Ok, so this is the translation of the first page...
( Pour ceux qui parlent Français, si vous voyez que j'ai écris une grosse bêtise
, n'hésitez pas à corriger ! Merci ! Bisous !
)
People liked your last album, so did you feel more confident ?Yes, and most importantly, I felt very pleased. Many people tell me they love this album, it makes them feel good. I've got many artists' albums which made me feel good too, at different times of my life. Some people confided that to me, but about songs. I often was said : "This song has accompanied me ", but never for an entire album. Every day, music is by our side. For a lot of people, it is an element of their life.
This album contains twenty songs. It's quite rare...I was very spoiled, I've never received so many beautiful songs at the first attempt ! We recorded them all, but when we had to choose, we had to suppress four or five songs. So we have kept very important songs for me. Finally, I prefer short albums with ten songs. But for this one, we had enough songs in order to make two albums, if we wanted to. So it's not as if we wanted to make a double-album at the beginning, and as if we couldn't manage to find songs. I really like the idea to record an album with songs which were already written.
There are love songs, very nice duets, a "pop atmosphere"..."Pop music", that very large. In France, we call that "variety". And I can describe this album as an "assorted album". We travel to Cuba, to London, we come back to France and we go to Italia... I think this album is like a novel. Even if people will have their favorite songs, I think this is a very beautiful disc to listen in entire.
You've always been supported by very talented artists. Is it a question of instinct ?It is a question of taste. I admire these persons' work. I don't know what are the songs written especially for me, or if these songs were offered to me, but I deeply feel moved by them. I really like what they do and things we made together, so it works.
But it seems like an evidence, as like here with B.Biolay...Yes, Benjamin brings out human beings, and his work is absolutely complete. I've already met people who had some "artistic qualities" that he has got, but never so many gifts in one single musician. That's ideal ! That's very beautiful and impressive to see someone who can play a lot instruments, who writes scores for the strings, the brass, chorus, and who is able to arrange other's songs as he could do for his own songs with so much pleasure.
What did he "bring" to you, compared to the others ?I don't really want to answer to this question... It depends of the musician's personality, you know... But with Benjamin, we share the same musical tastes, and we like the same artistic things... (être sur la même longueur d'ondes...
? ) So we had good relationships at once. With some musicians, I remember that I had to find "the perfect agreement" ( l'accord parfait ?? ), but with him, everything was immediate. In order to give you a concrete example, we worked during one year about the album which contains twenty songs ; it usually is the time we spend for a "simple album". The ideas and the knowledge were immediate : Benjamin is able to catch a trumpet and plays several notes when we need something for the brass... That's really unlimited. And always with his rigor that comes from classical music, and his "self-taught person" side. He knows how to make a mixing with elegance and we can feel that in his music. He really enjoy making arrangements for his own songs and for the others' songs too. He is a sublime artist. He knew how to bring out so many shrewd things in this album, that I was able to feel them with emotion and not as a work.
Did you compose songs for this album ?Yes, three or four, but I've written just one text, Doorway.
Would you like to compose more texts ?I don't really have this gift. I have got the ideas, the themes, but I never feel satisfied with my texts. I think it's because I'm "served" like a princess since I am fourteen years-old, and there's nothing I like more than singing beautiful text. That's why I don't write more.
Contrary to composition ?I must admit that it is easier for me ; it comes more naturally, that's right.
La chanson des Vieux Cons is distressing...If I don't pay attention when I'm singing it, I cry. It is a totally astounding song. It's like walking on a very high wire, very far from the ground. I don't know how it will happen when I have to sing it on stage, but it is a so beautiful song that it deserves to be sung on stage.
Your daughter, Lily-Rose, composed when she was six years-old. She is astonishing...All was made naturally, the chords already existed and I was searching for the melody for a few days. In passing near me, she sang the tune of the verses, and she even had the first phrase of the text. I found it was divine, and I wanted to finish the songs with these chords. She is proud, but she doesn't realize that her melody is "the heart" of my song New Year. It is incredible that a child's work can be so beautiful...
You go on tour. Is it essential for you to be on stage ?Essential, no, but that's a great pleasure. That also is a lot of work. I really like when we search for this perfect harmony between us, musicians, until we can communicate it to the public. Those are very nice moments. And the new texts become alive on stage. We play songs, music is everywhere. I travel and I see smiling faces, and these persons spend a good time with us. That's a dream !
We have the impression that you feel happier and happier on stage, you totally are on the same wavelength as the public...I feel more and more comfortable, that's right. And music is such a wonderful remedy to everything ! It's like going to watch a movie : it's a moment of escape. But, above all, a concert, that's something alive : music and people's energy mix, and it generates something positive. Which is rare in our everyday life. I feel like dancing inside, that a sweetness and an animal heat.
The rest of the interview is coming soon. And sorry for the mistakes ( again )...
, n'hésitez pas à corriger ! Merci ! Bisous ! 
? ) So we had good relationships at once. With some musicians, I remember that I had to find "the perfect agreement" ( l'accord parfait ?? ), but with him, everything was immediate. In order to give you a concrete example, we worked during one year about the album which contains twenty songs ; it usually is the time we spend for a "simple album". The ideas and the knowledge were immediate : Benjamin is able to catch a trumpet and plays several notes when we need something for the brass... That's really unlimited. And always with his rigor that comes from classical music, and his "self-taught person" side. He knows how to make a mixing with elegance and we can feel that in his music. He really enjoy making arrangements for his own songs and for the others' songs too. He is a sublime artist. He knew how to bring out so many shrewd things in this album, that I was able to feel them with emotion and not as a work.
! Sadly my French is not brilliant so I love to be able to read all Vanessa interviews. Interesting read