Instant-mag2 interview, biography, photos

[Roman]

pages 12-15 are not part of the interview and not included here

If you became a star in Japan, it's also because the country suits you. You care particularly for mangas and the new technologies, no?

Yes, I am passionate about informatics [computerized stuff] and Japanese animations. I've always liked them and when I disembarked for Tokyo, having three hours in fifteen days for shopping (note: that sucks) it was necessary to choose between clothes, mangas and gadgets. I was in front of a sort of Eurodisney times a thousand! I like the manga "Doctor Slump", a Japanese comic (ie: from Akira Toriyama) not so well known in France. Other than that, I've seen all the "Sailor Moon", "Dragon Ball" and "Nicky Larson". One does not start over. I am a girl of the 80s and of the Dorothée generation (note: apparently referring to the tv show Club Dorothée).

80s generation: there's nothing better to describe the sound of Psychedelices, so very referential of the eighties. Which are the parts reminiscient of childhood or discovered more recently?

I love the artistic expressions that were born in the 80s. In music, I have the impression that one had more fun (note: me too) and that it was one of the most interesting periods in terms of sound research. Obviously, there are good and bad sides to the 80s. The objective of my side was to not trade in the cheap or the "ready-to-sing". I did not want to imitate and I wanted a sound at the same time young and modern. I think we came to sprinkle the album with references and to work as we went more than being in well defined atmospheres according to the songs. Jérémy (i.e. Jérémy Châtelain, composer and director of the majority of Psychédélices, her husband and the father of her daughter) and the musicians were delighted and wondered often how their predessesors obtained certain sounds. That was fun to find old machines to bring back the time. We all have vague memories of songs rooted in in us that our parents listened to. Furthermore, I have been a great admirer of Madonna since those years of True Blue and Like a Prayer.

Yes, I in particular had the experience several years back when I got a record player and a bunch of records that my parents had back in the 70's or so. Listening to certain songs for the first time in many many years instantly brought back a memory of listening to that from an 8 track casette tape in my father's truck. I have lived through that experience of rediscovering all that music that I loved from my early childhood even before I developed musical tastes of my own. I still like some of it, though I haven't really listened to it for quite some time. The record player is defunct and I haven't bought CD versions of all of it. Oh well, at some point one must move on I suppose. Alizée will change yet again and her music if she makes it will be different yet again. It will be great to find what she has to offer next.

Ok, I'm a bit older than Alizée, but I remember me and my sister listening to Madonna when I was a little kid – certainly not my parents music. Those were the days of Like a Virgin.

You have frequently revisted Madonna on television, with "La isla bonita" in a broadcast that was dedicated to her in June 2003, and "Hung Up" on the 5th of last April for the release of the film Disco. Whenever there is a possibility, you jump at the chance?

It was happenstance for that last broadcast. I was invited to participate there and we needed a hit to reprise. I went in search of a bit of disco not too dated, not too ridiculous and in good taste. Finally, when "Hung Up" was brought up, I did not hesitate. I remain objective and I don't like all of her work. It was not all successful, but she tried everything and she's still there today! I admire the manner in which she has managed her career and brought the public to love her and follow her, whatever her mistakes. (note: interesting for her to say that...) Her shows are also very impressive and even if these are concerts I appreciate less, they gave me a lot to dream about when I was younger. (note: something doesn't seem right in that translation.)

To last, there are two schools: the European school as of Mylène Farmer – carve out a niche and explore fetishized themes - and the American school as of Madonna - to reinvent onself with each album. Which strategy seems to you the most effective or the most interesting artistically?

I don't think there is a strategy to adopt or a recipe, otherwise people would know about it! It suffices to try to have fun while making the music, while living new experiences and in making things that resemble us at the time one makes them. (note: you go girl )

As you presented to us in 2000 Gourmandises, Madonna pays also in sweets with Hard Candy. You have inserted a few measures of "Music" in "Moi... Lolita" during your latest performances, and in a remix of "Mademoiselle Juliette", one guesses from Nelly Furtado. Are you taking up the principal of live bootleg?

In concert, I wish to break out and have people be amused and surprised by the mixes. This also allows me to show the public that "Moi... Lolita" may have been a hit, it remains nevertheless a song. (note: not sure about those sentences.) I'm far from saying that it's easy to compose, but for me who is not a musician and know only to express what I want, it is reassuring to see that by using the same arrangements we can make tens of different songs.

Yes, it's cool how many versions of her earlier songs were made and even MJ and FS. Some of the remix music and vocals are really cool. It's funny how I didn't really care for remixes until I found Alizée. I guess because I never cared that much even if I have listened to other music as much (for a while).

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Do you already have ideas of reprises for your concerts?

I am going to look into the repertoire of Blondie. I don't know how many reprises I will do because I've never done it live. This will be an opportunity for my musicians and me to enjoy ourselves even more.

Would you say that you have suffered a show too micro-managed (note: or perhaps one should say too constrained to every detail) during your last tour?

