“I am permeable to the chaos of the world”

He meets at Maison Souquet, not far from Place Blanche in Paris. A former 19th century hotel converted into a discreet palace with rococo charm with its subdued lighting, crystal chandelier, velvet armchairs and oriental-inspired scrollwork. At the start of this morning, the silhouette of an eternal young man almost 69 years old (January 14), Étienne Daho displays a radiant face despite long days spent in the studio to produce the new album of an artist about whom he will say nothing. the name, confidentiality requires.

« I have no right to say more, yet it burns me », he smiles a few days before the release (last Friday) of a live album recorded in Paris on December 22, at the Accor Arena. “ Playing in this room in front of 17,000 people was a first for me. It's important, after forty years of career, to still experience first times. » Confessions in 8 key words.

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Juke-box

My first love story. In my album booklet Mythomaniac [1981]I had also put a photo of myself as a child in front of a jukebox. It was in Cap Falcon, a seaside resort 20 kilometers from Oran where my grandmother and my aunts ran a grocery store-cafe. I loved pressing the buttons, watching the cart move to pick the disc and place it on the platter.

It was magical, an object of total fascination. When a customer slipped a piece, I would sneak under their legs to choose my favorite piece, Only You by the Platters and I was running away… I was 4, 5 years old, but I already knew all the numbers corresponding to each song. I collected the 45s from the jukebox, I had all the Motown hits, yéyés…

The jukebox was really the discovery of music, even if my parents were very music lovers. My mother loved Elvis, Ricky Nelson, Frank Sinatra… My father gave me the first Beach Boys album before abandoning us when I was a child. It's the only thing he gave me when he left. Failing anything else, there will have been this musical transmission. It’s a beautiful legacy.

On August 31, 2024, Etienne Daho was in concert during the RTL2 Essonne festival on stage. (Credits: LTD/Sipa)

Streaming

I have nothing against it. I even have my subscription to a platform, it's an interesting tool for discovering new talents. On the other hand, the remuneration of artists is problematic because it is reduced to the bare minimum. I'm lucky to have had a long enough career that allows me not to be grumpy about this question, but overall it's too weak, especially for young artists.

I know many, for them it is a question of life or death; and while some people stuff themselves, they die. The equation is simple: with equal popularity, artists who, twenty years ago, could make a living from their work can no longer do so today. However, for me, music has value. So, when I discover an album that I like via streaming, I'll buy it on CD or vinyl.

“When you dance, you can’t cheat” (Aurélie Dupont, star dancer and author)

“Reevolution”

I wrote this song in 2003, but it is more in tune with the times than ever. It is a standard, a personal rereading of La Marseillaise in the face of a world in total regression. When Révolution came out, I was told: “ Politics, society, it's not for you, you don't know how to do it. » I write about my feelings. I don't live in my bubble. I am permeable to the chaos of the world.

It is undoubtedly the early experience of war when I was a child in Oran, the attacks, the bodies to be stepped over in the street, ducking to avoid the bullets… When you are a child, you put up with everything, but this fear, this feeling of imminent danger has never left me. My album Blitz [2017] opened with the sirens of a curfew. It already told of a worrying world, like an anticipation of future crises, Covid, war on European soil…

I also addressed the tragedy of migrants in Red Kissesthe war in Ukraine and the fascination with populists in The Song of the Idols. When I see the state of the world today, there is reason to be worried. Lots of anger, hatred, too few nuances. I am dismayed, for example, by the explosion of anti-Semitism in France. Fascism starts like this. History seems to be of no use.

Sylvie Vartan

When I arrived in France, I loved watching the show Tender age and wooden headit was a fascination, the yéyés and the holy trinity Françoise Hardy-Johnny Hallyday-Sylvie Vartan. I had the chance to meet Sylvie through a friend in the early 1990s. The understanding was immediate, as if we had always known each other. She calls me “ my little brother “, I consider her a big sister.

As I love working with the people I love, I produced one of his 45s just after we met and participated in the writing of one of his shows. I also wrote him a song, The Prisoner, for his album Blue sun. Last November, during her farewell concerts, she invited me to join her on stage to pay tribute to Françoise Hardy. We were both friends with Françoise, so together we performed her song L'Friendship made sense, it was beautiful to do.

