Après avoir harcelé les différents membres du groupe pendant plus de 6 mois, c'est maintenant moi qui n'arriver plus à trouver le temps de traduire leurs réponses ... donc plutôt que d'attendre d'avantage, voici l'interview brute de décoffrage et en VO.



La toute première fois où j'ai entendu parler de The National c'était sous la plume de Pierre Andrieu qui avait chroniqué leur premier album ici même. Ensuite j'e l'ai à mon tour reçu, à l'origine pour essayer de leur trouver des dates sur Marseille. Cela ne s'est pas fait, mais il faut dire que je n'avais pas non plus été si impressionné que ça par ce premier album. Et puis quelques mois après j'ai déménagé dans le Bronx, je suis tombé sur leur nom dans Village Voice et suis donc allé les voir au Bowery Ballroom où ils ouvraient pour Longwave. Et là coup de foudre musical immédiat (je vous renvoie à la chronique). Je vais leur dire et me retrouve à discuter longuement avec Aaron (enfin je crois bien que c'était lui) de musique, de solitude, de séparation, de nouvelle vie ... Depuis je suis retourné les voir une grosse demi douzaine de fois à New York, mais aussi a Marseille (ou je suis rentré depuis) et ce avec toujours le même plaisir, j'ai suivi avec attention la sortie de leurs disques : Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, Cherry Tree, Abel et enfin Alligator, et c'est aussi grace à eux que j'ai fait la connaissance de Clogs, Robbers on High Street, Boxstep, Sea Ray ou encore (et surtout) de Qatsi qui avec The National est l'un de mes deux groupes NYais préféré ... mais trêve de bavardage, laissons la paroles à Matt Berninger et Bryce Dessner ... en attendant peut être celles de Scott Devendorf, Bryan Devendorf ou Aaron Dessner ...



Matt (chant possédé)

- Could you once again describe the genesis of the band, how you met and stuff ...

Matt : Scott and I were friends in college in Cincinnati. His brother Bryan and Bryce and Aaron were friends since elementary school. We all ended up in NY for different reason, careers, school, etc. After living and working here for about 5 years we started getting together at my apartment with an 8-track. This was in 98-99. After about a year of writing and recording loose song ideas we went into our friend Nick Lloyd's basement to record a record. He had the ear and the gear. After that we began playing small shows in NY and started Brassland Records to put the record out. Years went by, we recorded another record, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers. More people started to come to shows. Started touring playing tiny shows all over Europe and UK and US. Another year went by, we recorded Cherry Tree EP. More touring, more fans. Last year we signed to Beggar's Banquet, made Alligator, quit jobs and started playing bigger shows all over Europe and UK and US. That's the recap.

- Everything seems to go pretty well and fast for you, how do you experience it ?

Matt : It has been a gradual development. We've played to empty rooms for years. We didn't exactly explode onto the scene. This year things feel like they are accelerating but its hard to measure. Its nice to play in front of people for a change.

- how old are you ?

Matt : 34

- I was not totally convinced by the first one, but I was really impressed by Sad Songs ... (like a lot of people apparently) ... do you feel the same ? do you have an explanation ?

Matt : A lot of band's first records are their best then they gradually get worse. We decide early on to go the oppisite direction. Start with our worst record and gradually get better. It's all part of our grand plan.



- One disc a year so far, it's a pretty good pace ... do you plan on keeping it ? when do you write ?

Matt : With all the touring this year we probably won't get down to working on the next one until December. We are writing but it will be some time before we really dig in.

- how do you make a song ... lyrics vs music ?who does what ?

Matt : I write the lyrics but the rest of it is very collaborative. There's really nobody in control. We start with little bits and pieces then start to pull stuff together and pull it back apart. Some songs come together in a fews hours, others take years. We have songs we've been working on since those first sessions back in 98. There's no clear process. We get together in the practice space and noodle around until something starts to emerge from the mess.

- It's pretty frustrating not to have the lyrics in the disc ... can you please put them in for the next one ? or you did not do it on purpose ...

Matt : I never like when lyrics are printed in the liner notes. It presents them out of context and puts too much of a spotlight on them. I've always preferred to try to figure lyrics out on my own even if I get them wrong. It pulls me into the record more. We put most of them on the website so if someone really wants to read them.



- the reference to Tenessee Williams ?

Matt : There's a line in Tenessee Williams's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof about "waiting for the click" referring to that moment when drinking that you start to feel better and forget your problems. In the film version its Paul Newman's character. It worked for the song so I stole it.

- Padma has a lot of importance in the band but yet he is not namely part of it ... who is he ? Do you plan on making him a national like Bryce after the first album ?

Matt : Padma lives most of the year in Australia. He and Bryce are in Clogs. We've worked with him on our last three records. We send him sketches which he works with then eventually camps out with us in Brooklyn to record. He's a great collaborator fond of throwing curveballs into the music. He's the sixth member but likes to keep his distance. We don't blame him.



- best gig so far ?

Matt : That's hard to answer. I have a pretty great time every show. We had a show in London not long ago where I met Stephen Merchant, the creator of BBC's The Office. I'm obsessed with the show and consider Merchant one of our few contemporary geniuses. We've started to get a lot of celebrities popping up at shows but this was the first time I played in front of one of my heros.

