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Emilie Simon in the Big Apple
The Big Machine
Paris
09/10/2009 -
Emilie Simon: I don't think I ever made a conscious decision about it. I remember I was on holiday in Montreal and I thought it would be fun to take a trip to New York, a city I'd visited in the past. Anyway, I ended up renting this little apartment in the heart of Chinatown and that's the moment I fell in love with New York. I found myself wanting to stay a bit longer, and then a bit longer … and then I moved there! I can't put my finger on what it was that made me fall in love with the place. There's just something in the air in New York, this crazy electricity! It's like a whole bunch of people have come to the city determined to bring their projects to life. It's like everyone inspires one another and helps one another up their game. There's an incredible energy in New York that's different from anything you find elsewhere. Despite the recession, New York is still a city where anything's possible. And that makes it all the more stimulating! Living in the Big Apple has fired me with this primal energy and with an incredible urge to express myself and progress in my work…
You practically moved to New York empty-handed. Did that correspond to a musical need to start things over again from scratch?
I moved to New York with one suitcase and that was that! There was no way I could have brought my entire studio! I just had my computer and a small digital recorder and that's what I used to work on, composing material as I went along. I decided to take a back-to-basics approach this time round because that way I could see what happened when I stripped everything away. I could find out what I needed to use to build everything up again, where the real foundations of my work lie. Sometimes you get to a point where you can no longer distinguish between what's superfluous and what's essential in your work. It's only by being confronted by this type of experience that you delve right down to your core.
That must have meant radical changes in the way you worked…
I worked the opposite way to how I usually work, composing a lot less on my computer. Basically, I adopted a more conventional approach to songwriting. I started out writing the piano and vocal parts, then I let the melodies and arrangements evolve in my head without rushing off to the computer to experiment with sound, pitch and tempo… I spent a lot of time laying the foundations of each track and building up the framework, playing around with the structure to make sure the base would hold. It was only after that that I moved on to the production stage, bringing in the programming and experimenting with texture. It was like adding little splashes of colour around the spine, like exploding fireworks against a black-and-white backdrop. There's a direct analogy there with New York, too. I feel as if the city's got this stark black-and-white outline, this "roots", "gangster" base and everyone comes along and transplants their own culture, their own personal touch on top…
Why did you choose to sing in English on The Big Machine? What's your new album about?
I never made a conscious choice to sing in English. The words just came to me spontaneously with the melodies - and when they came in French, I kept them in French! I work in a very instinctive way, letting my music develop out of a real life experience. I'd be hard pushed to tell you what my album's about actually. There's a lot of symbolism, a whole jumble of feelings and emotions, but no clear stories. Most of the expressions I use came straight from my guts without bypassing my brain!
I decided that as soon as my new tracks were presentable I'd perform them live and see how they would evolve on stage. I did a number of solo residencies at this tiny venue in downtown Manhattan with my computer, my piano, a Thénorion and my 3G arm. As it was all a bit of a laboratory experiment for me, so I didn't set out to attract an audience. But the American press picked up on what I was doing and The New Yorker ran a piece recommending the show. Things started snowballing from there and the place was packed out night after night. There were actually people queuing at the door who couldn't get in! It was a brilliant experience for me!
Do you see The Big Machine as a turning-point in your life?
Yes, absolutely! This album reflects a very intense period in my life during which I've grown up a lot. I'm someone who writes about how I'm feeling every day, so I suppose it's only natural that the deep and profound changes in my existence have had repercussions on my music.
Dreamland
Concert dates in France and Belgium from 23 November
Anne-Laure Lemancel
Translation : Julie Street
27/07/2006 -
26/08/2005 -
