Paris (AFP)
"For the first time, I said to myself + one day Metronomy will be forgotten +": then, in a beautiful counter-foot, Joseph Mount joined "Forever" ("Forever") on behalf of his group to baptize the album that comes out Friday, as he tells AFP.
"But I could have called it + Metronomy Infinite + since there are 17 tracks, it's long!" Laughs the brain of the English group, author, composer and sound engineer. The notion of "heritage" left by the artists in the musical landscape tapped during the genesis of this 6th studio album.
"The brevity of things happened to me, nothing lasts forever, but I said to myself + you must enjoy the trip, no matter the destination + even if it sounds a bit like a formula for an airline", smiles again bearded man, 36 years old.
The result? An album very effective, rendered on stage in quintet mode. After an instrumental short, the bass line of "Whitsand Bay" grabs the listener to push him to the dancefloor where "Insecurity", "Lately" or "Sex Emoji" await him.
Either a guitar-machine graft (loops, beats, synths, etc.) that moves the bodies. Like a version 2.0 of the sound of Manchester of the years 1980-90, this famous "Madchester", play of word on the wind of musical madness that blew since this city of the north of England.
- "Dance-music and guitars" -
"Yes, what's funny is that when I met my French girlfriend, she was in indie + (indie rock), she knew more than me about English bands and I discovered that in France there was this obsession for Manchester, "he agrees.
"I was listening more Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins, but moving to France I could touch the finger + sound + baggy (reference to loose clothes worn at that time), this idea to join dance-music and guitars ", which finds an extension in" Metronomy Forever ".
The creation of the album was not done in one go. "After living 7-8 years in Paris, I went back to England with my girlfriend and our two children.I wrote in Paris, but it was not good enough, I deleted part of it. and reworked in Kent (south-east London county), the album is the juxtaposition of the two ".
Everything came out of the belly of the studio that "Joe" Mount installed right next to his house, in the English countryside: "I never had a studio of my own, it's amazing, like when you're a kid and 'we receive a miniature train'. This gourmet pleasure is felt beyond the sweet electro-pop of the aptly named "Salted Caramel Ice Cream".
- And now, he is filming! -
The architect of Metronomy is pleased, knock on the door of house-music ("Lying Low") or frame a piece very French touch ("Miracle Rooftop"). The occasion to recall that the group posted on its social networks a vibrant tribute on the day of the death of Philippe Zdar, half of Cassius, formation which also appears in the thanks of the album.
The French electro scene irrigates moreover "Sex Emoji" since "Mr. Oizo" came to bring his grain of peps. Quentin Dupieux, his real name, also director ("Le Daim" is his last offshoot in the cinema) had another contribution, decisive.
"He made a video on the previous album, he became a friend, and what's amazing is that he's doing what he wants: he was making movies and he thought to himself why I should to pay for music? I do it myself! + ", he explains to AFP.
As a result, Joseph Mount went the other way and became the director of the clips for the album. "I said to myself, I can do it, I've seen directors working and I've worked with them, like Quentin, Michel Gondry, who are open, + relax + I would not say it was easy, but I was prepared. One more cap for the thinking head.
© 2019 AFP