Portrait of Isabelle FEUILLEBOISIsabelle has been singing with Offering for more than eight years and she appears regularly in most of the groups alongside Christian and Stella. ORK ALARM! would like you to make Isabelle's acquaintance with this interview - made in the form, of a portrait.
How did you first discover the music of Christian ?
By chance, because at home we listened to variety music, and a little opera. I also had a rock period where I listened to the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. I learned piano too, for two years, when I was young. One day, at a friend's house, I heard 'De Futura'. It was the first time that I had heard Magma and it was a big shock ! Since that time I began to listen to the records and to go to the shows. Unfortunately I only saw four because it was the provisional end of the group.
How did you come to know Christian ?
Very simply, I went to see him one day at the end of a concert, we talked and sometime later I was at the recording studio to assist in the recording of 'Merci'. I can say that I met the music, Magma and Christian all at the same time.
Some years later you were on stage with Offering…
Yes, I don't really remember how it happened, it came about quite naturally, I followed the tours with Offering and I knew the pieces very well. I started to rehearse three weeks or a month before the concert (Manege, Munich, 25th October 1986). That was not too difficult. In fact I was totally unconscious, I was not aware of what would happen. I almost fainted as I first came on stage. Fortunately all the other members of the group were very kind ! Since then, I have worked a lot, I started at the bottom, but Christian and Stella are good teachers.
Is there a precise place for each singer in Christian's music ?
Not really. When there are several voices we experiment, anyone can sing the high part or the low part but there is no planned distribution of voices according to the range. Otherwise, Stella generally sings the solo parts. Julie and I have the job of choristers, but Christian does not like that description. There are so few people within Offering, that he wants us all to sings as if we are soloists.
However, on the last record, A Tous Les Enfants, you sing solo parts on several tracks !
Yes, on 'J'ai du bon tabac' and 'A la claire fontaine'. It is an experience ; Christian found that my voice rang well. But this is not my thing, I prefer to sing in a choir, I am more comfortable to be part of the ensemble. When I sing alone I am tense.
So you have no plans to work on a solo album for the moment ?
No, I still have so much work to do !
Are some works more or less difficult to sing ?
For me, yes. I have been familiar with the repertoire of Magma for a long time, I feel well with it, liberated. It is a pleasure to sing. I do not find that totally in Offering music, which seems more difficult to me. For example, in the "birds" section of 'Les Cygnes et les Corbeaux' in the beginning there were only keyboards and I could not understand anything because the music changes non-stop ! And then Christian decided to add vocals at that point, so I had to learn and understand. It's a kind of pleasure too. But I believe I need some more years for me to feel truly free in Offering.
Do you ever participate in the composing ?
Not at all, I am primarily an interpreter. It's Christian and Stella who search for the vocal harmonisations.Is Christian always the only composer ?
No ! Of course, generally he is the origin of the pieces, but he is glad that there are other composers in the group. There is a lot of freedom in the group, everyone can bring their own ideas. For example, Pierre-Michel Sivadier composed for Offering.
How did Christian compose A Tous Les Enfants ?
For this album, Christian did everything alone and very rapidly, with of course, Francis Linon for the sound and Stella keyboard programming. Several tracks, like 'J'ai du bon tabac, 'A la claire fontaine' and 'Le ballet des sorcières' were already prepared. We went to the studio and he gradually composed the melodies, the texts and the transitions between pieces while we were recording. Each day he found something. 'Monsieur Vent' for example, he sat at the piano, and just played and it all came very rapidly. Perhaps he needed two hours for the words ! On the whole the recording of the disc took two and a half months, with some breaks. With our own studio, we are lucky to be able to work when we want and to stop when tired. Actually Christian doesn't always compose like that. This album was special ; he wanted to sit at the piano in the studio without knowing what was going to happen, to be put in a position of urgency, of danger. For other albums it can be very different.
Is Christian very demanding ?
Not really demanding, rather perfectionist, especially for recordings. He can make us repeat the same part fifty times. It's very hard but justified. Of course he prefers natural cuts, recorded in one take.
What inspires you about this music today ?
It's easy because I love everything that Christian does, from Magma to Offering, including the Trio and Welcome. For me it is a totality, a sound, the same music that is inspired by John Coltrane from the beginning. I like a lot of Coltrane's music, the themes are magnificent. Of course, I also like other music, like some works of Wagner and lots of other things, but Christian is the sole composer of whom I like the whole work.
