Guest of Michel Denisot on Europe 1, Saturday, Laurent Voulzy confided in his attraction for the "mystical" things of life in parallel with his passion for music.

The famous singer, who performs regularly in churches, has also poured out a unique character from the Middle Ages.

INTERVIEW

It is one of his deep inspirations, which he quotes instinctively.

In the midst of electric guitar, rock n'roll or classical music, there is however a somewhat unusual element in the references advanced by Laurent Voulzy, namely "the mystique and the search for invisible things" of the life.

A rather original combination that the musician gladly details at the microphone Europe 1 of Michel Denisot in

Icons

, Saturday, and of which he tries to find the true roots, between Guadeloupe and metropolis.

Guadeloupe mysticism?

With this spiritual enthusiast, the attraction for "mysticism" came very early, in the 1970s, in parallel with his childhood passion for science and history.

This cocktail explains the tours and concerts that the singer gives regularly in churches.

And also the song "Jesus", written with his sidekick Alain Souchon, which came out in 2001.

>> Find all of Michel Denisot's interviews every Saturday at 8.45am on Europe 1 as well as in podcast and replay here

To explain this character, a little less down-to-earth than with other artists, Laurent Voulzy puts forward the particularity of his Guadeloupe origins.

"There, the invisible, the esoteric and the magic were much more present in my mother's time when she was there, until the 1950s. People pray, are afraid of magic or are afraid of it. I have heard some great stories my mom told me from when she was little, etc. Maybe that played a role. "

His passion for… Hildegarde de Bingen

A period of history particularly interests the artist in matters of spirituality: the Middle Ages. "I don't know if this is the cause of my attraction to things that are a little invisible or if it is also my attraction to the invisible which makes me attracted to the Middle Ages, where the sky was extremely important and where religion was important, etc. ", wonders Laurent Voulzy.

It was logical, therefore, to find a figure of this historical period in the icons of the singer. It is about a rather unknown woman, Hildegarde de Bingen, mystical Benedictine nun, composer and Franconian woman of letters of the 12th century. "She wrote texts, certainly religious comments, but she had visions but then she also wrote music and poetry", says Laurent Voulzy, the voice caught by the singular history of this German nun. "She also gave recipes to cure illnesses and we found out later that this was totally topical." Since then, the singer continues to be interested in this figure, without ever turning his back on science.