Magician, mentalist, illusionist, this Franco-British artist has made a name for himself (yes, he’s the son of…) thanks to a certain talent for drawing the spectator into universes where we no longer quite know where we are. Like a modern-day Houdini. To be discovered on tour.
What was the first record you bought as a teenager with your own money?
We had a lot of records at home at the time. But the one we didn’t have and which I remember buying is Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses.
Your favorite way to listen to Music, MP3, car radio, CD player, vinyl…
Listen to it live. But I like listening to the radio. I have an old set at home. It’s as if someone is talking to us from afar.
The last disc you bought and in what format?
The Eagles vinyl, Hotel California for a trick that I prepared for the show C to you.
Where do you prefer to listen to music?
While driving, of course! Musical road trip. But I don’t have a car anymore.
Do you listen to music while working?
Today, there is music everywhere all the time. I like calm to work, create and write.
The song that you are ashamed to listen to with pleasure?
Un-Break my Heart by Toni Braxton.
The record that everyone loves and you hate?
My mother (Charlotte Rampling, editor’s note) taught me not to hate anything artistically. On the contrary, to always look for creative value. On the other hand, I hate the bad faith that many people show.
The disk to survive on a desert island?
In Rainbows by Radiohead. Magic!
Is there a record label that you are particularly attached to and why?
Because Music has been offering very interesting artists for years.
Which record cover do you want to frame at home as a work of art?
I need a huge loft! There are so many! Of my generation, Nevermind from Nirvana.
A record you would like to hear at your funeral?
Will I be awake at my funeral? Awesome ! Wonderful World by Ray Charles.
Do you know what drone metal is?
Yes. I had my metal period. A unique underground musical niche, perhaps creatively freer than any other musical style. Everyone go see a metal concert once in your life.
Do you prefer records or live music?
Cornelian choice! It’s like telling a child do you prefer your father or your mother? Come on, I’ll keep both.
Your fondest concert memory?
Portishead at the Zenith. Beth Gibbons’ voice that evening pierced us with emotion. Even the band members spoke of it afterwards as a time from the afterlife. That’s the power of live.
Do you go to a club to dance, flirt, listen to music on a good sound system or do you never go to a club?
I rarely go to clubs. When I go there, music and a good sound system are still my favorite things.
Who is the band you hate seeing on stage, but whose records you love and vice versa?
It’s never happened to me to hate a group on stage that I love on album. Difficult, I think, to love the work of someone you would hate, right?
Your favorite musical film, your favorite film music?
Grease, Paris, Texas by Ry Cooder, The Social Network by Trent Reznor. I draw a lot of inspiration from it on stage for my show.
What is the record that you share with the person who accompanies you in life?
In Rainbows de Radiohead.
The song that makes you mad?
Frankly, mad with rage, I don’t see it.
The last record you listened to on repeat?
Ouch! This hasn’t happened to me in a long time. Spotify playlists take us in all directions today. I don’t even have a turntable or CD player at home anymore.
The group you would have liked to be part of?
What a good question! Led Zep, Miles Davis’ group, Police, Queen, maybe on the road too, Coldplay today for joy and color in the stadiums. Also conductor, or first violin in the Berliner Philharmonic under Karajan.
The piece of music that always makes you cry?
Georgia on my Mind. Not always crying but shivering every time!
