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Special report
M in Cairo
Chédid Junior Goes Back to his Roots
Cairo
21/06/2004 -
RFI Musique: We know you have certain affective ties with Egypt, but isn't playing a date in Cairo bang in the middle of your tour rather out of keeping with the rest of your schedule? Do you feel the need to venture out on a limb and take an artistic risk or something ?
M: Well, there's certainly a marked contrast between this concert and the other dates in my tour. On the one hand, I find myself here in a universe that's very familiar to me, because I've come back to my family's roots. Obviously, being here makes me think of my grandparents and my father and that whole side of my family. But on the other hand, I'm also plunged into the great unknown. I'm suddenly brought into contact with this culture I don't really know that well and faced with a language I can't speak at all. All the basic codes of interaction and communication have to be reinvented. And that's what's so great about it, having to start everything over again from scratch when I'm used to walking out on stage and having an instant rapport with the audience.
Yes, there's a certain amount of venturing out into the unknown, but I think that encourages you to be creative at least. When you're playing on home ground, where you've already won over audiences, it's still possible – at least I hope it's still possible – to evolve and move things in a different direction, but it's trickier. Things come on in leaps and bounds when you find yourself in a difficult situation with an element of danger. That's when things happen and you get inspired. I'm lucky enough to be accompanied on stage by Vincent Ségal and Cyrille Atef who are pretty good musicians, I have to say. They manage to communicate in a universal language and I feel that when they evoke other cultures they do so in a way that feels right somehow. As far as the concert in Cairo goes, I'll definitely be throwing in a few references to Egyptian culture, without being totally over the top about it. I'll throw in a few "choukrane" ("thankyous") here and there! (Laughs) You know, just to let the crowd know we're trying to communicate and have a real exchange with them. Even if there are a few French fans in the audience, the idea is that we're out there playing and singing for the Egyptians!
But I have to admit there's still this element of the unknown where anything could happen. I've no way of knowing whether the audience is going to be distant and reserved or whether they're going to be in a full-on party mood. Who knows whether they'll be interested or not? All that's a big blur to me right now – and happily so, I must say!
In your concerts in French-speaking countries you're renowned for inciting maximum audience participation. You've been known to invite fans up on stage to sing with you, in fact. You're surely not thinking of attempting this in Cairo?
I don't see why not! We're going to try and just throw ourselves into things and see what reaction we get from the crowd. If we feel there's a way of getting the audience to participate – like maybe we can get someone up on stage to sing in my place like I do with the song Gimmick in France – I'll do it without a moment's hesitation… Or maybe we'll get people up on stage dancing. But at the same time I think we'll have to expect a certain amount of reserved behaviour because of the different social codes. But maybe we're in for a few surprises. One thing I've noticed out here, for instance, is that I'm not the only one with a "Satanic" haircut!
Talking of Satanic haircuts, I see a lot of local critics have already written of you as the devil - and some have even gone so far as to cast doubt upon your manliness. Could it be the pink suit and the horns on your head?
I'm the gay devil incarnate! People are either going to love me or hate me, but that's what makes it interesting. Having said that, however, while it's true that I enjoy surprising people and causing a stir, I can't say I'm especially keen on the idea of causing full-scale scandal and provocation. I don't feel I can let myself go on all fronts at the Cairo show. In France, I've developed this rather erotic dance around the song Ton écho and I can't see myself doing that on stage in Cairo tonight! You have to adapt to different situations, you know. Even if my act revolves around a lot of theatricality and humour and self-derision, it could all fall very flat out here! I think you have to be aware of that, but not keep yourself too much in check either. We don't want to do a concert where everyone's just standing stock still!
I think the trump card we have to play is the music and that's what we'll be putting centre stage. We'll be less involved in the show aspect of things and more involved in the music. Maybe it's enough to get up on stage and give people a series of great songs and beautiful melodies. Maybe that's a sufficiently good way of communicating with people after all!
Loïc Bussières
Translation : Julie Street
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