[2010-01-05] Alizée in TECHNIKART Magazine

[pepelepew]

Originally Posted by brad

probably the best interview yet. i think this is by far the most open she has been in an interview. refreshing to hear he talk more openly for a change. i hope it continues...

kind of interesting really, maybe it is a culture or translation thing but she appears very direct on her opinions and answers. i like it.

I believe Alizee is very grounded in who she is, where she is going and who's going with her whether in music or some other endeavor. She is such a refreshing soul.

[User22]

Originally Posted by lefty12357

Not me, I don't want the MCE era back.

The MCE era is the most memorable for me because it's the era I discovered first. But I prefer to move forward. I enjoyed much of the Psych era and I'm looking forward to the new album. I can always go back and revisit the MCE era videos, songs and En concert, and I'll always have those happy memories. But I hope that Alizée will make new memories for us in the future that we may cherish just as much.

I'll strongly agree with this statement

O and sorry Roman I don't want to talk about your post cause it's too long an I will probably contradict myself and get lost in it hahaha....

[AlizéeDuSiècle]

I think everyone loves little Lolita

[lefty12357]

For those interested, www.Justalizee.com interviewed Benoît Sabatier, editor of the special issue with Alizée of Technikart. They asked him about the interview with Alizée.

[C-4]

Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and translations.
So far, this thread has been a terrific read for me.
Stephen

[Fenris]

Got the mag today. For anyone who is interested, here are the parts with Chateau Marmont and Rob (don't know if this is already posted):

Image quality is not the best, but schould be readable.
Just don't expect me to translate it all...

[Ben]

Thanks Fenris, been waiting for that.

Oh and hey guys, I've got a long waiting list for this magazine since I planned to order more, but Journaux sold out... So if anyone who contacted me doesn't really want one, please let me know (of course if you already paid, it's on its way!).

[Roman]

Originally Posted by Fenris

Got the mag today. For anyone who is interested, here are the parts with Chateau Marmont and Rob (don't know if this is already posted):

Image quality is not the best, but schould be readable.
Just don't expect me to translate it all...

And better late than never, here is my translation of the Château Marmont interview:

The quartet Château Marmont composed four (captivating) morcels for the ex-Lolita.

They still dreamed of her
Albeit they have still not released an album, Château Marmont find themselves parachuted into the principal composer of "Une Enfant du Siècle". How have they gone from underground senation to the accomplice of a popstar? Story of a dream become Alizée.

We came to know Alizée through Jean-René Etienne, who prepared the artistic direction of her new album. He suggested that we make a piece for her, we wrote something, she liked some of it, then we went to the studio, one thing lead to another and we found ourselves with four pieces on the disk.

Alizée's demand: good pieces. She was very open throughout the production of the disk. Jive/Sony had it once it was done, they liked it, this was a value beyond estimation. There were no compromises. We proceeded with carte blanche. (They had no interference by Jive/Epic/Sony. They could do whatever they wanted. I would add, perhaps because Alizée decided it would be that way. She produced the thing and licenced it to Sony.) We made some pieces that were more pop, more singing, some feminine. We especially thought of productions like the album of Adjani writen by Gainsbourg, of Glass Candy, of an ambiance femino-retro-futuristico-French. But our mode of creation has not budged a bit because of it. If you calculate your music based on how it will sell, it's dead, opportunism has rarely gone beyond the short term. Obviously we want it to do well, to be heard. We did things as we felt them, while realising for whom we were doing it. We did a thing which we are proud of, now it's kind of, the die is cast. No one has the secret to success. Except perhaps Phil Spector or Pharrel Williams. Financially, it's also not negligeable, it allows us a greater autonomy for what comes next.

Your favorite hits? Missy Elliott, Madonna "Music", Kylie Minogue "Can't Get Out Of My Head", all that club stuff like Imagination or Chic, the first U2 stuff, Elton John, 80s stuff like Nick Kershaw or even Jacky Quartz. 80% of the stuff they play on Nostalgie (a radio station). We make no bones about it. The first hits from Alizée produced with Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat? Who are they?

