and you thought you knew.. 21 Love Hotel

"The first stage experience for 21 Love Hotel was an acoustic session for a British internet radio station.
We invited a klezmer clarinetist. It was wonderful. Frédéric got his finger hurt and started to bleed all over the guitar... so 'folk' and sexy!"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Clémence Léauté and Frédéric D. Oberland work together, think together, turn lights on and off together and have formed 21 Love Hotel together. The really good thing about that relationship is what it's brought into this world to make it a better place. Yes there's the incredibly affluent abundance of contemporary alternative forward thinking innovation, but there's also the cleverly conceived and composed indie pop... the kind we thought we'd lost forever only 2001 seconds ago!

21 Love Hotel, Ladies and Gentlemen are this generation's anthem builders and they make great music too! It's just one of many reasons why we had to get them on a virtual Air France flight and have Sandra pick them up at the airport so that they could answer the inevitable questions...

The Interview - November 21 2006
Welcome Clémence and Frédéric... can we begin with you telling us a bit about your background?

Hello!

I was born by the wild shores of Sintrania River and wandered across the coloured steppes that we all know with a small rabbit, awkward but pretty good at palindrome. My mom told me: dance among the stars but never get bewitched by the moonlights, especially in November!

In the meantime, Frédéric - the last descendant of the Shugyosha from Hunkpapa valley, traveled for centuries, riding a hudge flying buffalo, modestly called Athanor. I kept jealously the old secret of teaching bears how to sing the chromatic scale of D (rising and falling of course). That’s how I got famous!

We met yesterday, meaning 2001 years ago. We decided to create 21 Love Hotel one very special day, after the winds, descending from the great mountains, spoke to us in low voices of a greater sense of freedom!
What would you say have been your main musical influences?

We’ve always listened to as many different musical styles as possible, trying to keep one thing from each that really matters to us. In no particuliar order, we love songwriters like Robert Wyatt, Catpower, Tim Buckley, and Neil Young.

We love industrial and experimental stuff like John Zorn, Einstuerzende Neubauten, Sonic Youth as well as atmospheric sounds like Godspeed (you black emperor!), A Silver Mt Zion, Angelo Badalamenti, and Music For Films.

We love free music like Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, Ornette Coleman, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Archie Shepp & Jeanne Lee .

We love Tom Waits, Marc Ribot, Can, Serge Gainsbourg, Elysian Fields, Miles Davis, Suicide, Pj Harvey, Albert Ayler, John Cale,  Nina Simone, David-Eugene Edwards, Cocteau Twins, Venus, Ennio Morriconne, Billie Holiday, John Parish, David Bowie’s Outside, Curtis Mayfield, Chris Isaak, Blonde Redhead, Johnny Cash, Music to live & die for, music to cross deserts & oceans!

What could you tell us about “high points” in your musical career?
Having people falling in love with us during a gig.
Being friends of the Belgian band Venus .
Meeting some labels we like and have a great talk beyond marketing and business considerations. 
Succeeding in winning over my sister (Clémence’s) who dislikes almost all of the above!
How about low points and how you managed to get over them?

The band is pretty recent, so we don’t really have any low points!.. Oh yes ... The dirty sound at our last gig!
Oh yes.. Our drunk ex- bassist.. Oh yes ... and our many lover fights.

How we managed to get over that?
1.Fuck it.
2. Fuck him!
3. All the pleasure is in reconciliations...!!!
If you could turn the clocks back, is there anything you would have done differently?

No.. and anyway, we can’t turn the clocks back!

Who did you work with on your most recent projects?

For our last gigs, the 21 Love Hotel duet became a quintet, and we played with:
Stanislas Grimbert, an excellent drummer.
Karsten Hochapfel, a magical cellist.
Jean Bordé, a good doublebassist friend. And we just met Kramer (Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Robert Wyatt, John Spencer) who’s gonna take care of the musical recordings for our album to come.

If you could pick a favourite track from your recent work what would it be?

The next one we’ll compose.
What musical instruments/equipment do you normally use?

Vocals/Screams/Breaths/Anything you can do we your voice, Electric/Acoustic/Slide/Sexy/Spanish Guitars, Ebow, Piano, Alto Sax, Pocket Trumpet, Megaphone, Bells, Tubular Bells, Organ, Theremin, Music Boxes, Metal percussions, Bird Calls, Bass, Old but persistent Computer, Violin, Clarinet, etc, etc, etc.

