Three months ago, the whole world discovered him lying in a huge basket of fruits and flowers, in the middle of a banquet, his body painted blue, singing “Nu” during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. When we meet Philippe Katerine this Wednesday in October, the fever has broken, but the image is still there. “It was I who proposed the idea to Thomas Jolly. I was working with Victor Le Masne on my album, so obviously I heard about the Olympics. And this song seemed particularly appropriate to me, I wanted to give the world something a little innocent and grotesque. Even if at first I would have wanted to sing naked with a naked orchestra and a naked audience…”
Once the party is over, social networks are abuzz with Philippe's performance. “When I saw that Elon Musk himself had something to say, it worried me. Did he like it? I quickly understood that no, just like Donald Trump, Erdogan or Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. And that was a real relief for me, because if these people had thought it was good, my summer would have been ruined. Or I would have set myself on fire. » There is no allusion to religion in this performance, nor any desire to shock. “I have never used provocation,” remarks Philippe, “even if some people only see that. I regret a little that people talk more about my “character” than my Music. But I can’t do anything about it…”
Poetry without the pretension of the poet
Philippe Katerine
On the music side, however, there is a lot to say. From her timid beginnings in 1991 with “Chinese Weddings” to the hysterical explosion that was “Robots After All” in 2005, Katerine never stopped proposing, reinventing herself, going to see if the sky was bluer elsewhere . Of “Zouzou”, the eleventh album in more than thirty years of career, Philippe says he has made his album “the most Souchonesque, insofar as it is attached to reality. It is the poetry of life that flows, daily. Finally, poetry without the pretension of the poet.”
In sixteen songs (and an interlude), Katerine evokes her children, her dog (that's her, Zouzou), her bob, her lost friends, but also her sex and even death… Everything is written with mischief, frankness and humor , and sung to well-crafted electro-pop rhythms. So yes, he addresses his penis, talks about the white hairs on his testicles, but also about the joy of a crazy and terribly joyful family life. “It’s much easier to shock today than thirty years ago,” he remarks.
Heart surgery at 8 years old
At the time, people said: “No one can be shocked anyway.” But we're always wrong when we make this kind of diagnosis… Ferré sang about his testicles, rappers don't stop talking about their private parts, with a much more elaborate vocabulary than mine, he quips . My nature is to always see the worst happen. That way, I can only have good surprises. »
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When asked about the origins of this state of mind – alongside his pomp for some, a little crazy for others – Katerine recalls this heart operation that he underwent at the age of 8. . “I definitely experienced a rebirth, or a second birth. When I got home from the hospital, I took a spade and turned over all the dirt in the garden. Even though my parents had never seen me garden. I had grasped incredible things behind death and I wanted to return to earth. Since then, I've been living a little out of touch, not entirely in reality. »
From his complicated adolescence, Philippe remembers “bullying” and finds his salvation in music, drawing or painting. This is how songs written in his bedroom were born – “my bedroom music”, he says – spotted by Alan Gac, then young boss of the Rosebud label. “I had no dreams, no ambitions, therefore I could not be disappointed. I just took what came and saw that it did me good to sing, it allowed me to continue living “next to” the world. And nothing has really changed since then. »
Julie Depardieu is a tornado of life
Philippe Katerine
Despite everything, Philippe is the father of three children, a daughter, Édie, 31, and two boys, Billy and Alfred, 13 and 12, whom he had with Julie Depardieu, his partner. “Julie is a tornado of life, someone explosive. But she never told me that I was unbearable. On a daily basis, taking a train or going shopping is more of an achievement for me than giving a concert or singing at the Olympics ceremony. Doing my job is much safer. »
For more than thirty years, therefore, Katerine has proudly stood out in the middle of the French musical landscape, enjoying total freedom, followed and accompanied by a loyal record company, a small but dedicated team. “Loyalty is important, it’s even a value to which I am very attached. I have never had to be accountable, never had specifications, I have been measuring my luck all this time…” While long careers are more and more difficult to lead, the gentle madness of Philippe Katerine inspires today Today a younger generation, from Angèle to Julien Doré. “I don't like debates, I don't like being right or wrong and I don't like the idea of changing someone's mind. Either you follow what I'm doing or you pass. I make do with what I am and that’s it…” Words from a hell of a zouzou.
“Zouzou” (Cinq7), released on November 8.
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