Fishbach is an author, composer, performer and also an actress, notably in the series Vernon Subutex broadcast on Canal+, in which she plays the role of Anaïs alongside Romain Duris. Music was a revelation for her thanks to a duo and since then she has been evolving solo with a first album that did not go unnoticed in 2017: À ta merci. Today, she released her second album: With the eyes and is preparing to go on tour next March 31 in Laval, with an Olympia on November 30.
franceinfo: This new album was created far from Paris, in the Ardennes. Need to leave to write better and therefore to find yourself better?
Fishbach: Yes. I think we all aspire to that, to the forest, to this brilliant luxury between the city and the countryside, but I think we can write everywhere. Simply, I am from the Ardennes and I love them, I cherish them. It was good to go back to basics.
We have the impression that this album, from the first listen, it is very animal. Do you feel that?
It was you who said it. I can’t judge myself, but indeed, animals touch me.
How do you choose then? by instinct?
It’s completely instinctive. I made music in a very amateur way, as anyone can do, that is to say to do good to yourself first, not necessarily with a view to being listened to, so it’s a disc that is very introspective. I talk to myself a lot.
What does this disc represent for you?
This disc represents a new challenge. The first album was a bit of amorous, adolescent expectation. In this album, the woman blossoms, I believe, and agrees with fragility and gentleness sometimes, not only with anger, strength. I no longer hide behind a mask of strength, but rather of nuances. I allow myself the nuances.
We have the feeling, indeed, that you have let go a little. You say that : “To sing is to lay bare“. Is it hard to lay bare, to let go?
This album is called “With the eyes” because if there are many things with which one does not cheat, it is the voice and the glance.
I know it’s very weird, but for me, singing is quite simple and beautiful. But actually, it’s very immodest to sing. You really reveal your soul.
Fischbach, in German, means: The fish river. You’ve always said you wanted to be a little against the grain, in any case, you built yourself that way. Is it important not to look like others, to stay yourself?
It’s very presumptuous of me, but I really was a brat. For example, in this record, there are a lot of electric guitars. And it’s true that it’s not very fashionable anymore, but I love it. So simply, I don’t want to go against the current, but I want to allow myself to do what pleases me, what speaks to my heart. And me, I don’t like auto-tune, I like electric guitars so I allow myself to do some.
Rock is the starting point for you, the gateway. This is what makes you want to move forward. There’s a duet that comes into your life and that’s where you’re really going to learn to sing because it was so loud, there was metal in the middle of it all, and in order to stand out, you had to sing more strong.
Yes that’s it. And then, I was one of the only girls, quite young, in a very masculine environment. So, singing loudly was a bit of a way of actually imposing myself. And as time went on, I realized that this is not how one imposes oneself. We impose ourselves more with words, perhaps. Perhaps precisely with the nuance, but in any case, I don’t regret this rock period because it taught me a lot and I won’t forget where I come from.
How did you go from duo to solo?
The duet, I had the good idea to be in love with the boy with whom I made this duet. And then, like all beautiful love stories, they have an end. Suddenly, I was solo and I wanted to continue because something very beautiful in me had been revealed, which was in any case a form of expression. Thanks to the music, I was able to say what I couldn’t say. There, I stammer, whereas when I sing, I no longer stammer. And that is wonderful.
We cannot remain indifferent to the song: It’s almost beautiful. She really has something. Do you like to sow doubt? Redistribute the cards?
I love songs or even stories, books with different levels of reading because depending on the day we listen to it, or read it, our feeling is different.
Absoutely. You can project your own story. As a listener, when I listen to a song, I really like to ask myself questions, not necessarily about what the person meant, but about how I feel about it. I like the mystery that emanates, This is almost beautiful, and i love when people give me their own interpretation of songs because they are much more interesting than what i meant.
There’s a tour coming up. What does it mean to be on stage? To seek out his audience?
It’s ‘ego-tripper’ every night, we tell each other! No, no, it’s a real sharing! It’s true that I really like this moment in the studio where I find the melody that I like, etc. And the scene, I’m very scared of it and once I set foot on it and see people’s eyes, everything fades and time stops.
There will be an Olympia… The famous red letters.
It is one of the most beautiful rooms in Paris. It’s true that I had the chance to play at La Cigale and Bataclan and it was very, very beautiful. So I’m really honored. It’s going to be a unique show, really, with guests, full of surprises and I can’t wait!