What can you tell us about this "Astral Surgeon"?
It's a space opera. To my knowledge, it's something that's never been done before. There have been rock operas like Pretty Things in '67 or Tommy a little later.
What is a space opera?
Unlike a rock opera, it's not just rock music. It draws heavily on the atmosphere of my previous shows, which revolve around lunar stories, galaxies, space, and all that. Some characters from last year's "Extra-Urine Symphony" reappear, like Sklerijenn. A space opera is primarily an event, a show I create for a single performance. The Astral Surgeon is the premiere, and it will never be seen again.
The poster promises a lot of people on stage!
There are 21 guests from all walks of life. It's a great lineup! Metalheads, punks, French chanson. People I work with regularly, and newcomers like 16-year-old Xiaa. The goal is to get together like family, with people we like. That's really essential for me: I'd rather have a guitarist who doesn't really know how to play but with whom I have a connection, than someone who plays 50,000 notes a minute and nothing else. The human element is crucial for me. I've brought together people with whom it's first and foremost possible to connect on a human level, and then to enjoy ourselves artistically.
What can we expect Friday night at the MDA?
Something unexpected! It's more for adults, although there's nothing vulgar, no allusions to sex or religion. It's an interactive farce, both theatrically and musically. There are so many possibilities. We can let things unfold naturally, plan multiple performances. I take artists like Audrey de la Naïade and take them out of their usual context to do things light years away from what they're used to. People will see something they're not used to seeing. I'm not trying to please or displease anyone—that's beyond our control—but people leave my shows with stories to tell. They've seen, heard, experienced something.
Is this a UFO about to land at the MDA?
No, that's already happened! In 1979, with the "Extra-Urine Symphony," which was the first concert of electronic and ambient music in the Hautes-Pyrénées, the police arrived after 20 minutes to shut it down. Not because we were making too much noise, we didn't have enough equipment for that. The cops finally told us it was because the neighbors were starting to get scared. They thought Martians were landing at the MDA!