Brigitte Fontaine, l’invincible

The Daho style

When I started, I was as tired as the ace of spades. I didn't have any fashion-related fantasies. As I was broke, I found my stage outfits in thrift stores, we bartered with friends, I wore practical and durable clothes like my Saint James sailor top. The red perfecto on my first album, Mythomaniacwas given to me by Elli Medeiros, who taught me everything about style.

I remember a concert in Toulouse where I had a suit ten times too big with an old belt; she let go of me, and I found myself with my pants down in front of the public… It was only from my third album that I began to collaborate with stylists, creators who loved music like Hedi Slimane, Agnès b., Paul Smith… It's important, a stage outfit. She is a companion and an armor into which I slip to become “the other”, because showing off is not in my deep nature.

I have an almost loving relationship with these relic garments. They tell a collective story with my audience, which is why I decided to donate them to the Palais Galliera. I made this decision during Covid. They will have a better life in a museum dedicated to fashion. It's also a way to unburden myself, because I like to travel light. When I lived in London, I rented a microscopic room where I had nothing except three books and my three favorite vinyls, the first Pink Floyd, the first Velvet Underground and Stinky Toys.

Saint-Malo

It is a city of childhood, of childhood number two, after my arrival in France at 8 years old. I first did a stint with the Jesuits in Reims, quite a change of scenery… Once settled in Rennes with my sisters and my mother, I spent all my holidays in Saint-Malo. People are authentic, real, not necessarily very welcoming at first, but when they give you their friendship, it is solid.

I'm also talking about Saint-Malo in Virus I actually wrote all the lyrics for my latest album in the corsair city. I have always needed to leave Paris to work, there are too many demands that take me out of my bubble.

Benjamin Duhamel on American time

I have a nomadic side which is linked to the fact of having been uprooted at a very young age. I have lived in Manchester, Barcelona, ​​Lisbon… But I feel deeply Breton, it is my breeding ground, that of my first loves, of the discovery of the Rennes rock scene when I was at university. I always wear a triskele around my neck, I am very sensitive to the sound of bagpipes and Breton music. I would love to collaborate with Alan Stivell, who I met recently.

Divan

I'm lucky to have a lot of energy, a pretty crazy work force. When I'm not recording my albums, I love operating in the shadows by producing the records of other artists who are most often friends or loved ones to my heart. I did it with Jane Birkin, Brigitte Fontaine, Dani, Lou Doillon, Daniel Darc, Jacno – who had also produced my first album. This allows me to continue making music while detaching myself from my little person.

I don't know where this vitality comes from, because I've done a lot of stupid things in the past. I didn't really like drugs, even though I used them quite a bit at one time; It was above all a way of making myself sociable, of not being thrown out of the group. I had a lot to take care of, and the artificial paradises summoned too many monsters for me. I chose a different way, including lying down on a couch. It's important when you have a background like mine, so as not to put it through too much on others. And above all, have a good life. We only have one. For now…

Noël

I am very sensitive to the magic of Christmas, the lights in the streets, the gifts to buy, preparing for this festive moment with loved ones. I know lots of people who have apprehensions about celebrating Christmas; family gatherings can sometimes bring up more or less pleasant things. I'm impatiently waiting for it. I am also very fond of Christmas albums, especially A Christmas Gift for you from Phil Spector.

I even wrote a song on this theme, Christmas with youa slow reconciliation song that I really like. This year, I will celebrate it in Brittany, without my mother for the second year in a row, my second Christmas as an orphan. But we learn to live with those who are absent. I have lost many loved ones in recent months, in recent years: Philippe Pascal and Frank Darcel de Marquis de Sade, Jeanne Moreau, Jane Birkin, Dani, my sister…

Fortunately, I am quite religious. I sometimes pray, especially before going on stage, and I would love to sing in a church. It's an intimate matter, but I have the feeling that all these people I loved continue to live alongside me. This link to the absent, Françoise Hardy sang it magnificently in And if I leave before you, which I also covered in my second album La notte, la notte.

Étienne Daho releases a live album recorded at the Accor Arena. (Credits: LTD)