An ode to life and the driving force behind the album, your single “Merveille” is unanimously acclaimed. How was he born?
“It was in summer, by the sea, in the Mediterranean. I was with my lover and my guitar. A pure moment of ecstasy. I looked at a rock and it was the rock that sang”It’s a marvel, look at this unparalleled life“. I wanted to convey this moment without thinking too much. Today, people stop me in the street to tell me that “Merveille” makes them want to be in summer. It’s kind of them , but I have almost nothing to do with it: it’s the rock.”
The sea plays an important role in your album. How have you incorporated it into your new songs?
“Like the rock in “Merveille”, the sea imposed itself. I underwent heart surgery in 2022. Afterwards, I heard an inner voice which told me: “the sea will heal you” and I went looking for a small fisherman’s house on the shores of the Mediterranean, near Marseille, with a path leading to the sea. When you look at the sea, you go through all the emotions. It’s soothing, powerful, sometimes calm, sometimes wild The light changes all the time. Obviously, it’s inspiring as soon as we mention the notion of “.eternity“, I have aquatic images that come to my mind.”
When you have undergone heart surgery, there is necessarily a before and an after?
“I have a class friend who became a doctor. He had been advising me for a long time to have a lung exam. We did that during Covid. He told me: “Your lungs are in good condition even though you are a heavy smoker but…“Because there is always one.”more“with the doctors. After his”more“, he added: “You could die at any moment. In a year, in ten years“. I have a heart defect, something I was born with that I had never paid attention to. A place became available at the hospital, they operated on me on a Tuesday. I didn’t have time to be afraid even if it was like a little challenge for me… But hey, I didn’t feel better or worse afterwards.”
You mention “A song that heals” in the album. Do you have many in your repertoire?
“A lot of the songs I’ve written show me that I’m still in tune with myself. And that makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I’ve made a deal with the teenager I was. I try not to betray myself. I feel good about that. Picking up an acoustic guitar also heals my soul. If you can, in addition, relieve the pain of others with your music, that’s it. is even better. People tell me that they have been healed thanks to one of my songs or a concert. Humbly, I believe that I manage to distract them. And while they are distracted, the pain no longer finds a place. to exist at home. There are quite a few things that would disappear if we simply forgot to think about them.
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No matter how old your fans are, they always refer to you as “a big brother“.
“In the street, I don’t need to hide behind sunglasses. People are kind to me and respectful. I am part of their lives. For several generations, my songs have stuck to first freedoms or “first times”. First kiss, first elopement, first breakup, first bullshit, first joints, first losses… I have quite a few songs, like “Voilà c’est fini”, which work at funerals. It’s as if I was present at every highlight of life. And who is necessarily present in these memorable moments? A brother or someone in the family. I once saw a car flipped over in a ditch. There was loud music, the guys were still stuck under the sheet metal, completely drunk. Through the speakers, I heard the words to “Ce que je toi” from Telephone (1984). “What I want is to be good. Head towards the sky.“It’s crazy…”
In the song “R’N’R”, you repeat eight times in the chorus that you do “you rock and roll“. Did he have to be reminded?
“I hate doing conservative rock. I don’t want to be a prisoner of my past. At one point, I had a Prince period that kept me away from the Stones. At another it was The Neptunes and the productions Pharrell Williams. Jams with Gainsbourg, songs by Barbara, musical settings of texts by Houellebecq… I’ve always gone in all directions and I come back to more traditional rock when necessary. That’s the message of the song. . For me, Barbara, Mozart, Miles Davis or Coltrane are as rock as Keith Richards. It’s like this debate between instruments and machines. PavingI worked with Eliott, a young beatmaker. He was born with software and doesn’t know how to play an instrument. For me, it’s the opposite. We each do our part and we found each other again. Rappers, they may not know how to read music, but they have an ear and they know how to write. And it shakes us up like punk or grunge did.”
On your last tour Oloyou were alone on stage surrounded by several Jean-Louis Auberts in holograms. What should we expect in 2025?
“Touring is like records. I look behind me only to go in the opposite direction. For this tour, there will be more of us on stage and I’m going to return to something more electric, more energetic. That gives me itches.”
In the song “The Tree of Liberty”, you mention “all these dreams come true“. Do you still have any?
“It doesn’t stop and so it allows me to project. I have a lot of songs waiting. That’s why this record is called Paving. I was told that it was a bad title, that people would think that I was delivering something unfinished. On the contrary, I find it brings hope. I sing about my own freedom in this album. The bag is still open and there are lots of things that will come out.”
14/3. National Forest, Brussels.
Jean-Louis Aubert, Pafini, Warner.
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