INTERVIEW – We left him with Dionysus painted blue while singing the hymn of peace at the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Paris. The singer returns to present his fifteenth album. Zouzou.
After stunning the planet with his naturist performance, the singer-songwriter, who is also a visual artist, actor and radio columnist for France Inter, returns to present his fifteenth album, featuring his daughter Edie. Titled: ZouzouThis musical project, overflowing with creativity, passes through enlightening texts, imbued with Dadaist humor and mild melancholy à la Charles Trenet.
Madame Figaro. – Click for seventeen titles Zouzou ?
Philip Catherine. – I never have a specific project before writing a song. I slip into a meditative listening state, and they arrive. Once the melody and lyrics are there, I work on the arrangements and carefully choose the order of the pieces Zouzou are filmed with a sense of nostalgia and delicious idleness. They describe my experience of three years with my family, in my living room, without traveling or running. A bracket of happiness in a chaotic world, because, apart from recording this album, I didn’t do much.
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
My current situation.
I’m so happy it’s almost embarrassing. I turned to my first loves, drawing, painting, collages, because when I started I studied visual arts at the University of Rennes. In 2022 I put together an exhibition called Beautywhich started at Le Bon Marché in Paris and is now heading to China.I’m not a full-time musician; I also like to write and film.These activities combine and fuel my music.
My character?
I don’t know who I am. I am looking for faces. I recognize myself in someone like Jean-Paul Belmondo, an actor who slipped into many characters, always maintaining a distance fueled by self-doubt.
The qualities and flaws these characters share.
They are the ephemeral products of pop art. I played one during the Olympics. This fictional character with childlike features was harmless. Without intending to, he nevertheless caused a stir. I was naive. I had to tell myself that spontaneity is often seen as a provocative gesture.
My characters are the ephemeral products of pop art
Philip Caterin
My attitude on the set.
Being in front of the camera relaxes me and gives me a creative charge. It’s weird, but this is where I’m starting to live.
A topic that annoys me.
I feel uncomfortable when people talk about money. This comes from my childhood. my father often did this for reasons I don’t share.So today, if the topic comes up at dinner, I leave the table.
My ideal outfit for an interview.
Be dressed in all white. It’s a way to evoke a blank page, that is, the beginning of all creation. I love how Martin Margiela, by forcing himself to use only white, created a stunning universe.
I feel uncomfortable when people talk about money
Philip Caterin
Seduction mode or warrior?
In seduction mode, but honestly, I am interested in interviews, because I am not very talkative.
Misunderstanding about me?
That I am an optimist. When I release a CD, I always expect incomprehensibility, failure. If the public reacts positively, I tell myself that it comes from a misunderstanding.
An opinion that made me happy.
Thirty years ago I toured Belgium alone with a guitar. The day after my concert in Brussels I read in the newspaper: “Philippe Catherine would deserve to be Belgian.” It made me very happy because many of the artists who changed my life are Belgian: Magritte, Marcel Marien, Paul Nouget…
Zouzou, Cinq 7 by Philippe Caterin in concert at Zenit in Paris on April 30.
Source: Le Figaro
