Category: Le blogorouni

Whenever I’ve got something to say about Orouni, I say it in English. I also write for Tonni and Yolanda, among others, who may read my blog (or at least look at it) but don’t really understand what’s going on. So yesterday I was very happy because Orouni’s demos will be reviewed in Magic, a French music magazine. For me it is quite huge because thanks to Magic I discovered Stars, they once had Nada Surf on the cover, and Baxter Dury as the album of the month in September. The review will be accompanied by a first draft version of some cover art done by Ndeo, who is now a real businessman. So I repeat it, I am very happy, though this is only the beginning…

“J’ai découvert le Velvet Underground et Lou Reed que je préfère aux Beatles, car le Velvet procure une sensation de danger. Leonard Cohen fut mon grand héros.“

Non ce n’est pas moi qui dis ça (j’aurais tout à fait pu, c’est ça qui est marrant), mais Tom Barman, leader de dEUS, dans le A Nous Paris de cette semaine (#281). Auteur d’une petite merveille en 1997, le groupe revient cet automne avec Pocket Revolution, un très bon album, où l’on peut justement sentir à la fois l’influence du Velvet (Pocket Revolution) et de Leonard Cohen (Nothing Really Ends). Je me réjouis de les voir demain en concert à l’Olympia.

Le jeu, par contre, est de trouver à qui appartient la citation du titre, qui colle miraculeusement bien avec ce post.

Here is a post in Shakespeare’s language, as we put it. I found another legal mp3 of one of my favorite bands of the moment, Stars. It’s partly because of that song that I went to their concert not so long ago. I find it wonderful, both delicate and decided. So if you like the tune, drop me a line.

Stars – Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

The lyrics are here

Le simple fait que le chanteur du Klub des Loosers boive du Martini blanc lors de ses concerts m’incite à me lancer dans le hip-hop.

Le fait qu’il porte un masque m’a bien plu aussi, une sorte de masque vénitien blanc qui ajoute à l’oppression et l’inéluctabilité des paroles.

Et puis ils samplent A Day In The Life des Beatles, alors…

Comme je suis rien qu’une girouette, voici une photo qui n’est pas en noir et blanc mais qui représente un exemple de jungle urbaine que l’on peut trouver à proximité de mon actuel taudis.

Après la visite de l’exposition Martin Parr, il a été décidé que le noir et blanc, il n’y a que ça de vrai. Voilà un petit exemple, pris dans le seizième arrondissement, s’il vous plaît. C’est là que je prospecte pour mon futur studio, et oui qu’est-ce que vous voulez. On dirait qu’une méduse s’est échouée par terre.

So relieved ! The concert is over. I heard it was not too bad. The hardest part was maybe at the soundcheck, when for the first time in my life I had to sing in English in front of several people. And I was the only non Danish-speaking band ! It is quite impressive to give one’s first concert, but anyway I was blinded by the spotlights so I couldn’t see the audience, although I could hear them ;) The funniest part was after the concert, when this Polish guy congratulated me but complained about the joke on the death of the Pope. Well I didn’t intend to hurt anybody… next time I have to think more about my jokes… It’s also funny how you can make friends when you’re a singer. Maybe I should go on … to win more friends ! But everybody seems to have known you for years. Some have, but some haven’t. I don’t know what to think about it. I can’t help being cynical.

… ça.

Today I’m very proud to announce that Orouni has been remixed by Daria. You should definitely listen to it.

This is very funny. Once I read an interview of Elliott Smith, where the journalist said he sounded like Nick Drake. At that time, I didn’t know Nick Drake, and neither did Elliott Smith. I don’t know if the journalist felt ridiculous, because usually when you say that somebody sounds like somebody else, the purpose is to determine influences and so on. So as I liked this concept of being influenced by somebody you’ve never heard of or simply never heard, when the Studenthouse asked me to give a small biography for the festival, I wrote among other things “Some say it sounds like Belle & Sebastian, some say Leonard Cohen (…). Some talk about names that the singer has never heard of”. I sent this to the person in charge of the bands, and he replied me that he found Orouni sounds like Syd Barrett!!! I can’t say that I’ve never heard of him or never heard him, of course I love songs like See Emily Play, Arnold Layne, or Flaming Lips that he wrote when he was still in Pink Floyd, but this is definitely not an influence, sorry Thom and Yod :)

So tonight I’m listening to The Madcap Laughs, his solo album, to check what I(t) sound(s) like.