- Madame Monsieur is releasing this Friday “Tandem”, a double album of twenty-five titles interpreted in duet with artists from various horizons such as Kyo, Oxmo Puccino, Claudio Capéo and Lili Poe.
- "With these artists, we simply find ourselves in the studio, around a theme, a melody, a production ... and we make the song together", explains Madame Monsieur to "20 Minutes".
- "We also wanted" Tandem "to look like an album by Madame Monsieur and not a compilation of totally different styles," added the duo.
Madam, sir and their guests. The French couple, who defended the tricolor chances at Eurovision in 2018, releases their new album, Tandem , on Friday . A double album of unreleased songs, performed in duet with artists from horizons as diverse as Christophe Willem and Youssoupha, Black M or Lili Poe, Bilal Hassani or Soprano. A project that Emilie Satt and Jean-Karl Lucas, the two members of Madame Monsieur, presented at 20 Minutes .
“Tandem” was due out in September, then it was postponed to April before being postponed to June due to the coronavirus pandemic…
Jean-Karl Lucas: There have been many adventures (smile). He got rich. We started out with twenty-two songs and, in the end, we had a double album of 25 tracks. We wanted to bring in other artists, like Jérémy Frérot for Comme un voleur which has been doing very well on the radio for twenty-four weeks, or Hatik who has since been a hit in the Validé series [in which he plays the main role ].
On this album, you sing as well with Chilla or Oxmo Puccino as with Joyce Jonathan or Trois gourmet coffees… The idea is to build a bridge between rap and variety?
Emilie Satt: I would rather say that, for us, it's natural. These are artists we meet, who each have their own way of expressing themselves. We don't really ask ourselves the question. Rap is popular music today, as is variety. So with these artists, we simply find ourselves in the studio, around a theme, a melody, a production ... and we make the song together.
JK. : Labeling people, we don't like that at all. At the beginning of our career, people in the record industry did not know where to put ourselves because we were already going from pop to rap. Today, this so-called weakness has become a force, it is part of our artistic personality. This album allows us to show that we can come from different cultures, social backgrounds, even countries, and still succeed in doing something in common that everyone is proud of. We respect each other despite our differences, we are able to do something good together, that's kind of the message of this album.
In a France in full deconfinement, often split, this unifying will takes on a particular meaning, doesn't it?
JK. : Yes. We have a kind of modesty, we give little opinion publicly or on social networks, but we try to show our commitment in our music, in what we do. This album participates in transmitting a message of acceptance. It also shows that rappers are more open than some would like to believe. Kalash Criminel liked the piece he did with us, he completely assumed on his networks.
E.: We can see that there is still an audience that says "I don't listen to rap" and another that says "I only listen to rap". However, in the feedback that we have, many tell us "I'm a fan of Christophe Willem, but I really like the song with Kalash Criminel and I would not have believed it" ... Despite everything, it breaks locks , it opens minds.
JK. : We are very proud to make a feat. with Kalash Criminel and another with Amir, to participate in an album by Kerry James and do the Eurovision. For us, that's what music and life in general are. We are not going to start thinking about whether it is good for our image or I do not know what. We do it because we like to do it. The only limit we set is that the songs we compose are good ...
E: We also wanted Tandem to look like an album by Madame Monsieur and not a compilation of totally different styles.
How do you make a record that looks like Madame Monsieur without limiting the musical personality of the artists you have invited?
JK. : The themes and the melodies of the songs came from us and we left each guest a space so that he can give his version, put his gaze, entrusts his words ideas ... We presented them each with a song explaining to them what we wanted to tell and we left them either a verse or a piece of chorus, so that they bring their paw. With some, like Slimane, Kyo or Boulevard des airs, we wrote the songs downright together. We wanted this album to make sense, that there was a human investment, not that the artists come an hour to sing their part before leaving.
Has it happened that an artist was not thrilled by one of your proposals and that you changed your rifle?
E.: Yes, we were not under an obligation to work on the song we had started. For example, we were convinced that a melody would please Claudio Capéo and finally, he wanted something more exciting. This gave Everyone the fuck , which is more urban and reverent. He had fun expressing himself in a light that he is not used to showing.
What is the typical profile of your audience?
E.: It's a bit of a mess (laughs). In concert, it is fairly family oriented. There are all ages. What is certain is that it is an audience that likes to sing, that needs stories, meaning.
JK. : The people who follow us on Facebook are often in their fifties and sixties. On Instagram, we have a lot of teens, young adults.
E.: And on Twitter, the trolls (laughs).
Do you get a lot of trolling?
E.: The problem with Twitter is that as soon as you get out of politeness, cute things and promotional communications, it's hellish. You get hit in two seconds. The other day, Jean-Karl tweeted that he was surprised because, a priori, he was not a fan of Lady Gaga, but that he found his latest album, Chromatica , deadly.
JK. : A guy replied, "You should take inspiration from his music. I replied, "The meat dress doesn't suit me too much." "
E.: And then there, Jean-Karl got a torrent of mud from Lady Gaga fans. They said: "It's good, she did that ten years ago, it is not just that", "You disappoint me enormously" ...
JK. : It was just a valve in fact ... There, they made a world just by a tweet.
E.: You feel that there is a fight quest on Twitter . It's really heavy. Last year, we were shocked by all the violence around Bilal Hassani. It affects whether we like it or not.
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A children's book
"I was born this morning, my name is Mercy, in the middle of the sea, between two countries ..." In May 2018, Madame Monsieur sang Mercy on the Eurovision stage. A song inspired by the true story of a child born a year earlier on " L'Aquarius" , a migrant rescue vessel. Since this spring, the text of the song has been adapted into a children's book, illustrated by the Dutchwoman Saskia Halfmouw. First published in the Netherlands, "Je m'appelle Mercy" was published in France at the beginning of June, by Steinkis. The profits will be donated to Mercy and her mother.
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