“A day with Balavoine” filmed in Biarritz and broadcast on France 3

After looking at the destinies of Georges Brassens and Jacques Brel, Simone and Raymond Productions are tackling another giant of French song, Daniel Balavoine. In order to discover or rediscover this singer, the producers used the same recipe as the previous ones: calling on artists from different worlds and from all generations to celebrate the man who was Daniel Balavoine as well as his musical heritage and intellectual, through an artistic walk in the city of Biarritz, where the artist was established and where he is buried. The co-director and editor-in-chief of this “day with Balavoine”, Xavier Selva, tells how such a meeting was organized.

How did you come up with the idea of ​​devoting this program to Daniel Balavoine?

Michel Field [le directeur du pôle Culture de France TV, NDLR] and France 3 insisted on doing so. The singer having died in 1986, we said to ourselves that his disappearance was old enough for it to arouse public interest. It was our producer Stéphanie Elbaz, 200% involved, who launched the project and put her entire team into action, made up of the pair of directors, specialized in music, Gautier&Leduc, and yours truly. We have been working together since the first issue of “A day with…”.

Did the city of Biarritz impose itself immediately?

We hesitated with Normandy because Balavoine was born in Alençon. We were also looking for a setting, a cinematographic location for our filming, while obviously sticking to the biographical aspect of the singer. And Biarritz is one: there is the power of the ocean, the colors, the light. We also feel in this city the stormy side of Balavoine, of the man who has difficulty staying still.

What did you want to show about him?

We tried to highlight the committed singer that he was, as few are today. We had to find this man, with his anger, his strong positions. He was outspoken, he was angry with the system and the media.

We also wanted to find the artist's melodies. We remember the synthesizers which punctuated Balavoine’s music. Matthieu Chedid and Arthur H talk about it well: “We have the impression that it's easy, popular but the melodies are contrived. »And this is where the arranging and reorchestration work of Anna Chedid, who calls herself “Nach”, comes into play. She stripped the melodies of the synth layers to return to the bones of Balavoine's songs. The result may disturb early fans but it is in our DNA to shake up the public.

How did you manage to organize such a meeting with so many artists?

First of all, there aren't just stars in our shows. This is part of the missions we assign ourselves, to seek out people who we will hear about later. This has been Nach's job as music programming boss and emcee. Having the Chedid family with us is an undeniable advantage, as we had France Brel for the show dedicated to her father Jacques. . These are often stories of family and artistic affinities. We had to match covers of songs with new orchestrations and artists who are not all from the musical universe.

We visit Biarritz with local witnesses, like Claire Keim and Patxi Garat. How did this happen?

Patxi is known as the white wolf there. He's adorable. He was the one who made us do our first scouting trips aboard his Fiat 500. And then Claire is always available. There is also the essential César, Daniel Balavoine's childhood friend. We also missed the blood and sweat of the city, the traders, the surfers. We really appreciated the sincerity of all these people. It’s these one-on-ones with them that really immerse us in Biarritz. And many others.

Have you contacted Daniel Balavoine’s family?

We made contact with Jérémie and Joana, his two children. They didn't want to interfere in the show. Joana wanted to bring her father's guitar: “I want him to be there in a certain way. » She was there the evening of the final concert and I saw her in tears. She told Nach: “It’s incredible, you completely captured his spirit, his soul. » For us, this is the supreme reward.

“A day with Balavoine”, on France 3, Friday December 6 at 9:05 p.m.