- worst gig so far ?

Matt : A few years ago we played in Montreal in the corner of a tiny bar. Water was dripping on us from an overflowing bathroom on the 2nd floor. There were 7 or 8 people sitting at the bar watching Jeopardy. After one of our songs there was a round of applause. I said "Thanks very much everybody, we're really happy to be here... etc" only to realized they we're applauding some dude who answered a question on the show. Humbling.

- Every time i've seen you the show was really intense ... did it ever happen to you not to be in the mood to give it all like that ? if yes how do you overcome it ?

Matt : Standing on a stage under lights in front of a bunch of people is unsettling. It doesn't take long to get into the mood. Wine helps. The music starts, adrenaline kicks in and before long we all just fall into the show.



- I noticed that on Matt's set list there are the 3 first words of each song ... any comment ?

Matt : I do that occasionally in case I go blank and forget everything. Its happened a few times. I short-circuit and can't remember my name. I rarely need it, but it's become a superstitious ritual.

- what is your next goal ?

Matt : Pay my rent and keep my life outside the band from falling apart.

- How do you feel when you're about to hit the stage ? how do you prepare yourself ? I'm asking you this because each time I saw you, you were impressive, like possessed, leaving stage totally exhausted ... and on the other hand when I saw you outside of concert you were really relaxed and almost shy.

Matt : I'm normal most of the time but playing a show is terrifying and exhilerating. I don't know how anyone does it without freaking out a little.



- What is the first thing you do when you get off stage after a concert ?

Matt : I used to chain smoke for about 20 minutes to chill out. Now I chew nicorette. I chain chew. After that I usually try to go home/hotel and watch a dumb movie (a romantic comedy if possible) and drink a little more.

Bryce (guitare et membre de Clogs) :

- Clogs is a pretty well and time consuming project too ... how do you handle both ?

Bryce : Right now The National takes up mosty of my time. This generally relates to when albums are released and the touring that follows. I will do a lot more Clogs starting in late fall early winter. I really like playing in both bands and it is important to me to keep both going. Obviously Clogs' music has less popular appeal, and it is actually a nice contrast to do both. The one big problem is Clogs plans pretty far ahead because we play a lot of art centers, this can be a problem because rock clubs don't book so far out and I need to be available for National tours.

- is it easy to play in the same band with your brother ?

Bryce : It's great to be in a band with my brother. To be 29 years old and still get to spend long stretches of time hanging out everyday, I think that is pretty rare. Musically it is really easy and good to work with him. We never have to ‘teach' each other a new song. We just start playing we know each other so well. Sometimes we can be pretty mean to each other, but I guess that is normal.



- best gig so far ?

Bryce : KSET - Zagreb, Croatia....about 2 years ago. It was insane, everyone singing along, freaking out. And our music is not even distributed there.

- worst gig so far ?

Bryce : Pittsburgh...we have played there 4-5 times in the last 5 years and every time is worse. I have a theory that once a place is bad, it just gets worse. I don't ever want to go back unless we are playing a sold out stadium.

- it's like your 3rd the tour in Europe ... do you feel something different compare to USA ?

Bryce : We have toured a lot both in Europe and in the USA. I think maybe equal, but that means less because the US is so big. Europe is great because the landscape and culture changes so rapidly. Even in France, it is like every region is different, every 100K something new happens. I love that and it is very interesting to meet different people and hear different languages. In America, most of the country is pretty similar between the two coast...the red states they call them!! That said, the West coast of the US is the most beautiful landscape I have ever seen.



- what about the rest of the world ?

Bryce : We really want to go to Australia and Japan...and Brazil. There is talk soon of going to Australia, which would be amazing especially with Padma who comes from there.

- It's already your second time in Marseille (congratulations ! it's pretty rare for a rock band) ... any comment ?

Bryce : La Poste à Galène is an awesome place to play. It is always pretty intense...better than most french cities. We like the South of France a lot. Driving in Marseille though is a big pain in the ass.

- know and/or like any French band ?

Bryce : We like Dominique A and Francoise Breut. Clogs has collaborated with a great french duo called MAN and I am good friends with a french composer named Sylvain Chaveau. We played once with Alain Bashung ... he's pretty epic live, leather coat and hat. And Bruno Cali came to see us in Perpignan, he is apparently a big fan and wants to do a tour together. I don't know if it will happen, but it would be nice to play with a French artist. By this I mean most the bands we meet here come from somewhere else and most the french bands sing in English. I find that really strange. I love french songs.



- you played three nights in a row in Perpignan ... how come ?

Bryce : There is a place there called El Castell Embruixat. It's the best place to play in France. The owner, Christophe, is an amazing person who we love. We stayed there for three days and had one huge party ... It is actually outside of Perpignan in a small town called St. Hippolyte.

to be continued ... ?

Site de The National : https://www.americanmary.com/
Site de Talitres : https://www.talitres.com/
Site de Brassland: https://www.brassland.org/
Site de Beggars Banquet : https://www.beggars.com/
Site de El Castell Embruixat : https://www.elcastellembruixat.com/

Site de Qatsi : https://qatsimusic.com
Site de Clogs : https://www.clogsmusic.com/

Photos piochées sur leur site, dont la Da Nacional par moi ;-) ... compléments et -peut être un jour- traduction à venir ...