We make music very influenced by synth music, and unfortunately we are no longer in the era when one could hear "Oxygene" or "Radioactivity" on the radio, when Kate Bush was at the top of the charts. If recent years and their dumbing down had not existed, we might be at a stage where our music would appeal to a maximum of people. Who would not want their music heard by everyone? To become mainstream, if that means having greater means, turning towards better conditions while keeping total control, that's great. If it means having your face everywhere (in the press, for example) and 125 people to talk to for a yes or a no, that's less great. As long as you can continue exercise and create your art as you heard it from the beginning, it's cool. It's no doubt necessary to know how to make some compromises at certain times, that's all. In no case, sell off your music (I think that means make something just because you think it will sell rather than because it's your own expression of art). But, for the moment we aren't doing anything for it (?), there's nothing to do but listen to the ouverture of our new disk.

France being a country with a shitty mentality, where everyone judges in permanance, takes their opinion from the majority, or alternately knocks down to distance onself and stroke one's petty ego, it's difficult to put out something different destined for the general public, people aren't necessary open minded, they can quickly criticize things with which they no longer have a connection. (??) Anyway, we made a thing very accessible, and we mustn't exaggerate either. The risk for us is that one will propose a reiteration of the experience. We would be delighted to. We're not exactly trying to come off as erudite, it's the perception of people who tend toward that. The border between mainstream and underground is sometimes so slight musically.

Quite sincerely, it is a dream for us to work with a mainstream singer. But, we were thinking more about anglo-saxon artists like Britney or Fergie. We never would have thought about French artists. Yet, Alizée took the risk of innovation, novelty, and when you really think about it, it's hard to see how anyone else could have done that.

compiled by B.S.

[Fenris]

Here's my crappy translation of the justalizée interview with the Technikart guy...guess it still beats online translators.

Interview de Benoît Sabatier, rédacteur en chef de ce numéro Hors-Série Musique de TECHNIKART (Janvier 2010), qui a rencontré Alizée.

Interview with Benoît Sabatier, chief-editor ot this issue Hors-Série Musique de TECHNIKART (Janvier 2010), who met with Alizée.

Justalizee.com : C'est vous qui avez eu l'idée de cette séance photos reprenant celle de la pochette de l'album Like a virgin de Madonna. Votre idée était de reprendre une photo marquante d'un album d'artiste dit "mainstream", populaire. Le choix s'est arrêté sur Madonna, mais pouvons-nous avoir un aperçu des autres propositions que vous avez faites à Alizée ?

Justalizee.com : It was you who had the idea ot these séance photos taken from the cover of Madonnas album Like a virgin.
Your idea was to take a prominent photo from an album of a popular mainstream artist. The choice fell on Madonna, but can you give us some insight about the other propositions you made to Alizée?

Benoît Sabatier : Je voulais que l'angle du Hors-Série TECHNIKART Musique, spécial "mainstream", saute aux yeux quand on verrait la couverture. Je suis passionné par la culture populaire, j'ai été adolescent dans les années 80, quand la musique, visuellement, c'était encore les pochettes de disques, à l'époque les 33 tours. J'ai donc étudié quelles pochettes de disques avaient été à la fois les plus marquantes, les plus populaires et qui en plus, un, artistiquement me convenaient et, deux, pourraient plaire à Alizée, au niveau de la pose, du shooting. La pochette de l'album Like a Virgin de Madonna était mon premier choix. J'ai aussi sélectionné Off the Wall de Michael Jackson, un disque que j'adore, et l'idée de voir une jeune fille blanche reprendre la pose d'un homme noir me semblait assez provocante et facétieuse. En troisième, quatrième, cinquième et sixième choix, il y avait : refaire les pochettes de ces classiques pop : Supertramp Breakfast in America, Janet Jackson Janet, Roxy Music For Your Pleasure et Kylie Minogue Fever. J'ai été particulièrement heureux par les choix retenus : c'étaient les pochette de Like a Virgin et Off the Wall qu'Alizée préférait, mes deux premiers choix.

