Interview by : Sébastien Jobart
Pictures by : DR
on Wednesday, April 18th 2012 - 11 661 views
This time, we haven't had to wait ten years to hear Brahim's new album. Three years after "Toujours sur la route", Brahim is back with "Sans Haine". His third opus is out on the label created by Danakil, Baco Records (read our Focus).
An album that works as a synthesis of Brahim's musical universe, between reggae, soul and French chanson. "I've always wanted to make this kind of record," Brahim tells us straight away, seated at a Paris café terrace.
Reggaefrance / Three years after "Toujours sur la route", how did "Sans Haine" come about?
Brahim / Honestly, after the second album, I wasn't in a good place. We ran into lots of difficulties, and at one point it was my survival instinct that took over (laughs). With Kubix, we had already played some dates together. We talked, and we set off on this project, calmly. I wanted to start afresh with a different team, a new project. I think you have to start from a good energy between people.
You joined Baco Records, Danakil's young label. How did that happen?
We've known each other for a long time, and I knew that Danakil liked my music and that my first album had, among other things, inspired Balik… It happened naturally. Mathieu and I get on really well. There's good energy because it comes from something natural. That's very important... Just as they were setting up their structure, we were working on the new album, so the timing was perfect.
"Sans haine" is an album that works as a concentrate of your universe: there is reggae, soul, French chanson…
There's even a slightly rock track, Clone. To fit the theme of that track, which says "I'm not a clown, I'm not a clone", I wanted something punchy, that doesn't sound like anyone else, in a way. That's my merit: when you listen to my albums, I have my identity and my personality. You like me or you don't, but that's how it is. Kubix made the music, I had the idea for the punchline and it fitted perfectly.
 Même si c'est pour des miettes, on continue de poser des briques 
The album is called "Sans Haine". Are you at peace?
(Smiles). On this album there are my good sides and my less good ones… At first, for the sleeve, I wanted to do one face angel and the other demon, to express the duality. It's nothing new, but we're all made of that. It's in this album, it's not just the track Sans haine… If you listen closely to the lyrics, I settle a few scores.
There is also a cover of Jacques Brel, Ne me quitte pas.
When I was a kid, in my neighbourhood, some people listened to Jacques Brel, but I wasn't very interested. It was only later that I discovered his work and what kind of artist he was. He's a real soulman, he gives everything… I've always wanted to do that in my music, so it was natural for me to do this cover. It's a song I've listened to a lot, a crazy song. I've known heartbreak and deep down, I've always wanted to cover this song. I'm happy with the result, because it wasn't easy! I could have covered Ces gens-là too…
Brique après Brique is a reunion of French reggae from 15 years ago. Is this song a kind of witness to all your years in this scene?
That goes for all the artists who sing on the track… It's never easy. Even if it's for crumbs, we do it anyway, we keep laying bricks. The idea of the collective came at the last minute, it was a bit improvised.
It features Nuttea, Pierpoljak, Merlot (Baobab), and your cousin Asha B, who was with you in the Wadada Sound System in the 90s. That takes us back even further!
Some tracks are like photos. When you listen to them again, you dive back into an era… This track is a brick too (laughs). It's like when you smell a perfume in the street that evokes a thousand things in a split second… Last night I came across a video of Karim Kacel, the first Arab I heard singing about the estates, he was singing Banlieue. Back then I was young, when I saw him on TV, it was like a click. Listening to him again yesterday took me straight back to that time…
How do you see things having evolved over the years?
What annoys me in music is that they take the thing, remove the soul and stick clowns on top. You see? And we're here and we can never say what we really have to say. That's my opinion. It's like rock: there are only bourgeois people doing rock now? I've got nothing against the bourgeois, but let everyone have their place! As the other guy said, "rock has lost its balls". And reggae will soon be the same. You need a bit of everything, but you mustn't forget the others, the ones who have something to say. But it seems they don't want to listen to them…
The album ends with Bon vieux temps, which is about your neighbourhood, on a nostalgic note.
It's no accident... They demolished my neighbourhood. I'm an abandoned guy. When you've grown up somewhere, you know where to go, you can go back and see where you grew up. But for me, there's nothing left. The place where I grew up no longer exists. A bit of the neighbourhood remains, but it's another generation now. The page has turned... It took me a long time to accept that. My neighbourhood was like a village, it had a soul. I didn't want to watch it being demolished. Bon vieux temps is a nostalgic track, but it does me good to remember.
It helps to exorcise, to free yourself…
That's true. When I say "Sans haine", it's because I've been through a lot of things. At the moment there's a lot of talk about Jihad, but the real Jihad is the struggle against yourself. "Sans Haine" for me is that. When the worst happens to you, what do you do? Do you stay without hatred, or do you lose it? Can you stay lucid and upright? Unfortunately, it's easier to slide into hatred.
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