What do you think of the evolution of his musical style ?
To me it seems entirely logical. Magma stopped temporarily because it became too difficult. It would have needed to big an orchestra to interpret 'Merci' on stage. Today it's easier to resume the same repertoire with Les Voix de Magma. Christian created Offering because he wanted to sing and to play the piano. The group is very acoustic, in a way it is a return to the roots.
How did the idea of Les Voix de Magma occur ?
We have friends (the French band DON'T DIE) in Vichy ; we were at their house on New Year's day 1990. They were rehearsing and had some small problems with 'Mekanik', so Christian sat in on drums. We stayed there for three or four days and that gave Christian a great urge to play the works of Magma again. We began by playing 'Mekanik' at La Cigale (in Paris) with musicians from Don't Die. Klaus came and everyone, the spectators, Christian, Stella, enjoyed it. So we continued.
Were the first solo concerts by Stella successful as well ?
Yes, in 1991, we played three consecutive evenings at the Passage du Nord-Ouest. I have a very nice memory of this period, of the rehearsals and the concerts. There was an excellent atmosphere.
What recollections do you have of the "Sans Tambour Ni Trompette" show (Le Plessis Robinson, 27th March 1993) ?
It's a very bad memory, actually. It was just Christian, Stella and me, but without Julie and without keyboards. It was very hard, I seemed to sing out-of-tune. I was very disappointed with it - perhaps it was too early for me, too heavy to support ?
You seem to have a special relationship with Stella and Julie...
We are very good friends and it is a real pleasure to sing together. Besides I have always sung with Stella and I adore that. I must say that Stella is a true locomotive, she pulls everyone together. She does a lot of work.
Does she have other musical activities ?
Not a lot. She sang on the last album by Lydia Domancich (the excellent and very zeuhl "Chambre 13') and at this moment she is touring with her. I believe that they want to do more things together.
And you ?
Nothing ! That's not to say that I don't want to do anything else. I like rhythm'n'blues and jazz, but there are so many girls who sing those musics better than me ! That would be good for me, but I don't know if I could bring something new.
How does Offering manage to function ?
It is not a permanent group. If there were fifteen concerts each month, that would be sufficient to pay for the rehearsals of the musicians and we could have a lot work. But we have so very few concerts... So everyone has another job, often within music, but not all of them near Paris.
And what about the record sales ?
Apart from 'Mekanik', the sales are not those of the Top 50. We are rarely on the television or the radio, they don't want us, we don't make the audience ratings climb on the audiometer. So it's always the same people that buy our discs. That's just enough to allow the studio to stay alive. However Welcome were on television recently on the "Le cercle de minuit" show, thanks to our press attaché who calls them non-stop, sometimes he succeeds, but we are on late in the evening.
What is there in preparation at the moment ?
Not much in the immediate future. Christian has put a lot energy into his album and there is a kind of backlash. We will soon prepare the show for the Espace Kiron. This will be different from what we usually do. There will be a magician who will come and perform tricks. We want to open to a larger public, not only the initiated. We would like to have a lot of children to come. We are going to try to contact the schools, but of course, without making any concessions.
Will there be new pieces as well as those on the album ?
No, we have no songs in reserve, we are going to perform the whole album as well as some titles that we have already recorded, for example on Stella's solo album. We intend to discuss this soon.
Have you had a chance to see what impression the songs make on children ?
Yes, generally they please them a lot. It's the parents rather than the children who feel uncomfortable. They find them a bit alarming or frightening. But we have also received letters from parents who thank us and say that their children adore the songs. It makes a change from the silly things that they usually listen to !
Are there any other plans ?
Christian is thinking of a concert with a large orchestra and many singers who would interpret the works of Magma in 1996. Christian also wants to, make an album of drum solos for AKT. The solos will be from all periods, for example there will be some that he played during Magma concerts. He needs to listen to the tapes and to select the best...
Do you have a Kobaïan name ?
No, because I began with Offering and I have never sung in Magma. It's funny, Stella talked about that only two days ago,... In fact, why not?
André Liedet (25th January 1995)
ORK ALARM ! n° 25 / 8.95