as rebellious?

People don't have time to learn about the history that surrounds this album, I can not wish it of them. I wish only that the public understand that this disk is honest, and that it was created naturally and with sincerity. Certainly, it's a luxury to be able to produces one's album independently, but the real reward is to have been able to meet people one admires. I am the living proof that one can meet the artists that hear you. (note: I thought she was going to say: meet the artists one hears, but this translation is correct. So, she's saying that if one creates music it will allow one to meet other musical artists?)

"Fifty Sixty" evokes the connection with image. The snapshots of your previous albums were made by the likes of Laurent Boutonnat, Philippe Bouley and Robin. Which session are you most proud of?

Probably the last, for the cover of Psychédélices, conducted with Nathalie Canguilhem. I had trouble finding a photographer who would translate the album well. I am a girl who breathes the joy of living, even if Daniel Darc writes me some rather somber songs. Melancholy, it's not in my nature. I was shown what Nathalie did for the magazine Wad, and I was lured by the pop-ness, flashy and very American treatment of the image. She has a lot of ideas and I would like to continue to work with her, why not for a video. She succeeded in fashioning the image of so many opposing artists (i.e.: Seyfu, Asyl, IAM, Keziah Jones, Étienne Daho...), notably with her contribution to the video "The Songs That We Sing" of Charlotte Gainsbourg and some months later that of Mokobé! I love these [all-rounders] who know how to do everything and adapt to everything. It was one of the best of my photographic experiences.

Are you a great admirer of Scorsese for having titled a song "Mon taxi driver"?

[font=Verdana]No, this music was composed one night, well in advance of the text being written. It became obvious for Jean to propose that text. "Mon taxi driver" is the song that most approaches what I did with Laurent Boutonnat, in terms of sensuality and evanescence... (note: I'll say! Interesting that she says Laurent though they were talking about lyrics. What do you think she meant?

The two songs written by Daniel Darc, "Jamais plus" and "Lonely list", reveal a darker side of your personality...

I went to one of his concerts at the Plan (note: http://www.leplan.com/) and I always thought that Crèvecœur is one of the finest albums in recent years. (note: see, this is what Alizée likes; so there you go.) I knew it's author Frédéric Lo, who had to speak to him about me. He agreed to write me the first song, "Jamais plus". I found it great to summon thanks to him the spirit of the 80s today! I dared not ask of him a second, and Fred and Daniel thought of another title themselves that I ended up recording and that became "Lonley list", with a very German sound. Incidentally, I rerecorded the whole song at the Studio Plus XXX because we had an issue with the hard drive, and it had disappeared from our session. (note: *sigh* to be a musical engineer... for Alizée.)

Ok, someone go listen to Crèvecœur and say something about it.
And post the Nathalie Canguilhem photos that Alizée is talking about. Was that the first photoshoot?