Every day, a personality invites itself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Friday September 29: Calogero, author, composer and actor. He has just released “AMOUR” his ninth studio album.
Calogero is one of the most loved and adored authors, composers, performers and musicians on the French music scene. His titles are associated over time with memories, with moments of life. He has been with us for more than 37 years. He also recently made his acting debut in the series Breathe on M6.
Calogero has just been released LOVE his ninth studio album. 11 titles, 11 life stories that define him and touch him. He is also preparing his LOVE TOUR for the year 2024.
franceinfo: If I use your words, this album is “the most accomplished and the most personal”. Did it take time to reveal yourself, to really offer us what was inside you?
Calogero: Already, with each album, I say this is the most personal or the most this… There are perhaps more feelings, there are fewer societal songs. I rather imagined in the past singing love songs because it’s beautiful to sing love songs. But ultimately, it’s true that my first big successes are more songs that tell about things that aren’t necessarily funny, like If only (2004), The portrait (2014) or even In front of the sea (2004).
It is also this childhood which is taken up in this album. A sort of observation of what this childhood brought you which really contributed to the man you became.
“When boredom sets in in childhood, you become creative and I think music helps a lot too.”
Very early on, I wanted to go over the mountains of Grenoble. This city is surrounded by mountains and it is true that I no longer saw these mountains in their beauty, because it is beautiful, but I saw them as walls. When I discovered synthesizers, for me, it was like flying saucers with all the filters and all these buttons, to go over the mountains, to see what was happening. We had this dream, the Parisian dream when we came from the provinces, it was nice too.
In this album, LOVE, there is a period between each letter. Why did you make a point of putting periods between each of these letters?
Already, there is the song which has this chorus like that, very chanted. And then, of course, love can last a lifetime or a few years. But what is the right model? The important thing is really to live the relationship intensely. The model we had before was fantasies of princess books, where the princess was waiting for Prince Charming and then, very quickly, we realized that Prince Charming was getting off his horse and standing in front of a game of football with a beer. It is a society that gives us an example of love which is not necessarily the right one. That’s what the song says.
You had a good example at home.
My parents have a very romantic history. They come from Sicily and there were a lot of arranged marriages there in their time. They chose themselves. They chose each other, they saw each other again in France. I like their story, it’s very romantic. But for all that, do I want to live the same story? I do not believe.
“I like extraordinary love stories, passionate or not necessarily lived, platonic loves, something that remains in fantasy. And why not? It’s this album.”
You talk about the first sight in this album and we feel how very important the first sight can be in one’s life. It allows you to prove to yourself that you exist, that you have an interest in the eyes of others. Do you remember your first look?
I have black eyes and I have often been told this, sometimes criticized. I have a look that can sometimes be misinterpreted.
In any case, the views of others were important to you.
The view of others is important and cultural, especially among Italians since we say: “Look good in front of others“. My mother is very attached to what we will say, to what others will think etc. And that is something that I have completely gotten rid of. Except, of course, when I release an album , because each time, I try to surprise myself, to surprise others and there is this excitement when I deliver the album to get the public’s opinion. That touches me.
In this album, we realize how close you are to the authors. We feel that this pen suits you more.
It’s true that there have been many women who have written for me. It’s weird, I didn’t do it on purpose! But it’s because they have talent, not because they are women. So, there must still be something, which is that I have always had confidants in my life, since I was very young, I have always preferred to confide in women.
Was your mother one of your confidants?
No. Plus my sister and her friends. I loved. As I was the smallest, I was the darling and as a result, I heard all their conversations and that really gave me the desire, then, to continue to confide in women.
What does this ninth album represent for you? He is different. There is a co-author, by the way, called Calogero! It suits him well to write, to trust himself.
Maybe. I don’t know. Maybe it’s the last one. Maybe I’ll do something else after. Perhaps this album is a page that turns.
Watch this interview on video: