Conferinta de presa pe care Mylene Farmer
si staff-ul sau au sustinut-o pe 16 decembrie 2004 pentru a anunta
reintoarcerea ei pe scena in ianuarie 2006 si aparitia noului album
Avant que l'hombre...
Translation of the article on pages 12-23
of the January 2006 issue Platine magazine.
Not a perfect translation, but it gets the job done.
Mylène Farmer
Intimacy in immensity
On Thursday, December 16, in the France Amerique
halls in Paris, Mylène Farmer gave a press conference on her
return to Bercy in 2006. There she unveiled the title of her new album,
"Avant que...l'ombre," to be released in March, with a single
at the end of January. Platine was there and has brought you the icon's
declarations in their entirety...as if you were in the room...
6:00 P.M.
The cold had passed. A slight rain was falling on Paris. In the days
before Christmas, the traffic jams were in full swing. Towards 6:00
P.M., we reached the address indicated on the card: 9-11 Avenue Franklin
Roosevelt. An adress that we knew well from celebrating the 20 years
of Radio Nostalgie a few months ago. Between the Champs Elysées
and the river Seine, the facade of this superb hotel was ablaze: red
searchlights lit it up like an evening of a thousand and one nights.
Three of the elements were thus reunited: earth, water, fire. Only
the fourth was missing, air.
In other words, inside, we were lacking for a
little air. The monumental winding stairs were dotted with numerous
small candles on each step, and these candles were shining a golden
color. As for the reception rooms on the first floor, decorated with
wall paintings and gilders, they were overheated.
Not because of the singer's passionate fans,
because they weren't stationed on the avenue either (proof maybe that
the secret of the press conference's location had been well guarded),
but rather because of the heaters that were going full blast, still
terrorized by the cold from the night before.
It's in one of these three or four rooms that
the press conference announced for 6:30 was supposed to take place.
This room had been furnished with a hundred red and gold chairs, placed
in front of a podium topped by a table and three armchairs.
In all, there must have been a hundred of us
journalists, half of which represented the French and even Belgian
regional press. As for the national press, we noticed the presence
of Le Figaro, Libération, Le Monde, as well as l'Express, Télé
Poche, Nous Deux, Star Club, Too Much, Carrefour Savoir... Whether
it was the radios (from NRJ to Radio 6 Calais) or the TV stations
(from M6 to MCM and Pink TV), the usual journalists seemed to all
be there. And yet, even sorted by section and checked at the entrance
by presenting ID, most of these journalists had something more in
their look or their attitude...Something that betrayed their passion
for the person who was going to appear. The very respectful questions
that were going to be asked comforted us in our idea that 50% of the
media present were admirers of the icon...
6:30 P.M.
After the arrival of Jean-Philippe Allard, the manager of Polydor,
the record label that houses Mylène's label, and Pascal Nègre's,
Universal's big boss, the label that promotes her, the press assistant
Catherine Battner gave instructions ("turn off your cell phones,"
"state your name before each question"...) and announced
the delights that were in store for us. The press conference was going
to begin.
First off, Thierry Suc, Mylène's manager
and stage producer, by himself.
With a pleasant demeanor, the dynamic producer
made his entrance before the star couple, in order to present the
practical aspects of the concerts, announcing that this spectacle,
"nontransportable," would only constitute 13 performances
at Paris-Bercy starting Friday, January 13, 2006. He also stated that
this show would be sold as a "dry" concert (tickets alone),
but also in packages. Either a ticket for the concert plus airfare
from the province and one night in a Paris hotel, or a ticket for
the concert plus a round trip bus ticket to Paris and back in one
day for the closest provincials. Thierry also announced that the ticket
sales would begin the day following this conference (Ed. note: 22,000
seats were sold in the first day). The manager of TS3 also recalled
that Mylène had given the final concert of her "Millénium
Tour" almost five years ago, on March 8, 2000, in St. Petersburg
in Russia, in front of 15,000 people. In total, the last tour of around
43 cities brought together about 400,000 spectators.
So, after barely five minutes, Mylène
and Laurent made their entrance. Mylène, dressed in a cream
and marine-blue jacket-skirt ensemble, with boots, her red hair pulled
up in a bun, a smile on her lips. A smile which never left her, except
to transform into a charming laugh, a shy laugh. Laurent, with his
eternal Rimbaud look falsely at ease, his white hair...
