QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – der gig-blog Fragenkatalog: Folge 11 mit ORWELL

Der Artikel über unsere Orwell-Visite in Saarbrücken endete mit dem Satz „…und versprechen uns gegenseitig, einen Orwell-Gig in Stuttgart klarzumachen, was wir auch machen. Hand drauf.“

Voilà, am 4. März ist es soweit: Orwell kommen für eines von zwei exklusiven Deutschlandkonzerten in die Waggons am Nordbahnhof/ FFUS. Wer schon mal vorhören möchte, die aktuelle, sehr empfehlenswerte Orwell-EP gibt es derzeit als free download. Orwell-Mastermind Jérôme Didelot hat außerdem vorab unsere Fragen beantwortet. Vraiment génial!

What are the first things you associate with Stuttgart?
In the right order: my sister, cars and Bundesliga. Although the first one has never lived in Stuttgart, she lives in Germany. There was a time when both my sisters were living in Germany. At the time I thought I was next on the list. When I used to visit them, being a non German speaker was giving me a real exotic feeling, as if I was in a far away country… weird, isn’t it? I was just two hours away from home.

Please describe your most embarrassing moment on stage.
Funny thing, that happened in Strasbourg near the German border. We were invited in a kind of family event on a sunny Sunday. A troop of modern dancers had contacted us to perform in a kind of “pop ball”. When we arrived, the promoter of the event asked us if we were the “salsa band”. He was furious when he learned we weren’t playing afro Cuban music. We performed in front of an audience that looked more like a bridge club than like a rock audience if you see what I mean… In this weird atmosphere, the dancers finally came on stage while we were playing, making strange moves around us. I was laughing so much that I had to turn my back from the audience. I still don’t’ know what was oddest for the elder listeners: our music or the dancers.

Can you list all the things you lost on tour?
Mostly health and good shape… And I know what to expect in Germany: gallons of beer!

We’d love to hear from you that your latest record isn’t your best one.
No it’s not. The best one is the forthcoming one.

Which was the last movie you saw in cinema?
Shame on me, it’s Whatever Works by Woody Allen… It’s already an old movie! It would have been easier for me to answer the question: Which was the last movie you missed in cinema?

Which was the last album you bought?
The Leisure Society… but I offered it so I have to buy it again!

Which was the last book you threw into the corner?
I finish every book I start. The most difficult thing is to choose a book that I know will finish.

Which song makes you run on the dancefloor?
If there was a science of the dancefloor, I suppose the members of Chic would be the class’s teachers, even if one of them has disappeared. I must confess I can’t resist Ain’t no mountain high enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrel.

The world’s best live club?
To be honest I haven’t seen many – ask Bob Dylan if you meet him – but I have a wonderful memory of the Filmore in San Francisco. I also liked Amsterdam’s Paradiso. And La Cigale in Paris is a beautiful venue, but it’s more like a theatre.

Why are your concerts the best ones?
Who said that apart from my mom?

If your music was food, what would it taste like?
I never clearly understood why all the music we generally call “twee pop” or “chamber pop” was always associated with sweets and candies. I would like my music to evoke a proper meal, light enough so that the listener won’t be fed up with it, but with a remaining taste that lasts after the songs end.

Are the Beatles overrated?
No.

Your greatest mental defect?
Obviously it has not happened yet.

Which question do you absolutely want to be asked?
“Did you need plastic surgery to have such a perfect nose?”

What was the idea, the inspiration for your last, and btw wonderful, EP „80’s are 30“?
People in the media and rock critics generally describe the 80’s as an awful decade. Some bands are respected but a lot of the bands I used to listen to at the time are considered like war criminals by the “Intelligencia”. This EP is a sort of homage to those bands and those songs that just have to be naked to sound nice.