You say you made this album "like a fool with my guitar and next to nothing on the keyboard" in your house in Finistère. Is it in the moment that you express yourself best?
That's a phrase I overheard in a conversation. Actually, there's a lot of work behind this album. When Albin de la Simone and Jean-Baptiste Brunhes arrived at my place, I already had the songs ready, and the three of us got to work at home because I insist on being able to do things locally, without having to go through Paris. With today's technology, we can escape the fact that everything is centralized!
You've written a lot for others in recent years. Does that give you more pleasure than performing live?
The pleasure of finding a song for someone is fantastic. As is the pleasure of being in the audience and hearing Stephan Eicher or Johnny Hallyday sing lyrics you've written. It puts you back in the position of a craftsman, not a pop singer with all the awful things that entails! But performing is also about pleasure. It was 18 years of pain, but for the last two or three years it's been pure joy. I recently discovered how good I feel after a concert, how I feel that I've been consistent, that I've brought joy, that I have a social purpose. Especially now. Some people held a pencil; we have a guitar or a drum kit.
There are a lot of medium-sized cities on your tour. Do you particularly like these human-scale cities?
We played the big cities in the fall. But it's true that I like medium-sized cities, like Brest. They're cities you can get to know quickly; it's fabulous! You just have to go downtown to feel its pulse. And what's more, coming to Tarbes is quite special because it means rediscovering the area where my older brother lives, who is settled here!