That tour remains an unforgettable memory. As for my next show, I would like it fully as precise as the old one, but a tiny bit more relaxed actually [laughs] ! (note: well, we saw the results and one can see here anyway that she really did mean a less vigorous or I should say rigorous concert, hense the laugh of understatement. I guess those 2003 concerts were some really serious work.)

What was the soundtrack for the creation of Psychédélices?

I listened to Gorillaz, Mike and Daft Punk, but the album most that has turned the most on my turntable is Hot Fuss from The Killers. (note: I want to sing Mr. Brightside for Alizée.) There it is, the sound that I like and one of the most obvious references during the recording of my new album. We often listened to "Somebody told me" (note: I kinda like that song, but the actual lyrics drive me a little crazy because they are so bizarre. That's one song for which I wish I did not understand English.) and also some pieces of Björk and Blondie.

In addition to the eighties, you evoked the golden age of Simon & Garfunkel. What song inspired you from this duo?

My favorite song is "The sound of silence". It reminds me a lot of my childhood because my parents frequently listened to it in the car. (they should have been listening to Crosby, Stills and Nash or America - Gerry Beckley singing Sarah. Or yeah, in the car Seals & Crofts' Hummingbird. Those guys had such great harmony singing together and so captured the hippie culture at the time, that my parents were into. Go on YouTube and listen to that song and you'll know my early childhood. I haven't thought about that stuff much in a long time, until Alizée went and brought it up.)

On 17 January 2004, you completed your tour at the Zénith of Paris. How did you feel after having returned to your dressing-room?

I was first very proud of having being able to close my tour through the Zénith, but I knew it was time to take a break after four years of madness. During my period of rest, I started to reflect on what I wanted to do musically. The three of us (with Mylène and Laurent) talked about it and decided to separate. (note: it wasn't until over a year after the end of those concerts that it was sort of officially announced that they had separated and of course being 2005 everyone knew Alizée was pregnant by then. Seems like it was not an easy or quick decision to make.) I wanted to reach out to new music and take my flight!

You have often described this depart as that of a child who has left the family bosom at the age of eighteen years. When one emancipates oneself, it is also done in opposition. You have learned a lot, but what have you wanted to unlearn?

Frankly, not much! This is the best school there is! (note: I guess they're just never going to get her to say it. You know what I mean.)

The months that followed, were they a period of rest or reconstruction?

Of rest of course, but mostly of reflexion! I had some not bad ideas and desires for this third album. I started to work very quickly after the birth of my daughter, to lose the least time possible.

After that, you drew up with Jérémy a sort of ideal list of artists with whom you wished to work. Nicola Sirkis had hinted at a press conference at the Eiffel Tower that you were in contact. Was there any unpublished material born of this meeting?

I like what Indochine has done, particularly since Oli de Sat joined the group. We met, but ultimately it was not done... first for questions of planning and also for a question of feeling. I march to the beat of my heart and humanity. When it doesn't happen, I let it go. (note: She does what she loves and feels right?
I had previously read something about that Indochine had to promote their own album and didn't have time or something. Looks to me like it just got too complicated dealing with a big and busy band like that. When it wasn't working out, she gave up on it? :-( What can I say but that they were supposed to take care of Alizée better than that. But, I think also her point is that she does not dwell on it, but rather moves on to the next thing. I guess if that kind of attitude is what allows her to be happy, then she is successful.)

The most attentive will have noticed in the booklet of Psychédélices a note for Jean-Pierre Pilot and Olivier Schultheis, loyal collaborators of Zazie. Did they propose some compositions for you?

No, they are just friends since Jean-Pierre did the preproduction for Variétés françaises, Jérémy's second album. We saw them a lot and these thanks were an opportunity to show all who had surrounded us since the beginning.

Most of the lyrics in the album were written by Jean Fauque, like the majority of the music, Jérémy Chatelain. How did they function together?

Everything unfolded in parallel. I asked Jean to participate in this disk almost three years ago while explaining to him why I wanted to work with him. I hoped that he would write me one or two songs. Eventually he made for me many more. For his part, Jérémy started to compose, as is his custom, some random melodies from inspiration. Some were definitely not for me, such was just the daily work of a composer. I loved the music that became "Fifty Sixty" and I asked him if he really wanted to save it for me and that it be the first written for my album. I am pretty stubborn and I decided to give this melody to Jean Fauque for him to write a song.

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[Ruroshen]

Tech nerd, check. Manga/anime geek, check. Fan of 80's retro pop, check. Loves Simon & Garfunkel, check.

It's nice to know that Lili and I would have an abundance of things to geek out about with each other, if we could manage to get past that pesky language barrier thing.

Thanks again for this, Roman. I was grinning ear to ear as I read this while stuck at work, today.

[Roman]

Originally Posted by Ruroshen

Tech nerd, check. Manga/anime geek, check. Fan of 80's retro pop, check. Loves Simon & Garfunkel, check.

It's nice to know that Lili and I would have an abundance of things to geek out about with each other, if we could manage to get past that pesky language barrier thing.