Benoît Sabatier : I wanted this mag to jump into your eyes when you saw the cover. I'm passionate about pop-culture, i grew up in the eighties, when the visuals of music where still the album covers, in the epoch of 33rpm. Therefore i studied which album covers where at the same time the most prominent, the most popular, and furthermore, one, fitted with me artistically, and two, could please Alizée concerning the posing of the shooting. The cover of Madonnas album Like a Virgin was my premier choice. I also selected Michael Jacksons Off the Wall, a record i adore, and the idea to see a young white woman take the pose of a black man seemed sufficiently provocant and facetious to me. For 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th choice there was: Remakes of these pop-classics: Supertramp Breakfast in America, Janet Jackson Janet, Roxy Music For Your Pleasure and Kylie Minogue Fever.
I was particulary happy about the choices taken: It were the covers of Like a Virgin and Off the Wall which Alizée prefered, my two premier choices.

Justalizee.com : Alizée a-t-elle facilement reconnu les titres du Blind Test, format que vous avez choisi pour l'interview ?

Justalizee.com : Did Alizée easily recognize the titles you choose as blind test for the interview?

Benoît Sabatier : Oui, tous ! Même ceux qui ne figurent pas dans l'interview, manque de place oblige. Honnêtement, c'est normal qu'elle ait tout trouvé non ? Une artiste qui ne reconnaitrait pas "Joe le taxi", "La nuit je mens", Mika, Lily Allen ? C'était un blind test de tubes ! C'est vrai qu'il y avait des pièges : allait-elle reconnaître les morceaux peu connus de ses compositeurs, Chateau Marmont et Rob ? Ouf, oui, immédiatement. Je n'ai pas à préciser qu'elle n'a pas eu de peine à trouver Mylène Farmer, la cover bidon de "Moi… Lolita" par Julien Doré et "La Isla Bonita" de Madonna, qu'elle-même a reprise… Les chansons qui ne figurent pas dans l'interview et que je lui ai passé ? "Variété Française" de Jeremy Chatelain… Et "People Have the Power" de Patti Smith, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" de Nirvana : d'autres tubes… Qu'elle connaissait aussi.

Benoît Sabatier : Yes, all of them! Even those who didn't make it into the interview, due to space restrictions. Honestly, it's normal that she has found them all, isn't it? An Artist who does not recognize "Joe le taxi", "La nuit je mens", Mika, Lily Allen ?
It was a blind test of hits! It's true there were traps: Would she recognize the little known pieces of her composers, Chateau Marmont et Rob ? Whew, yes immediatly. I don't have to stress that she had no difficulty finding Mylène Farmer, the bluff cover of "Moi… Lolita" by Julien Doré and "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna, which she renewed (?)...The songs who didn't make it into the interview and which i let her pass (hear?): "Variété Française" by Jeremy Chatelain… and "People Have the Power" by Patti Smith, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana : other hits...she knew them also.

Justalizee.com : L'image que vous aviez d'Alizée avant l'écoute de ce nouvel album a-t-elle changé ?

Justalizee.com : The picture you had of Alizée before listening to the new album, has it changed?

Benoît Sabatier : Oui, j'ai 40 ans, à l'époque de "Moi… Lolita", en 2000, j'en avais 30, j'écoutais alors Outkast, Mirwais, Daft Punk, Grandaddy, Ellen Allien, Eminem, Photek, Day One, Two Lone Swordmen, Add N to (X), Moodyman, Blonde Redhead, Isolée, Programme, Boards of Canada… Soyons francs : pour moi, "Moi… Lolita", c'était juste une couillonade, un tube formaté par Farmer & Boutonnat pour faire les poches des enfants. Je n'ai donc pas suivi la carrière d'Alizée de près, jusqu'à son précédent album : débarrassée de la tutelle de Mylène, elle avait recruté des artistes qui correspondaient plus à ce que j'aime : Daniel Darc, un chanteur que j'adore depuis que je suis ado ("Paris" de Taxi Girl est ma chanson préférée de tous les temps), participait à Psychédélices ! Sur ce disque, j'ai aimé la chanson "Fifty-Sixty": j'attendais donc son nouvel album avec un certain intérêt. Pour répondre à votre question : oui, l'image que j'avais d'Alizée a radicalement changée après l'écoute d'Une Enfant du Siècle.

