Alain Souchon, Bernard Lavilliers, Raphaël… Several figures of French song will light up the Nuits de Champagne from October 20 to 26, in Troyes. Goldsmith of sound, goldsmith of words, self-taught, lulled by text songs and electronic music, marked, across the Channel, by the discovery of punk, jungle or drum and bass, Hervé will be there, on October 23, at 8 p.m. 30, at the Théâtre de Champagne. A singular figure of the young generation. For live. “The old-fashioned way!” »
Daily Jhm: What was your relationship to music as a child?
Hervé : I’ve always loved it, I’ve always had a very strong sensitivity to music. She has always been with me. As a child, music already gave me a lot of emotion, I started to be interested in sound around 15 or 16 years old, I started to compose, in my room, with software, with keyboards, then, I I started writing and singing. A little over fifteen years later, I am still working in my room and presenting my third album.
Daily Jhm: As a child and teenager, you discover Jacques Higelin, Alain Bashung, Daft Punk, you develop a particular relationship with music but you do not follow any musical education, you do not join a group, you play football, you learn music alone…
Hervé : Exactly, I’m self-taught, chords, keyboard, composition, production, editing, I learned everything alone, in my room, with the help of tutorials on YouTube, in particular. Then, I really learned the trade in England, with Dennis Brown. I created the Postaal group. I developed my label in England, I learned a lot, I particularly discovered the scene.
Daily Jhm: How did you decide to take the plunge and make music your life?
Hervé : When I started composing and producing, I immediately found it great, I immediately told myself that I would love to do this all my life. When I work, I completely lose track of time. I left high school, I passed my baccalaureate as a free candidate, I actually got it, I worked during this period, my free time was dedicated to sound. Making music and working on the side, I spent quite a few years this way, in France and in England. Although music occupies an important place in my life, I never dreamed of being a singer, I didn’t show off, I didn’t want to be in the spotlight. I was encouraged, told that what I was doing was interesting. I discovered the scene with Postaal in England before striking out on my own.
Daily Jhm: Alone, like in your room…
Hervé : I wrote a lot but it was not possible for me to sing in French in England, so I developed a side project while living my adventure with Postaal. In fact, I didn’t do it well, I presented my models, they traveled around me a little, friends introduced them to other friends and here we go, the Postaal album is released in 2018, I found myself doing opening acts, I released my first EP in 2019, my first album in 2020, I followed up with the second and the third.
Daily Jhm: You wanted to express yourself in French…
Hervé : I needed it! I needed to write, to express myself, to tell my stories, in French, my native language. My taste for writing, for words, for puns, for antics, that’s what I prefer even if I also take great pleasure in being behind my machines.
Daily Jhm: This duality refers to your first musical emotions, the lyric song with Alain Bashung and Jacques Higelin and electronic music with Daft Punk…
Hervé : Indeed, I also discovered other things later, in England. There, I really discovered punk, jungle, drum and bass, musical styles specific to England that we didn’t hear in France. I compose and I produce, sound is important, words too, I exploit my path, without calculation.
Daily Jhm: Without calculation, your journey has nonetheless been dazzling, your first album, “Hyper”, was released in June 2020, you won the Victory for male revelation of the year eight months later, you multiply the concerts, you are releasing a second album, “Interior Vie”, in 2023, then a third, “Adrénaline”, in 2024…
Hervé : Yes, it was quick but my project was well thought out, I started working on it in 2015, I released the first titles in 2019, I’ve been writing songs for almost ten years. With the networks, you can quickly find yourself in the spotlight. I was 29 when I released my first album, I wasn’t 20, I had already been around a bit.
Daily Jhm: You work alone, in your room and you find yourself in front of thousands of spectators. Considering your character and your sensitivity, how did you experience this transition?
Hervé : Everything happened quite naturally, the scene, I loved it from the start! Something magical happens on stage, something quite indescribable, that you don’t find anywhere else. Being on stage, feeling this pleasure, it’s my reality, my pleasure. It’s a great adventure, I like to give everything, have fun, have as much fun as possible, give as much as possible. It’s a form of challenge, it’s also a need, as soon as I leave the studio, I can’t wait to go on stage.
Daily Jhm: For people who know you little or not, how would you define what you present, what you like to share with the public?
Hervé : It’s complicated… I’m always keen to give my all on stage, that’s for sure, for the rest… Let’s say I do French song, electronic song, my latest album is very rock… Otherwise, there are four of us on stage, it’s live, the old-fashioned way! What I do is ultimately quite difficult to describe, what many artists do is difficult to describe, it would be difficult for me to describe the styles of Bashung or Higelin. Like many, I try to renew myself with each album, that makes the description even a little more difficult!
Comments collected by Thomas Bougueliane
The Champagne Nights program
• Monday October 21
Bonbon Vodou (6:30 p.m., La Chapelle Argence). Ibrahim Maalouf (8:3 p.m., Espace Argence). Raphael (8:30 p.m., Théâtre de Champagne).
• Tuesday October 22
Barrut (6:30 p.m., La Chapelle Argence). Angelique Kidjo (8:30 p.m., Espace Argence). Barbara Says (8:30 p.m., Théâtre de Champagne).
• Wednesday October 23
Mc Solaar (8:30 p.m., Espace Argence). Hervé (8:30 p.m., Théâtre de Champagne). Bernard Lavilliers accompanied by the Aube Symphony Orchestra (8:30 p.m., Le Cube).
• Thursday October 24
Alain Souchon accompanied by Ours and Pierre Souchon (8:30 p.m., Le Cube). Show Jah Fakoly (8:30 p.m., Théâtre de Champagne).
• Friday October 25
Dionysos (8:30 p.m., Théâtre de Champagne)
• Saturday October 26
Clara Yse and Justin XIII (8 p.m., Théâtre de Champagne)
Complete programming and ticketing on nuitsdechampagne.com.