Do you have a favourite instrument either as a player or appreciator?

Clémence: I don’t think so. Well maybe Blixa Bargeld’s bat screams... Maybe not. Everything.
Frédéric: Ornette Coleman’s plastic saxophone.
Can you remember your first stage and/or studio experience?

The first stage experience for 21 Love Hotel was an acoustic session for a British internet radio station.
We invited a klezmer clarinetist. It was wonderful. Frédéric got his finger hurt and started to bleed all over the guitar.
So folk and sexy!

The studio is really a natural thing for us. We do everything at home, it’s like cooking. Part of everyday life.
What five albums would you want to find if you were stranded on a desert island with enough food, water, a copy of IOM, a fantastic audio system, and any one musical instrument of your choice?

Clémence : Abbey Road, Low Estate (16 Horsepower) , Catpower’s You are free, Silence is Sexy (Einstuerzende Neubauten),  Histoire de Melody Nelson (Serge Gainsbourg ).
I always got my musical instrument with me....

Frédéric : Your Funeral my Trial (Nick Cave), Old Rottenhat (Robert Wyatt), On Land (Brian Eno), Bitches Brew (Miles Davis), Dead Man (Neil Young).
I run to a music store and buy a steel guitar made by James Trussart.

Do you have a favourite album cover of all time?
Well, we do hope it’s gonna be the one of our first album!
and what, may we ask, are the five albums you listened to most recently?

To Bring You My Love / Pj Harvey
The Red Room / Venus
California / Mr Bungle
The Greatest / Catpower
Live / Donnie Hataway
What five movies did you watch most recently?

Kaze No Kami No Nausicaa / Hayao Miyazaki , gorgeous
Twin Peaks fire walks with me / David Lynch , for the 10th time
Casino Royale / ???? , no comment...
JO / Cameron Jamie & Keiji Haino , wow , disgusting but wow ...!
Which artist would you most like to meet or borrow a bag of sugar from as a next door neighbour?

Clémence : Arthur Rimbaud.
Frédéric : William Burroughs. Only if he doesn’t ask me to play Guillaume Tell with him... !!

If you could have been responsible for writing the best song or piece of music ever written, what would it be?

JS Bach : Concerto for violin and orchestra, n°5
If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

Just one :
To become immortals. And die!
On to the more intimate side of Clémence and Frédéric.. what did you dream about last night AND you can't say 'I do not remember'...

Clémence : I always have crazy dreams, so if you wanna have a chance to get into one of them, you gotta be prepared. You got LSD?
Frédéric : Looking for my shoes in a dark labyrinth. Fucking annoying!
And, if we were to “shadow” you on a typical day, what might we see you doing?

Sorry.
Private territory.
What did you do, the day before yesterday?

Too far to remember...!
If you had to move to another country for a year to record an album, but you only had a few suitcases and an hour to pack…  what would you take?
Frédéric : One or two guitars, a bathing suit, my computer, my teddy bear called Risotto, two hats, and my girl.
Clémence: My “Death’s-Head” microphone, The poetry of William Blake, my dog,  my fiancé Frédéric.
What bugs you most?
No offense but interviews may be on the list.....!
What makes your day really shine?
Love Love Love Love Love Love!
I hate to end it all like this Clémence and Frédéric, but.. finally, what are your plans for 2007?

Get married.
Record an album we’ll be proud of.
Meet great persons & musicians.
Travel from Japan to Chili.
Clémence Léauté and Frédéric D. Oberland.. thanks for dropping by... the delightful Sandra will see you to the car!
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Clémence and Frédéric of 21 Love Hotel were interviewed by Colin Lynch - November 21 2006
© 2006 R Cat Communications - All Rights Reserved

 

 

Interviews

 
IOM Interviews take you to the heart of the artist's creative domain... a virtual living room of hitherto unexplored creative territories and dimensions.. a world where unbridled musical passion and intensifed drive often collide to produce outstandingishly great recordings.
 

IOM Magazine
   
  home
  news
  cd reviews
  interviews
  classic albums
  iomas
 

Related
 
  r cat communications
  jimmy stilettos
  contact us