“In my entire discography you will only find two works in which I have been myself”
Despite twenty-five years of career Sebastien Tellier does not give in to conformism and feels rejuvenated in “Kiss The Beast” (26). the most sincere album he has signed since his distant debut. The Parisian composer says goodbye to theatricality and a sophisticated aesthetic universe to present the work that best represents him.
(You can check the dates of their performances at the end of this interview)
“I have never wanted to become the kind of professional who composes as if he already knew everything”comments regarding “feel like a rookie again” making this album. “You have to approach each new project as if you were a kid in a candy store. Otherwise, you’re doing something wrong.”. For this journey beyond the boundaries of his comfort, Tellier has also counted on a long line of collaborators. Several producers, backup singers, arrangers, engineers, as well as big names like Kid Cudi, Nile Rodgers or Slayyyter. “This is not simply a Sébastien Tellier album, but a family album,” he states. “After so many years locked in with myself, I had a deeply human need to share the creative process with other people. I could give you a starchy answer about how much you learn by working with other artists, but in reality the collaborations on this album start from a much simpler place, which is my natural impulse to escape loneliness. Thanks to this album I feel less alone in the world and that makes me happy.”
“The true objective of this album ended up being that, to allow the listener to better know my personality, my instincts and my philosophy of life”
Furthermore, it is the first LP of his career that he signs in its entirety with his wife and mother of his two children, the actress, singer and producer Amandine de la Richardière, whom he confesses to follow. “deeply in love” after twenty years and having been decisive in giving shape and substance to this new work. “He is the light of my life, my first and true love,” as he reminds us through songs like “Un Dimanche en Famille”. “Over time he has ended up influencing my projects more and more, to the point that he already knows me better than I know myself. As we already know, the music industry can be a very complex and stressful place, therefore, and at this point in my career, I only like to work surrounded by love and kind, sweet people with good energy.”
All in all, and although we are talking about an album with global pretensions and varied influences, “Kiss The Beast” continues to sound very similar. Sebastien Tellier and indisputably French. “I think it has a lot to do with the culture that artists of my generation grew up with,” It begins by reflecting on the national imprint on French electronics. “You know, Christophe, Jean-Michel Jarre, Cerrone… In my time we had very few radio stations and almost all of them played the same thing, so we inevitably come from that common imagination. Later, of course, each one developed his own personal brand, but what we learned left its mark on us. The French, in addition, are romantic and nostalgic by nature, so we can’t help but end up looking at the past with a certain emotion.”
In the case of what is his seventh studio album, Tellier purifies his references to let out doses of truth hitherto unpublished in lyrics that, although they are some of the best he has written, were also the result of hard work. “Emmanuel de Buretel, head of Beacuse Music, told me something that I will never forget. He explained to me that he wanted to work with me, that he loved my music… but he also asked me for more commitment to the lyrics. I must admit that at that moment my ego felt overwhelmed, and probably for him it was just another observation in a random conversation, but I took it very seriously and tried to write lyrics that were really good and that talked about what really happens inside my head”thereby generating a narrative as introspective as the one we see in that dichotomy between the “Mouton” (lamb) and the “Loup” (wolf). “So the true objective of this album ended up being that, to allow the listener to better know my personality, my instincts and my philosophy of life.”
Something that, curiously, is linked to his debut, “L’Incroyable Vérité” (01), which this year celebrates no less than a quarter of a century. “In my entire discography you will only find two works in which I have been myself. “L’Incroyable Vérité” was the first and “Kiss the Beast” is now the second”sentence. “In the others he played roles. In “Sexuality” he was a seducer, in “Politics” he was a kind of extravagant leader, in “My God Is Blue” he was like the leader of a sect… There was always a mask. That does not mean that those albums were less valid, but everything that was around them, such as the promotion, the image or what happened on stage, belonged to a character. To this day I regret it, because in the end it is much more comfortable to simply be “It’s not always easy, but it’s what brings you closer to the real world.”
