The iconic Brit-pop group Blur is in concert at Les Vieilles Charrues in Carhaix. The opportunity for Damon Albarn to confide in franceinfo.
When the Vieilles Charrues announced that the return of Blur would pass, Friday July 14, by Carhaix, in the Finistère, the festival was then only the second French date of the group, and it was already good. But with the cancellation of the group in Beauregard last week, the Breton festival found itself alone on stage to welcome Damon Albarn’s band.
>> Damon Albarn and his band back on stage to defend their new album
The timing is perfect, the group which is about to release its new album in a week has just performed for two nights at Wembley Stadium in London, a stunning first. The four Englishmen are well on their way to making this Carhaisian evening a highlight. “You know, I just want to get the crowd off the ground, uplift everyone, myself included,” assures Damon Albarn co-founder and singer of the group.
“It seems like guitars are back in fashion again, which is great, because honestly I’ve been missing them. What’s important about this is that people play together from an early age. .”
Damon Albarn, co-founder and vocalist of Blurat franceinfo
“That guitar-bass-drums combination, it’s something very satisfying, explains Damon Albarn. Me, it annoys me when I’m at a festival, to see groups on stage not really playing, the singer moving away from the microphone while the band is still spinning… Everyone seems to give a damn! With this kind of thing, we will see our fears related to artificial intelligence come true.
Those who were already there 25 years ago are waiting for the biggest hits, from Girls and Boys To Song 2. But the next album is also full of nuggets that already work very well live, like this last single, St.Charles Square.
eight years away
The group had not come to France since the summer of 2015, enough to measure the expectation around their return, announced by surprise a few months ago. Not many people believed in it yet, already because the four members don’t see each other often. Then, because Damon Albarn has a minister’s agenda, between operas, Gorillaz albums, his solo albums or his many collaborations.
The year 2023 was therefore the right time. While Blur once again ignites the crowds, their brit-pop buddies also continue to shine, to varying degrees. Liam Gallagher fills the stadiums, his brother Noel has just released a very fine album, and the group Pulp is currently triumphing with a tour across the Channel. “I’m not really concerned about what other people are doingtempers Damon Albarn. I’m not too interested in it, in any case, I don’t think about it. Afterwards, it’s probably better that we don’t all play at the same festivals. What would that look like? The return of 1994? Nobody wants that. But afterwards, all that live music is played from the heart, and I support that.”
And in a festival like the Vieilles Charrues, Blur also risks the clash of musical cultures. With Friday evening on the bill, for example, Aya Nakamura, Shaka Ponk or Gazo, in very different styles. But the night will inevitably resound with certain indestructible hymns.