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Disappeared 10 years ago, Georges Moustaki marked the French song. A look back at the career of this child of the Mediterranean, who continues to inspire younger generations.
It’s like a little Moustaki museum somewhere in Paris. The public does not yet have access to it, there are all the favorite objects of the artist, who died 10 years ago. An ideal setting for this singer of the young generation who takes up the melodies of Moustaki, thus enrolling in a long tradition of interpreters, sometimes famous, seduced by his compositions. “I suspect him of having a very strong and intense inner life“, says Cyril Mokaiesh, singer. And in his album “The time to live” (Un plan simple label), all Moustaki’s hits are there, including those magnified by other stars.
Low voice, nonchalant demeanor
Reggiani or Barbara, performers of choice. But it is with a title for Piaf that Moustaki engraved his name in the history of the song. And it was she who convinced him to finally sing his own compositions. Moustaki’s weak voice, his nonchalant demeanor, will forge his style. And soon one song will top all the others. “It was when he wrote ‘Le Métèque’, that he gave it to Reggiani, and Reggiani sang it, imitating Moustaki, at home, telling him ‘this song is for you’“, says Louis-Jean Calvet, biography of Moustaki.