MUSIC

LESCOP ON MUSIC

By Crash redaction

LESCOP INTERVIEW ON MUSIC: RISING FIGURE FROM THE FRENCH POP, LESCOP IS AN INSPIRED SINGER. HIS FIRST ALBUM LAUNCHED A COUPLE OF MONTH AGO, LEADS US TO THE FOREST, TOKYO BY NIGHT, LOS ANGELES, AND OTHER MORE PERSONAL DESTINATIONS WHICH ARE EQUALLY EXCITING. UNPRETENTIOUS, CONFESSIONS OF A VERY TALENTED AND AMBITIOUS PERSON, THE ESSENCE OF THIS ALBUM’S SUCCESS, VISIONARY.

Interview by Fabien Chesseboeuf

Mathieu, why do you go by LESCOP?

It’s my stage name, and it comes from my family. It was actually the last name of my great grandmother, who was from Brittany.

So you’re from Brittany?

No, my mother is, but I’m from La Rochelle.

I read that your album was produced by John and Jen. Can you tell me a little about meeting and working with them?

We’ve known each other for a little while now, at least ten years or more. John and I have already worked together on a few music projects, notably with the band Asile that I was in. And they actually met each other through me. (laughs) We were wanting to work together for a long time. At first we were supposed to put together another band, and then gradually John told me he wanted to produce my solo album. He knew me well and knew it was something I really wanted to do. Anyway, we kind of put the idea on the backburner until we were both able to find the time to put something together. Really it was mostly him who encouraged me to do it. After that, the project progressed to a certain level where all we had to do was record.

Who wrote the lyrics to the songs?

I wrote all the lyrics, except Tokyo La Nuit, which I cowrote with Adrien Viau.

What were your main influences for this album?

A lot of people. My influences can come from pop and simple songs: verse-chorus stuff. Really everything rock and pop since the 1950s. Especially three-minute songs. I’ve always listened to a lot of glam rock, T. Rex, Bowie, a lot of punk, and a lot of new wave. And I also like solo singers like Johnny Cash, Eddy Cochran, Bob Marley. I like Nick Cave, Jeffery Lee… Actually, I really like people who talk about their lives and tell their stories. What I do isn’t autobiographic, but it’s completely inspired by what I live. I think it’s my way of seeing things that I end up communicating in my songs. Because when you’re in a band, you have to speak for several people. So, being able to sing for just me, that’s mostly what I wanted to do with this album. I wanted to give my own mythology, my personal heroes, people I like in film like Jean-Pierre Melville, Schoendoerffer, Louis Malle, or writers like Mishima and Mathias Enard. I like that this whole list of heroes appears in my songs.

You recently toured in the US. Was it your first big tour?

In the US, yes, but it wasn’t my first solo tour. You can never really know when your tour is going to start, especially when you just put out a new album and you’re not very well known… I gave my first show a year ago. I was lucky enough to have had a video on YouTube that got fairly popular. Since then I haven’t really had any trouble finding venues to play in and I haven’t played in anymore empty rooms. So things came together pretty well on that level. As for touring in the US, luckily I was able to get my music out online.

Did it go well? What did you think of American audiences? Are they any different than French audiences?

Everything went really well. I did notice a few differences in how the audience responds, but I mostly saw myself acting different in front of the crowds there. You know you are going to be playing for people who might not understand what you’re saying, so the whole approach is different. And I found that pretty interesting. I had to work more in melodies and energies. No offense to the French crowds, but when you play for an audience who doesn’t speak the same language as you, you can feel really great after a show if people come up to you at the door to say they didn’t really understand everything… but it’s no big deal, because even beyond words, there’s something else…

That’s also why French audiences who like rock and pop like English and American sounds. It’s because they only understand half of what’s said.

Yeah, and so that’s exactly the kind of connection I had with American audiences. The same connection that English-speaking singers must have when they tour in Europe.

So, tell me, any projects lined up in the near future?

I’d like to put out some unreleased songs. Right now I’m working on a few new ones, and ideally I hope it comes out this winter.

Your song La Forêt was selected for the latest Balenciaga fashion show. How did you feel about the whole thing?

A remix of the song was produced by Joachim, but I didn’t take any direct role in it at all. Generally, I don’t really nose around in production. I just write and sing my songs.

Interview from Crash #62

Photography:: Charles Guislain

Fashion: Fabien Chesseboeuf

Hair & make-up: Cindy Leroux