The timeless swing of Thomas Dutronc

It’s never too late is Thomas Dutronc’s first album of original songs in nine years.. When told that after such a wait, the album could have been called “Il n’est pas trop tôt”, the French singer-songwriter bursts out laughing.

“Oh yeah, that’s right! It’s about time!” says Thomas Dutronc, who is talking to us from his car, while he is on his way to visit his famous father, Jacques Dutronc.

Nine years have passed, but Thomas Dutronc has not been idle since the release of his third album in 2015, Eternal until tomorrow. An acoustic tour followed, then in 2020 came Frenchyan album of duets with international stars that took a “long time to build.” In 2022, he returned with Dutronc & Dutronca nice album and tour project with his father. “I wasn’t going to tell him to wait because I had a record of songs to make!”

Thomas Dutronc also reminds us that in addition to being a singer, he is a musician. The one we discovered in 2007 with the album Like a gypsy without a guitar likes to accompany other singers on stage – Philippe Katerine, Manu Katché – and even plays in a jazz group.

It’s clear that his love for Django Reinhardt and his heirs is still very much alive. “It’s really a deep passion.” The musician regularly performs with virtuosos like Rocky Gresset and Stochelo Rosenberg — the latter plays on three tracks on the album. But what he likes best about these talented guitarists is precisely… that they can play everything, from “320-mph swing” to a Mark Knopfler-style intro.

All in a good mood and “without worry”, with a craft side that he likes. “That’s also how we built the album, in tandem with my old friend David Chiron. We took the time to work well and satisfy my high standards, which I inherited, I think, from my mother’s side.”

Her mother, the French icon Françoise Hardy who died earlier this year, can be felt in this album full of melancholy that knows how to linger on the beautiful things in life. Just as we recognize her father in a certain love for wordplay, as in Kathmandu.

“It also comes from jazzmen, they are obsessed with wordplay, because of the sound of the words. But obviously there is a Dutronc side that I completely claim in this song which is funny.”

Thomas Dutronc may venerate Hendrix and Brassens, but his two parents “obviously” have a special place in his personal pantheon. “But I never tried to copy. I try to make listeners feel emotions, and I necessarily write about what I have experienced in recent years.”

Progress

It’s never too late is not a trendy record: in fact, there is something very timeless in the 11 beautiful songs that appear on it. We feel that the comment makes Thomas Dutronc smile a little, but above all, that it pleases him a lot.

He himself spent the summer listening to Chet Baker, preferring the retro album by Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak to the majority of French productions, on which electronic machines reign, even on stage. He himself has chosen to go against the grain and will go on tour with eight musicians.

“We’re not going to do boring jazz solos, but there will be exchanges, risk-taking. Life, in other words.”

The singer-songwriter believes he has raised the bar high with this new album. “I have made progress in singing, writing, as a lyricist, for arrangements…” says Thomas Dutronc, who believes that a good song makes you “innerly rich”, especially if you do your work with humility and perseverance. And he is proud of the result.

“We’ve combined freshness and depth, without it being too gypsy swing. Each song has something, but I think one of the album’s strengths is the melodies.” He never, he says, could sing things that were “melodically too weak.”

“Sometimes, what we hear in the tops, we feel that the love of melody, not everyone has it as much as me. Afterwards, we can make beautiful melodies and no one cares! But in any case, there are beautiful melodies.”

He laughs. What exactly does he wish for this album? “I hope it will work, that there will be a bit of word of mouth. I would like it to be a hit like the first one, that would make me happy. I passed a stage on this record, so I would like to pass it with the general public too. It’s deserved, I think.”

The car ride ends at the same time as the interview. “Here, this is the family home,” Thomas Dutronc tells us, turning his phone to show us the place. Will we have the chance to see him perform in Quebec? “We haven’t talked about it yet. We’re waiting to see what happens with the album. It’s true that it’s been too long: I came for the first Francos, and I never came back. My dream would be to come in the fall, to see the pretty leaves, and take the time to go into the forest.” A very good idea.

Song

It’s never too late

Thomas Dutronc

Universal