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Françoise Hardy
Interview
Paris
04/05/2000 -
Le Danger, Clair-obscur is a heterogeneous work featuring four duets - with Jacques Dutronc, Etienne Daho, Iggy Pop and a young Cameroonian singer by the name of Ol - and adaptations of tunes by Django Reinhardt and Eric Clapton. Besides a handful of new songs, Clair-obscur also includes a brilliant cover of Hardy's 70s' classic Tu ressembles à tous ceux qui ont du chagrin and a new version of the song La Pleine Lune, which Hardy wrote for Jane Birkin two years ago. Mixing nostalgic emotions with bitter-sweet lyrics, Françoise Hardy's new album certainly lives up to its name. In our interview below, the legendary Ms. Hardy talks about her new album and her approach to music in general.
Françoise, do you get a lot of pleasure out of singing?For me, the notion of pleasure is more tied up with the overall result, with putting the finishing touch to an album, for example. Satisfaction comes when everything's finished, when you stand back and realise that what you've done isn't too bad - although, I have to say, it's rare that things turn out as well as you hope! But occasionally I do enjoy moments of pure pleasure, when I sing Puisque vous partez en voyage for example. I don't have to worry about the rhythm on that song at all - I sing it totally naturally, just the way it comes out! A lot of singers have talked about the feeling of physical satisfaction they get from singing ...
Sure, but they're the ones who have a physical strength that I don't have. I mean, look at me! I'm a delicate little flower. People who are tall and skinny - and if you want to be nice to me, you'll agree I'm on the slim side - are often lacking in energy. My energy's not a deep-seated energy - it's more a compensatory force, a reaction to other things. It's not the right kind of energy for live performance.
You don't seem too satisfied with your capabilities as a singer …
Well, I've been making records for over thirty years now, so I've had time to work out what my weaknesses are. Of course, I like to think I can tell an inspired piece of music from a pre-fabricated tune, but that's not really enough. The way I see it, music's about a lot of other things - things which often escape me. I've got a particular weak spot when it comes to rhythm, for example. 
Your son Thomas plays guitar on your new album. How do you feel about your son deciding to follow in your footsteps and become a musician?
I was really happy when Thomas was a kid because he always got good grades at school without making a lot of effort. You know, I'd have felt much more secure if he'd decided to carry on with his studies or get involved with something less risky than the music business. But you can't force a child to do something he doesn't want to! Having said that, though, I do worry about him trying to make his way in a profession which is more overcrowded than ever.
Well, I think Murat's latest album is an absolute masterpiece - it's the best French album I've heard in a long time! I thought the last album by Autour de Lucie was really good too. And on Etienne Daho's new album there's an absolutely extraordinary song called La Baie. I tend to like the more moody, melancholic stuff - I can't stand happy, upbeat songs! And what about artists from the past?
The thing that's affected me most in my whole life is Chet Baker's vocals. He was amazing - he managed to combine the greatest reserve and sobriety with the most powerful emotion!
In that case, you have the same musical taste as Etienne Daho …You know, four years ago Etienne came over to have me listen to his album, Eden, and he brought all the song lyrics along with him in this little folder. Anyway, this sheet of paper accidentally slipped out of the folder and I noticed it had the lyrics to The Everly Brothers' song So Sad on it. So I said to Etienne, "What's this song doing in your stuff?" I was pretty shocked at finding it there, I can tell you - I've always considered it as my song. So Sad was really important to me when I was a teenager, I treasured that song. And Etienne turned round and said, "You know, this is my favourite song in the whole world!" And that's how we ended up recording it together for the album. Your new album also features Celui que tu veux, a duet with a young Cameroonian singer called Ol who's still a complete unknown.
In my opinion, it's the best track on the album. I couldn't really release it as the first single because there was the duet with Jacques, but I hope it will come out as the follow-up. You know, it's really exciting promoting someone who's a complete unknown. When I heard the demo of OI's song, my initial reaction was to say we shouldn't change anything. I mean, I didn't think I could personally bring anything to the song by singing it myself. But then I thought about things a bit and I realised that if OI had brought the song to me he was expecting something from me. So I ended up suggesting we record the song as a duet - that was the only way to keep the magical touch of OI's voice!
One of the most remarkable things on your new album is the reworking of Tu ressembles à tous ceux qui ont du chagrin.
You know, in the beginning I asked Etienne Daho to write a new arrangement of the song. But Etienne didn't take it far enough from the original and I ended up wondering whether there was any point in recording a new version at all. Then I met Rodolphe Burger, the lead singer from Kat Onoma, and I got him to listen to the song - which, incidentally, he didn't know at all. Anyway, we both agreed that the cover should be really minimalist and move as far away from the original as possible. Rodolphe came along to the studio with his drummer and just sat down and started playing guitar. And I think that was one of the rare occasions that I recorded my voice live with the musicians. I must say, listening to the song afterwards I think it works really well.
Bertrand Dicale
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