Benoît Sabatier : Yes, I'm 40 years, in the epoch of "Moi… Lolita", in 2000, i was 30, i listened then to Outkast, Mirwais, Daft Punk, Grandaddy, Ellen Allien, Eminem, Photek, Day One, Two Lone Swordmen, Add N to (X), Moodyman, Blonde Redhead, Isolée, Programme, Boards of Canada… Soyons francs : For me, "Moi… Lolita" was just a couillonade(?), a hit made by Farmer & Boutonnat to loot the pockets of the children. Therefore i didn't follow the career of Alizée closely, until her preceding album : Liberated of Mylènes tutelage, she recruited artists which were more like those i like: Daniel Darc, a singer which i adore since my youth ("Paris" by Taxi Girl is my all time favorite song), participated in Psychédélices ! On that record, i liked the song "Fifty-Sixty": therefore i awaited her new album with a certain interest. To answer your question: Yes, the image i had of Alizée changed radically after listening to Une Enfant du Siècle.

Justalizee.com : Pensez-vous que la nouvelle direction musicale que semble prendre Alizée peut déconcerter ses fans ?

Do you think that the new musical direction Alizée seems to be taking may bemuse her fans?

Benoît Sabatier : Je ne pense pas. Quand j'avais 12 ans, j'écoutais "Cambodia" de Kim Wilde : j'aurais aimé que Kim évolue ainsi, grandisse avec son public. Les ados qui écoutaient "Moi… Lolita" ont aujourd'hui 20 ans : ils devraient être ravis qu'elle aussi ait grandi, artistiquement. Elle ne fait pas non plus du Pierre Boulez (un chef d'orchestre) : Une Enfant du Siècke reste un disque pop(ulaire).

I don't think so. When i was 12 years old, i listened to "Cambodia" by Kim Wilde : i would have liked Kim to develop, to grow up with her public. The youths who listened to "Moi… Lolita" are today 20 years old: They should be happy that she too has grown up artitistically. She is not becoming a Pierre Boulez (a conductor) : Une Enfant du Siècle remains a pop(ular) record.

Justalizee.com : Certains lecteurs ont relevé le grand nombre de chiffres avancés par Alizée (ventes, classements, nombres de pays...). Ont-ils vraiment été apportés par Alizée ou ajoutés en guise d'illustration ?
Benoît Sabatier : La retranscription est fidèle. C'est juste que j'ai supprimé mes relances, et celles-ci étaient dans l'angle "mainstream", je lui demandais donc moi-même de préciser les chiffres, pour bien voir concrètement sa popularité, au niveau des charts.

I don't really get what they are talking about here...something about numbers, statistics and verification of them...i leave that to the experts!

Justalizee.com : Avez-vous déjà eu des retombées quant à l'apparation d'Alizée dans TECHNIKART ?

Did you already get some follow-up regarding the appearance of Alizée in TECHNIKART ?

Benoît Sabatier : Je suis depuis 48h assailli par les mails ! Aucune lettre d'insultes de lecteurs anti-mainstream… Soit des demandes d'interviews, soit des commentaires variés et enthousiastes…

Since 48h i am assaulted by mails ! No anti-mainstream insults (?), either demands for interviews, or varied and enthusiastic comments.

Justalizee.com : Pour terminer, une anecdote ?

To get to the end, an anecdote?

Benoît Sabatier : Comme je le dis dans l'introduction de mon article, et je le précise dans votre interview, j'ai été assez épaté par la simplicité, l'authenticité et la franchise d'Alizée, une artiste qui à la base, je le reconnais, me paraissait un peu carton pâte. Bien plus important que cette considération sentimentale et déplacée, je trouve son nouvel album, Une Enfant du Siècle, plutôt audacieux et assez ambitieux !

As i said in the introduction of my article, and as i specified in your interview, i have been quite amazed by the simplicity, authenticity and the frankness of Alizée, an artist which basically, i recognize it, appeared to me a bit like papier mâché (means artificial?) More important than this sentimental and inappropriate consideration, i found her new album, Une Enfant du Siècle, rather audacious and quite ambitious.

[User22]

Originally Posted by Fenris

Here's my crappy translation of the justalizée interview with the Technikart guy...guess it still beats online translators.

Interview with Benoît Sabatier, chief-editor ot this issue Hors-Série Musique de TECHNIKART (Janvier 2010), who met with Alizée.

Justalizee.com : It was you who had the idea ot these séance photos taken from the cover of Madonnas album Like a virgin.
Your idea was to take a prominent photo from an album of a popular mainstream artist. The choice fell on Madonna, but can you give us some insight about the other propositions you made to Alizée?

