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Album review
M
Double Trouble
Paris
28/11/2003 -
RFI Musique: I notice your grandmother has written another song for you. Is her song, Je me démasque (Taking My Mask Off) – and, in fact, your new album as a whole - intended as a break from your previous work?
M: I think every album is a sort of summing-up of a given moment. This happens to be my grandmother's point of view, expressed in her words. One day she turned round and whispered some advice in my ear. "I think one day you're going to have to detach yourself from your stage persona," she said, "And when that day comes I've got the perfect song for you…" She'd thought out this whole concept, like "What you can do is perform concerts as M, but then leave him behind and go out and about as Matthieu. This will be a way of helping people make the transition from one to the other." I realised my grandmother was right in a way. I had become a bit worried about this issue of double identity. And I‘d reached the point of wondering whether I should drop my stage persona or not. The double identity thing's not a fundamental issue. It's not like it affects my songwriting or anything. It's more a question of appearance, especially with this album where I'm being a bit more intimate and revealing a little more about myself.
I think it's too early to drop my M side altogether, though. I haven't gone as far as I want to with the character, especially in terms of live shows. It's true that the new album unmasks me in a different way. I come across differently because of the lyrics and the humour in the songs. I realised there's definitely a greater attempt at intimacy this time round, a way in which I'm hiding less behind things now.
You originally created the flamboyant character of M as a means of overcoming your natural shyness on stage. Do you think you'll ever drop him completely?
People always warned me not to get completely caught up in the character. And it's a real issue because the more albums I put out as M, the more important he becomes in people's minds. He starts to have a history and it gets difficult to move away from him and do something else.
The way I see it, M represents my period of adolescent crisis. And the moment I drop him will be the moment I decide to leave part of my life behind. I'm not ready to take that step right now – and I don't know if fans are either! I don't think people would understand if I moved on to something radically different right now.
I do feel I've passed a turning-point in a way because I feel I'm not caught up in childhood nostalgia any more. I feel very strongly that I don't want to waste my time. And music for me is a way of not wasting time – it means all those fantasies you never allow yourself to act out in life can be acted out on stage instead!
It was thanks to a trip organised by Universal Music. They decided to bring together the most unlikely singers and musicians, introducing us to rappers and Malian singers and stuff. You had everyone from Amadou & Mariam and Marcel Kanche to (the group) Dolly and (Raï star) Faudel… We all got together in Peter Gabriel's studio in the UK and every day we'd team up with different partners and create a song together. Me and Marcel really hit it off from the word go. We had a real laugh and we've kept in touch ever since.
It's funny because Marcel's a bit of an old "bear" when it comes to his character. But we never sat down and planned anything together, this was just the way things worked out. I'm happy to have the chance of talking about this guy who's my father's age, who's got an incredible talent and is still relatively unknown by the general public. Marcel's a guy with a real sense of morals. I guess you could say he lives in a sort of parallel world of his own, but he's incredibly open to other people and other ideas.
We had a great time working together. I felt there was a real sense of friendship and genuine spontaneity between us. Having said that, I know Marcel wouldn't have given a damn if I hadn't used any of his lyrics! What was important for him was meeting in the first place not what ensued after that…
When you first embarked upon your music career and your father Louis Chédid was asked how three famous creative types (grandmother, father and son) got on, he said "We're too close to one another to be the best judge of each other's work. We love each other too much for that." Does that still hold true?
I think my father and my grandmother are a bit less worried about voicing judgement these days. But there's still a great sense of modesty between us. We still have a huge amount of love and respect for one another. When we do make judgements I think we tend to couch them in gentle terms and try and make constructive criticism and say something encouraging. Because we're all working in the creative domain we know how much strength and energy it takes to see a project through to the end!
Talking of your family, are you ever tempted to travel back to your roots and find out more about your Lebanese/Egyptian origins?As things stand right now my origins are still a bit of a fantasy for me. I have these vague memories floating around my head, but that's all. I'm a bit distanced from my origins because I've never really made the effort to explore my roots. But I do have a desire to touch base with where I came from. That's something I'll be able to do on my next tour, in fact, because for the first time in my career, I'll be performing in Lebanon, Egypt and other countries in that region.
The strange thing is that on the rare occasions I meet people in France who've got the same roots as me – like the Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, who's the nephew of the writer Amin Maalouf – we just click instantly. There's a spark that goes beyond our individual personalities. I'm sure that when I do go over there I'll get a real slap in the face. Certain things will immediately become clear to me. It was a bit like that when I performed with Lili Boniche, in fact. He's this Algerian 'pied-noir' singer and my mother, who comes from Normandy, is a huge fan of his. I thought she'd get a big kick out of me playing with him. Lili’s got this absolutely amazing voice which is really unique. I love it!
When it comes to musical collaboration you've tended to work with quite a few 'golden oldies' such as Brigitte Fontaine, Lili Boniche and Marcel Kanche…
That's another thing I learnt from my grandmother, you know, age doesn't matter that much. What counts for me is working with someone who's got a real history behind them or a real personality. I guess that's my Robin Hood side. I love music and genuine artists and that's what someone like Brigitte is. I love the complexity of her personality and her songwriting. It's just so rich… If Brigitte Fontaine isn't an artist, then who is?!?
Frédéric Garat
Translation : Julie Street
08/09/2009 -
21/06/2004 -
17/12/1999 -
