Paloma

Interviewed july 1998 by E-mail

Discovering something new doesn't happen too often, but sometimes something mysterious and beautiful will come to you out of the blue. Something mysteriously beautiful, from the center of France. That's what happened to me in the summer of 1998. A guy from France reacted to this homepage and asked if I would mind if he send me a recording of his band. Go ahead I replyed and two weeks later I came home late from work in a very bad mood, found the CD on my doormat, popped it into the player and from the very first note I was swept away by the music and listened to it five times in a row!

Two months later Paloma's album 'Harness my Zebras' still impresses me and that's mainly because I haven't heard this kind of music ever coming from France. Paloma's music holds up somewhere between Palace and Pram with some strange electronic sounds. Or just like singer Laurent says himself: 'We had some reviews in France and they compared us to Neil Young, Robert Wyatt, Palace, Young Marble Giants and Sparklehorse. No strange comparisons, because our musical background varies between American country and folk, European music like Stina Nordenstam, 22 pistepirkko and Mark Hollis and West-African Koraplayers, gitarists and singers like Ali Farka Toure. We're just a kind of pop-folk band with some electric and electronic instruments, soft percussion and quiet voices. We don't use a bassguitar or drums. Basically we try to make music with anything we can use. The LP "Harness my Zebras" we recorded two years ago on afternoons in spring in the backyard of a local butchershop and we only used a four track record and one very good microphone. We didn't have to hurry, because everything was lend of friends, we didn't have time or money to spend to go into the studio and even if we did, we wouldn't trust the people working there.'

ENGLISH

And who could blame them, because Paloma doesn't get any recognition in their direct surroundings. Only because they sing in English. Laurent: 'Most say they like the music, but that we should sing in French: "We can't sell it if you sing in English." But every time our answer to that is that we can't really express ourselves in our own language. In French some of these things just sound too silly, while in English it will sound truly sincere and honest.' Because this decision to sing in English isn't appreciated they started their own little label Darjeeling Sounds. But even by that Paloma hasn't been able to get any attention to their music in the rest of the world. Until now that is. If you weren't told you wouldn't know that Paloma is from the center of France, although their voices do faintly hint to French their English is quite fluent. Laurent: 'When I was young I spoke English just as bad as the next French person, but because I became more and more interested in English spoken music I also got more and more feeling for the language. I have been up to Liverpool for four or five times, I see a lot of English spoken movies in English (The French do a lot of overdubbing in the cinema - Pjoe). I read lyrics and try to understand the meaning. It's going okay, but I still have a hard to understand the works of Shakespeare.' Who does what in Paloma? Laurent: 'I write the songs, play guitar and sing most of the songs. Fabien does percussion of which he makes most instruments himself, sometimes he sings. He used to play in a psychedelic popband Strawberry minds. François plays guitar and keyboards, he used to play in a garage-punkband. We're all thirty or nearly thirty.'

IDIOTS

Taken his age into account, Laurent started his band pretty late. Laurent: 'Making popmusic isn't recognized as be a serious pasttime around these parts. A few weeks ago I was invited to a birthdayparty a few people I had known during study and hadn't seen since turned thirty. I usually don't like those kind of nostalgic gatherings, but I went anyway. When I was there I couldn't remember why I have considered any of them my friends. They seemed bored, they spoke about their jobs, family, houses, all kinds of things I haven't been thinking about at all. Finally they turned to me with their questions. I answered: "Well, I sleep, sometimes I am awake and then I make music.", they looked at me as if I had gone crazy. So I tell them about the album, but most of them don't give a shit about music. They are so content with their houses and their jobs. I'm not mad at them, but I saw the uncrossable chasm that had grew between us. I still wonder, have they changed so much or where they like that anyway? Are they the idiots or am I? Why did I start making music? I don not believe that I use music to describe my deepest emotions, the lyrics aren't a diary or poetry, it's just a part of the music. It's my way to soften up daily life. And music gives me a future too, a few years ago I didn't dare to think about the future. Now I am thinking about songs, recordings, concerts. I am still hooked on music, I can not live without. What gives me the most pleasure at the moment is that people listen to our record and like it so much. Even though it's still a small number of people.' Do you also want to hear some Paloma? Send Laurent an E-mail ( laurent.vaissiere@wanadoo.fr ) or just a postcard (90 Rue Régemortes 03000 Moulins, France).