‘We create maximalist music’

How would you describe your music?

We are the exact opposite of French-inspired minimalist music. We like to say that we create "maximalist" music. We do jazz and rock-and-roll sounds, while the vocals are influenced by old French singers such as Jacques Brel and Leo Ferre. The theme of the lyrics range from love songs to life and death. We want to feel completely free while playing music, and our lyrics support that thought.

Has censorship ever been a hassle in the French music industry?

There is practically no censorship in the French music industry. However, there are a few things one can't do. For eg. it's forbidden to sing against homosexuality, while singing for it is completely fine. We can't be discriminatory in terms of race, sex, or gender, basically any kind of discrimination. Once, a French artist asked the audience to kill the police in a song, he went for a trial and had to pay a fine.

How was Vendeurs d'Enclumes formed?

I was working as a actor on a theater project in 2000 and we needed musicians for it, so I got together with Matthieu. We worked on the music for three months, wrote songs and soon, the band was formed. However, most of the band members have changed since then.

Are you familiar with Indian music?

We are actually not very familiar with Indian music. I have only heard ragas and Indian meditation music. I think there is a lot we can learn and adapt from Indian music. Apart from that, I have only heard Bollywood music in the cabs here.

This is your first time in India, how was your experience?

I actually didn't have a perception of India before I came here, but we have been to four cities, and each city is like a country — it's so diverse, loud and very busy. There are too many people here and too many cars, and a lot of traffic jams. However, people are very calm during traffic jams.

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