Interview

Bertrand Belin, Persona grata

Breton singer, guitarist and writer, Bertrand Belin. © Bastien Burger

04/11/2019

The critically acclaimed dandy-singer continues to expand the size of a long-time fan club with his sixth Persona album. A social and political statement through the invisible people of society and a voice that is always identifiable. He plays for the first time tonight at the Olympia.

RFI Musique: Can we talk about this new album Persona , like that of the recognition?
Bertrand Belin: I notice that the people around me seem to say that and that there is a clear enthusiasm. I see him in concert halls too, of course. Interest is more visible. For any artist, finding interlocutors at the other end is important.

Are you aware of this more meaningful membership?
I do not know how to measure it, I do not care about it directly. Against everything, I will continue to do what I love, the way I want to do. And despite the fact that popular success is not at the rendezvous. There are also records, let's know why, which are more interesting to the public than others. With the previous ( Cap Waller , ed), we still made a hundred and forty dates. So it still created a wait. It's not a spontaneous federation either, there is a whole story behind it.

On stage, your interventions between songs make havoc! Is it spontaneous or written?
I always needed to talk to the audience between songs. These are things that settle down as improvisations on stage, which are in my language and can occur if necessary at any time. These are not words that I have written on paper. It's more an accumulation of moments, experiences, attempts to communicate with the public.

An album, concerts, a novel Great carnivores and a soundtrack of My life with James Dean . Are you hyperactive?
No, it's just my life. I do not think I'm hyperactive, I could do more. I like music, I like to write, I like to dance. And then I love fraternity and discoveries with other professions, dance, cinema. That's why I'm going to flirt a little to the right to see how people tell their own stories. When one is an artist, one devotes all his time to that, it is normal that I apply to it.

Is your writing instinctive?
This is not automatic writing. I do not write like you open a tap (laughs). It is a writing that appeals, as much as possible, to what is of the order of emotion, sensation. At the time of formatting things, I leave nothing to chance, it is very architectured.

A singular architecture based on ellipses, repetitions ...
This is the most important thing to have your own language, to find your way. If it's to be like the neighbor, it does not matter. We must multiply the points of view on the world. And to multiply the points of view on the world, it is also to multiply the points of observation and the points of intention of departure. It is essential to have a recognizable style even if it is not something that is used from the beginning. It happens or it does not happen, but in any case, it is also the result of a job.

Did your views, often maritime or embracing the natural elements, move towards urbanity?
We can say that, it's true, in a more general way. But on the last two records, we were dealing, for example, some galley slaves who sleep in bank lobbies. This disc, it seems that it is perceived as more urban and it must be certainly. It's not something I control.

And your penchant for the antiheroes and the invisible?
It was already the case before. It reflects the permanent increase of misery we see around us when we live in the city. People have a hard time living their own health, their own biological survival, but also they have trouble living relationships with others. One can exist in the middle of the city being completely banished from society. I do not choose to talk about this in my songs, it's something that comes to the forefront of my concerns and my sensitivity. It does not make me want to write about cocktails and hammocks in the Bahamas. There are people to deal with the frivolity and lightness of the wonderful world. On this album, I unintentionally got into things that annoy a little more.

Is this idea of ​​social hierarchy marked by your childhood?
It is quite conscious indeed, I am very sensitive to these questions. That's why as an artist I carry these materials in my practice, that's not a choice. Because I lived in a family that was singled out. Because I flew to eat when I was little. Because I know what galley is. So I am sensitive to broken destinies. I think it's very close to each of us. I feel it, I know it, it's a part of my interior.

Decommissioning is a general concern?
There are people who do not think about it and feel safe from it. And then, all the better, because we can not live in the permanent threat of downgrading. Some have a sufficiently ample financial cushion and bouncing to be safe from this point of view. This does not mean sheltered from misfortune, because it has nothing to do with social classes. On the other hand, I think there are many people who are wondering right now when they will be fired from home. We are not talking about ten people, but thousands. Did you see the price of rent? It becomes improbable to lodge, it is two-thirds of the wages of people who go into the basic functions of everyday life. There will be more and more people on the street, that's for sure.

You look at the street. And yourself ?
I try to make myself a little disappear, I want to reappear a little on stage. But in the songs themselves, I use an "I" that is not really me, but rather the idea that I have of what we have in common.

Why this desire not to identify your characters?
The bodies and silhouettes of my songs are mostly people who are described by their actions, their actions or the situation in which they are. After, everyone to project in there when we listen to the song and to get an idea of ​​the distance we have with the situation, what we understand.

Do not you feel the desire to write for others?
It's very rare, it's not my thing. I did write three texts for L'épée , Emmanuelle Seigner's band. I also made a text, Sunday , on the last album of The Liminañas, but they asked me to sing it moreover. I am not the best person for this kind of exercise. In fifteen years, I had to make five or six, which is very little.

Bertrand Belin Persona (Five7 / Wagram) 2019

Official website / Facebook / Instagram
In concert at the Olympia in Paris on April 11, 2019

By: Patrice Demailly

Bertrand Belin

album - French Song - France