It was time for questions.
Yves (La dernière heure belgique):
It was announced, right or wrong, that this concert would be your
farewell concert, that you wouldn't do any more afterward, is this
true?
Mylène: You're announcing
something that I'm unaware of. This isn't my farewell concert, no,
no. I wish to continue this profession as long as possible.
Michel Troadec (Ouest France): Just one
easy question: It's symbolic that the 13 concerts start on Friday
the 13th. How did this idea come about?
Mylène: Listen, it's really
by chance and I admit that we're having fun with this idea in any
case (laughs). It's just by chance.
Thierry Suc: Just a little story,
it's really by chance because Bercy isn't readily available for spectacles
because it's a sports arena above all. When we called to talk about
our project, one of the only possibilities was from Friday January
13th and for only 13 dates...And if you add January 13, 2006, the
sum of the numbers is again 13 (Ed. note: 1+3+0+1+2+0+0+6=13)
A journalist who didn't introduce himself:
If it's an untransportable show, you must have planned some things
in particular, can we know any more about this?
Mylène: We've been working
for about six months now with a few ideas, I'll tell you that it will
be magical, I hope...As for it being emotional, I hope so...After
that, my faith must continue for us three to work together (laughs).
Does Mr. Boutonnat want to add anything?
Laurent Boutonnat: Regarding the
fact that it's nontransportable...The idea is in fact to use the entire
Bercy arena, which is a quite incredible hall, and to be able to use
it completely, in other words to tell yourself that all of a sudden
you don't need to restrict yourself onstage...that you can do anything:
have several stages, dress up the hall, have sound coming from everywhere,
put subwoofers under the tiers...For example, positioning the sound
so that everyone, no matter where they're at in the hall, can have
the same sound direction, that the sound isn't directed to just one
stage. So, we're trying lots of things, we're going to try lots of
things like that. There you go...more of a bunch of elements that
you can't transport.
Daniel Beaucourt (Télé Poche):
I would like to speak about what has been qualified the "strategy
of silence," which has worked rather well for you these past
few years...Why are you breaking this silence now? A presse conference
isn't something you're accustomed to, at least, not in France...
Mylène: ...
Daniel Beaucourt: Why did you decide to
address the media in this way?
Mylène: Hey, I only did
it for one reason, to answer the request of Thierry Suc, who is my
friend, my manager, and my show producer. Because I think that sometimes
you have to have someone other than yourself. My personal nature is
silence and maybe, mystery. I don't cultivate mystery, contrary to
what can be said about me, it's my personal nature. I have a lot of
difficulty talking about myself, I have a lot of difficulty justifying
myself, but now I think that it was important to respond to this request.
Sonia (NRJ): Can you talk about the content
of your show? New album? or no new album? New songs onstage?
Mylène: Well, yes I have
a new album that will be released, I think, in mid-March. We're in
the final stages of this album, in the mixing process. I can say that
it will be performed onstage, certainly, the majority of it, with,
of course, other songs from other albums...As for the content of the
stage, I admit that I can't answer in more detail because it's in
the planning stages.
Sonia: The atmosphere of the songs, maybe?
Mylène: The atmosphere,
in terms of production, might be that there will be little changes,
but as for me, I remain the same, so, it's the same atmosphere (laughs).
Laurent Boutonnat: It's difficult
to respond precisely about something that you do yourself, to have
the same point of view, on things that change, things that are different...
Frank (Egérie): I would like to
know if it's being planned to go beyond the 13 expected dates or will
it be 13 dates regardless?
Mylène: I think Thierry
Suc will be able to answer that for you...
Thierry Suc: For the moment, it's
really only 13 dates because the availability of Bercy doesn't allow
to do anything different. Things can evolve; we'll see, with time,
but for now, there will be 13 concerts.
Anonymous journalist: It's a huge amount
of work for 13 performances...are you looking forward to this work,
are you having fun with it?
Mylène: Having fun? (laughs).
You know, the production of a show...the work, I love the work. I
love to work, it gives meaning to my life. The only thing that guides
me is the desire to be onstage, to share the stage with the public.
So no matter how much work there is, it doesn't matter, but it's a
lot of work, indeed.
Journalist: But 13 times onstage, that's
not very much?
Mylène: That's true, it's
also frustrating, believe me, but it's my choice. I take responsibility
for that choice. I already know that I'll be back onstage in the future.