Thanks again for this, Roman. I was grinning ear to ear as I read this while stuck at work, today.

Well, can't help much with talking, but if you can get Lili to write to you, I'll mediate.

[edgar93]

Hmm, I dislike anime and manga .
Thanks a lot Roman for the translations, and hey, at least we didn´t turn this into a Dragon Ball thread

[Rev]

Thanks again Roman for the continuing translation.

I will admit I'm not familiar with the Killers (at least I never put their name to the songs I heard). I'll have to go listen.

[mavsluver41]

Roman, you are my hero . I feel like a newbie again, scouring AF and hungrily learning all I can about this mysterious woman .

Originally Posted by Rev

I will admit I'm not familiar with the Killers (at least I never put their name to the songs I heard). I'll have to go listen.

Hmmm, they're all right. I think these are their only passable songs:

Human

When We Were Young

Somebody Told Me (ignore the lyrics, they're mindless drivel)

[Rev]

Originally Posted by mavsluver41

Roman, you are my hero . I feel like a newbie again, scouring AF and hungrily learning all I can about this mysterious woman .



Hmmm, they're all right. I think these are their only passable songs:

Human

When We Were Young

Somebody Told Me (ignore the lyrics, they're mindless drivel)

Thanks mav.

I immediately recognized the singers voice. I think I've heard "Human" 2 or 3 times in the last week.

I listened to:
Human
When We Were Young
Romeo and Juliet
Read My Mind
Somebody Told Me
(ordered from least favorite to most favorite)


They write good music (and the lyrics are simply part of the music). Every tune was catchy. It seems fairly obvious that the music probably comes first, followed by lyrics that are fit into the music.

The lyrics on the other hand are unimpressive, going from downright simple and sometimes verging on nonsense, to OK.

I'm guessing that they write their songs based on an overall performance perspective - it is the overall feeling of the song that matters, not any component.

I can see why Alizée might like them (In fact, I wonder if Romeo & Juliet was a possible partial inspiration for her song MJ). They are very listenable, and "nice," - kind of like her.

[Roman]

Well, it's been a while; so here's some more (though it's at AF already)
page 20 is a photo

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?

[Ben]

Originally Posted by Roman

Ok, someone go listen to Crèvecœur and say something about it.

Thanks again Roman! Sorry, I haven't had time to read it all yet, but noticed this while skimming through. My French teacher in Paris introduced us to this album when she used the song Mes Amis Tour A Tour (which musically quotes You Really Got Me by The Kinks) in one of her lessons. I have the disc in my collection and really like it.

[Roman]

Is it usually easy for you to let bygones be bygones?

When it's necessary to turn the page, I know how to turn it. On the other hand, I'm not a person who holds grudges. If I have had problems with this or that person, I quickly forget and I easily tell myself that there is a statute of limitations. Even if sometimes, that plays out badly for me. (♪Même si on s'est joué des mauvais tours,
Jamais j'oublierais comme tu m'as aimé.♪) (It's odd how I can understand something, but not think of a good phrase for it in English, even though I'd probably use the phrase I eventually find if the thought originated with me; like when RMJ asked me for the word that meant the bottom part of a tree left over after it's cut down and I couldn't think of what he was talking about, yet I certainly know what a stump is. So, it's not even as easy as understanding something to translate it. (Though sometimes I think I understand it and then figure out I was wrong at first.) It speaks something interesting to how language works in the mind. One must learn the language "as is" to know it, not by translating. That is, one must learn the feeling of using the phrase "passer l'éponge" rather than trying to memorize the translation of "let bygones be bygones" or "wipe the slate clean", which is the dictionary translation.)

The smile and the sadness pell-mell. There's the theme of the song "Psychédélices", an electronic ballad that is not without a reminder of Björk from the Matmos period. Are you therefore between delights and delirium?

Jean wrote the most poetic song of the album. I admit that I have my access to melancholy, but I'm not like that! It is the eternal question of paradox. I do not escape the rule. I have come to tears of laughter and juggling roles. The cover of my album is indicative of these two Alizées: the young woman sitting sagely who assumes her new responsibilities. The second still a child, who does not hesitate to chomp into a huge cream cake. (note: ça me fait rire or LOL)

"Pschédélices" or "Idéaliser" make, however, allusion to rude awakenings and a few disillusions...

The nostalgia of these titles also comes much from the strings, which make up part of our Juno "family". (i.e.: some members of the Ensemble Nord Sud (North-South ensemble), under the unusual direction of trombonist Daniel Zimmermann).

While we're talking about your two sides, it seems that the order of the songs were chosen in mirror (i.e.: the two songs of Oxmo Puccino in the middle of the album, surrounded by the two titles from Jean Fauque, then the two texts from Daniel Darc). How have you organized the track list?

We did not do it on purpose. Everyone made his list... Jérémy, Sylvain, Jean, the record company and me. For my part, I have simply imposed the desire that "L'effet" close the album.

pages 30-35 are not of this interview