Benoît Sabatier : I wanted this mag to jump into your eyes when you saw the cover. I'm passionate about pop-culture, i grew up in the eighties, when the visuals of music where still the album covers, in the epoch of 33rpm. Therefore i studied which album covers where at the same time the most prominent, the most popular, and furthermore, one, fitted with me artistically, and two, could please Alizée concerning the posing of the shooting. The cover of Madonnas album Like a Virgin was my premier choice. I also selected Michael Jacksons Off the Wall, a record i adore, and the idea to see a young white woman take the pose of a black man seemed sufficiently provocant and facetious to me. For 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th choice there was: Remakes of these pop-classics: Supertramp Breakfast in America, Janet Jackson Janet, Roxy Music For Your Pleasure and Kylie Minogue Fever.
I was particulary happy about the choices taken: It were the covers of Like a Virgin and Off the Wall which Alizée prefered, my two premier choices.


Justalizee.com : Did Alizée easily recognize the titles you choose as blind test for the interview?
Benoît Sabatier : Yes, all of them! Even those who didn't make it into the interview, due to space restrictions. Honestly, it's normal that she has found them all, isn't it? An Artist who does not recognize "Joe le taxi", "La nuit je mens", Mika, Lily Allen ?
It was a blind test of hits! It's true there were traps: Would she recognize the little known pieces of her composers, Chateau Marmont et Rob ? Whew, yes immediatly. I don't have to stress that she had no difficulty finding Mylène Farmer, the bluff cover of "Moi… Lolita" by Julien Doré and "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna, which she renewed (?)...The songs who didn't make it into the interview and which i let her pass (hear?): "Variété Française" by Jeremy Chatelain… and "People Have the Power" by Patti Smith, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana : other hits...she knew them also.

Justalizee.com : The picture you had of Alizée before listening to the new album, has it changed?

Benoît Sabatier : Yes, I'm 40 years, in the epoch of "Moi… Lolita", in 2000, i was 30, i listened then to Outkast, Mirwais, Daft Punk, Grandaddy, Ellen Allien, Eminem, Photek, Day One, Two Lone Swordmen, Add N to (X), Moodyman, Blonde Redhead, Isolée, Programme, Boards of Canada… Soyons francs : For me, "Moi… Lolita" was just a couillonade(?), a hit made by Farmer & Boutonnat to loot the pockets of the children. Therefore i didn't follow the career of Alizée closely, until her preceding album : Liberated of Mylènes tutelage, she recruited artists which were more like those i like: Daniel Darc, a singer which i adore since my youth ("Paris" by Taxi Girl is my all time favorite song), participated in Psychédélices ! On that record, i liked the song "Fifty-Sixty": therefore i awaited her new album with a certain interest. To answer your question: Yes, the image i had of Alizée changed radically after listening to Une Enfant du Siècle.


Do you think that the new musical direction Alizée seems to be taking may bemuse her fans?

I don't think so. When i was 12 years old, i listened to "Cambodia" by Kim Wilde : i would have liked Kim to develop, to grow up with her public. The youths who listened to "Moi… Lolita" are today 20 years old: They should be happy that she too has grown up artitistically. She is not becoming a Pierre Boulez (a conductor) : Une Enfant du Siècle remains a pop(ular) record.

I don't really get what they are talking about here...something about numbers, statistics and verification of them...i leave that to the experts!

Did you already get some follow-up regarding the appearance of Alizée in TECHNIKART ?

Since 48h i am assaulted by mails ! No anti-mainstream insults (?), either demands for interviews, or varied and enthusiastic comments.

To get to the end, an anecdote?

As i said in the introduction of my article, and as i specified in your interview, i have been quite amazed by the simplicity, authenticity and the frankness of Alizée, an artist which basically, i recognize it, appeared to me a bit like papier mâché (means artificial?) More important than this sentimental and inappropriate consideration, i found her new album, Une Enfant du Siècle, rather audacious and quite ambitious.

I'm pretty glad she chose the Madonna Like A Virgin cuz she pulled it of well and some of the other choices were a bit weerd. And she was probably glad to do Madonna since she is her favorite star...