I know that I'll find it again and the rest of France and...there
you go.
Antoine Menuisier (Le Matin): Will there
be a DVD?
Mylène: Yes, of course,
just like for all my tours.
Antoine: And the rest of France, when
will that be?
Mylène: (who didn't hear
the question very well): The rest of France won't happen for all these
reasons, but know that for the three previous tours that I've done,
we had, which was really very important for the respect of the public,
transported the same spectacle from Paris to the rest of the country.
Well here, it isn't possible...
Anonymous journalist: So the idea is that
the people will come to Paris?
Mylène: There you go, very
humbly, I am going to ask the people to come to me...
Thierry Suc: To completely take
up Bercy and be able to do things in Bercy that you can't do when
you're set up for only four or five or six nights...
Virginie Carton (La Voix du Nord): You've
talked about some of the elements of the show. Will there also be
choreography, do you know about how many people there will be onstage?
Mylène: There will be choreography,
there will be dancers... There will also be (laughs) musicians...As
of now, how many will there be onstage? I don't know right now. Maybe
Thierry...
Thierry Suc: No, we're still in
the beginning of the casting phase, it's a little early. To be able
to begin putting tickets on sale...They are going to be on sale starting
tomorrow morning...There will also be a site that has been created,
which will be operational starting tomorrow morning with the possibility
for all the people in the rest of France to have access to the famous
packages that I was talking about... To be able to put tickets on
sale, we had to know a little bit where we were going, what would
be the angle of vision in this seat and that seat. We certainly don't
want to have people find themselves behind the stage, contrary to
other shows. That's the only thing we know right now: we've advanced
on the infrastructure...we know that the people who will be there
will be able to see well and since the seats that would be there would
see nothing, we didn't put them on sale.
Anonymous journalist: Will it be something
we've never seen before?
Mylène: Well, it would be
presumptuous on our part, but, in any case, as magical as possible,
yes...
Laurent Boutonnat: What's good
is that we can do everything in a situation like this. The goal isn't
to do things never seen before, because things that you haven't seen
before, you often notice that..., but that it's surprising.
Journalist from Gala: I'm wondering if
it isn't a little restrictive to do that in Paris and what will be
the cost for those who are coming to see you from the rest of France...I
know that you have a very active fan club, fanatic, no less...
Mylène: "Loving",
maybe. Not fanatic, I prefer the word "loving."
Journalist: Your public is still very
passionate, and so, they're going to travel to come see you. Is that
going to cost them a lot?[/i]
Mylène: Mr. Thierry Suc?
Thierry: The tickets...I'm going
to give you the price of the tickets...They're going to start at 54
euros, the least expensive, up to 132 euros, the most expensive; the
public sale price. There will also be packages like I explained to
you. Also, it will be possible for certain people to meet up...the
opportunity to spend a weekend in Paris...with one night in a hotel,
two nights, a one-star hotel, two-stars...We made people work, travel
agencies that tried to negotiate 10,000 hotel rooms at the best possible
price, we did it all beforehand, we have a negotiation with Air France
which allowed us to obtain a round trip price of 100 euros from some
of the cities where people will be coming from. Of course, it's still
a lot of money, we're well aware of that. But for less than 300 euros,
you can come see the show and spend a weekend in Paris. Something
that's done in lots of cities around the world. When there's a meeting
concerning an artistic project, I think it's worth it.
Aurélie Janssen (M6): Why did you
wait five years before returning to the stage? Did you miss your public?
Mylène: [wanted to say that
she misses her fans but said in French that her public eats her]...slip
of the tongue. Why did I wait so long? Because I needed to make a
new album, I also had to wait for Laurent to be available (Ed. note:
Laurent finds that a little strong...). On the other hand, I want
these rare moments. I've rarely gone onstage: I have 3 tours under
my belt, for this reason. Because I need to have an emotion intact,
I need to have these moments of silence in order to come back and
I hope to give my all, and receive the same as well.
Eric Jean-Jean (RTL): Two questions about
the album, we know it's coming in March, what can you say about it,
what is it going to be called, what do you, Mylène, as the
author, want to talk about in it?
Mylène: I'm going to respond
more to the first question. The album will be entitled "Avant
que l'ombre" (Before the Shadow) followed by three dots. There
will be many songs, I think 14 songs recorded. And, I'm going to try
to respond to the second question, that is, to continue very egotistically
(laughs) to talk about myself, my shadows, my lights, and well, there
you go...
Eric: Where are you in the recording,
the mixing, the production?
Mylène: Very far advanced
in it.
Laurent Boutonnat: The album will
probably be finished at the end of the year, probably on the 31st.
It'll be practically finished at the end of the year and there will
be a new single at the end of January.
Pierre Yobert (Pink TV): Why have you
become an idol, a gay icon, for the gay community that makes up a
part of your public?
Mylène: Why? It's probably
up to them to answer (laughs), if that's the only thing that comes
to mind, maybe it's because they have an greater sensitivity like
I do...And also, no matter what, I'm delighted by it (laughs).
David Lelait (Nous Deux): For years now
you've presented very impressive spectacles, you're a real show-woman,
I'd like to know if sometimes you wouldn't like to do a more intimate
show, why not at the Olympia, why not a singing tour?
Mylène: That could be possible
in the future, but it's true that I still like big halls, the immensity...But,
why not? It's possible. I'm not familiar with that experience, in
any case, but what I'm sure of is that even if we do a Bercy or, I
imagine, the Stade de France, for those who want to do it...you can
still create an intimate feeling in this immensity, so I don't really
miss that. Maybe not at the Stade de France, they tell me (Ed. note:
Laurent), I don't know (laughs). Maybe in the future, why not?
Stéphane Lecarrier (Radio 6 Calais):
Many of your music videos are true cinematographic productions,
can we expect a concert directed in a cinematographic environement
with 5.1 effects?
Mylène (to Laurent): that's
for you! (laughs)
Laurent: No, the problem with 5.1
is that it requires one direction. If you're thinking of 5.1, you
need everyone looking at one stage. The idea is indeed to play with
that, but wihtout having a direction, but having the same sound no
matter where the people are. However, playing with the sound, the
bass, the effects...to punctuate, between moments, between songs,
with light and sound effects, of course...
Thierry Suc: The sound is going
to be handled by a young and very talented sound engineer with whom
we've already worked, whose name is Stéphane Bisson.
Jean-Louis Gérard (MCM): This is
also a question for Laurent Boutonnat, what's the musical color of
the album, what inspired you? You came back with a single with electric
sounds..."L'Amstramgram"...what is it this time?
Laurent Boutonnat: It's difficult,
it's very difficult. Mylène and I, we like mixtures...It's
an album where there are a lot of musicians, a mixture of musicians...of
electronic sounds and acoustic instruments.
Mylène: I'm going to interrupt...But
there is, no doubt, compared to the other albums, a lot more guitars.
Laurent: Yes...lots of instruments...acoustic
instruments! (laughs in the hall)
Jean-Christophe Fédérici (Star
Club): I have a question about the concerts. You go quite often
to other concerts. Is there a performer or a recent concert that had
an effect on you? Do you have a personal stage reference that you're
fond of?
Mylène: The first...the
first band that comes to mind is U2, that I admit, and for their music
and their performance, the voice, the soul...especially, really impressed
me. It's always when someone asks you the question that you come up
empty (laughs).
Laurent: Contrary to what you say,
Mylène doesn't go to concerts very often...
Journalist: I believe you went to see
Madonna. What did you think of her, did that inspire you?[/i]
Mylène: Listen, I think
she's obviously someone with a lot of talent, a real professional.
If I could formulate a little critique, I'd find that it lacked just
a little bit of feeling, a lack of soul...Now, it's not up to me to
judge. You asked me the question, I answered. But nevertheless, she's
someone, obviously, with a lot of talent.
Daniel Beaucourt (Télé Poche):
Contrary to what my counterpart says, you don't have a fanclub
in France, you've never wanted to have one...
Mylène: No, I've never wished
it...
Daniel: ...However, there are some publications
that, I don't know, have seen the light of day, maybe with your consent
or not, I think Instant Mag belongs to these...
Mylène: Which is a good
quality magazine...
Daniel: Speaking of which, what does the
end of this magazine mean to you?
Mylène: The end...there
is an end to everything. So, I take it with serenity and I think they
wanted to pursue another magazine, it seems...
Thierry Suc: Yes, they're beginning
another. But since nothing is initiated by Mylène, nor by her
entourage, in fact, the fans who decide to create a fanclub, can do
it. We've always left them completely free to do it. And those who
decide to stop something are obviously free to do it as well. It's
their choice to do it or not to do it.
Daniel: I think you have rights to the
images...
Mylène: No, absolutely not.
Thiery Suc: No, none of what they
write is controlled, watched...They do what they want, they say what
they want.
Gilles Médioni (L'Express): I thought
that you had plans for a movie. Have those plans been put on the shelf
in favor of the stage?
Mylène: Listen, I've been
surprised myself with the numerous announcements concerning movies.
For now, I have no plans for doing movies; however, I still like cinema.
I hope one day to do another film and why not try my hand at production,
in any case, it's a profession that I'm passionate about...it's very
very very difficult, but it's a universe that interests me...
Anonymous journalist: Laurent Boutonnat,
don't you also have a movie project?
Laurent Boutonnat: It's more than
a project, I have a film in preparation. It will begin filming this
March.
Journalist: Can we know what it's about?
Laurent: It's an adaptation of
a 19th century novel called "Jacquou le Croquant" (Ed. note:
this was a famous TV movie from the 70s with Eric Damain).
Anonymous journalist: Why wasn't "Giorgino"
released on DVD? Was it a question of rights?
Laurent: No, it's because it was
a rather difficult situation to go through, "Giorgino."
This film didn't work at all. At the time, I had financed almost 80%
of the film myself, so I had to bounce back. I was able to pick up
the rights to the film, video rights, etc...And at that time, I only
wanted one thing, to have the rights, put them in a drawer, close
it, and never hear anyone talk about it again. It's that simple. Maybe
one day, I'll release it on DVD. Maybe after another film...there
you go.
Sophie (Too Much): I would like to ask
you two little questions. The first deals with the album. I heard
that there would be collaborations on music with other artists...
Mylène: Absolutely not,
no. Never. Never considered.
Sophie: And the second, is simply what
you think of the biography of you by Bernard...
Mylène: (no one heard the
name): Bernard who?
(General fits of laughter)
Laurent (quietly to
Mylène): But you read it, didn't you?
Mylène: (embarrassed laugh)
19:00
Catherine Battner thanks the journalists. It's over. Mylène
leaves by the door through which she entered. The journalists are
then invited to go into another room on the first floor to have a
glass of champagne and a light meal. Thierry Suc and Pascal Nègre
remain behind to answer the journalists, but Mylène and Laurent
do not reappear. We still wonder if we weren't dreaming...
Bernard Reval
Mylène finished her press conference with a "Bernard qui?",
that everyone understood as a refusal to talk about Bernard Violet
who penned one of her biographies. But maybe the singer was afraid
of mixing up her two biographers, both of whom share the first name
Bernard? We spoke on the phone with Bernard Reval who wrote with his
company France Empire "Mylène Farmer: de chair et de sang"
(Mylène Farmer: in flesh and blood).
Did you have Mylène's consent for your
biography?
B: Yes. Our editor, who I will say didn't order it for us, informed
Thierry Suc in March, and he was the one who gave us the contacts
to have the photos because in the beginning, there were supposed to
be pictures. In the end, as was our choice, only three or four--then
two--were validated, we decided not to include them.
Were the interviews of Mylène's friends
easy to obtain?
B: Yes, even though we thought they would be difficult. In the end,
it wasn't so: Jean-Louis Murat, Nathalie Cardone, Sophie Tellier,
were very talkative, even though they didn't want everything to be
published...fortunately, since we didn't want to do like many others
who are content to plagiarize what has already appeared in magazines
like Pliatine. We even saw people three times, like Christophe Mourthe,
the photographer and friend of Mylène in 1985-1986...
Why didn't you make him talk about his closeness
to Mylène while he talked about it in other magazines?
B: An artist's private life doesn't concern us, however Christophe
told us many things that had never been heard before! We want to make
books that are "respectful and therefore respectable."
You interviewed a lot of witnesses from the
past, but few from the present?
B: Yes, but current friends, like Christophe Danchaud, encouraged
us even though they didn't want to respond to us...
No one told you that there were instructions
not to talk about it?
B: No, absolutely not.
Among your diverse biographies, which one
has had the most success?
B: Farmer's, followed by Jean-Jacques Goldman's, then Gilbert Bécaud's,
to whom we devoted two biographies, the first one ten years ago.
Have you read Bernard Violet's book?
B: I browsed through it. However, I know that he has read ours, because
he quotes us in his.
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