A little over a year after the release of his album, the merits of which we praised you, Olivier Rocabois has just released a maxi, “The Pleasure is Goldmine”, in early June, in line with his first solo opus, mixing baroque pop without blistering and more intimate songs. If, physically, Olivier Rocabois can appear as a mix of Michel Delpech mustache period and Philippe Katerine, musically, it is a cocktail of sure values which influences the young man, from Scott Walker to Divine Comedy via the inevitable Bowie and Macca – with or without his Liverpool mates. During his visit to Bordeaux, we met this fascinating scholar of musical culture (and not just pop…) at Total Heaven, an essential record store that regularly wakes up Sleeping Beauty.
Barely hours before this interview, Olivier Rocabois told us about his two favorites of the moment:
– Daniel Rossen, “You Belong There”: The Grizzly Bear guitarist continues his solo career and he still fascinates me. His songs make me shiver. There is such finesse in the architecture and restraint in the execution that hypnotizes me. The new album is no exception. This mixture of flamenco and prog on certain titles transports me. To be listened to with headphones at night or very loud, half-naked in the freshly cut grass.
– Tim Bernardes, “Mil Coisas Invisíveis”: Singer / major composer of the young Brazilian generation, he connects the great records. The last LP is a marvel of introspection, we navigate between the sweet and the bitter in a joy shrouded in regrets, well soaked in saudade. I chose this title which begins like Marvin Gaye and becomes pure Tim B. with its enveloping choirs, piano garlands and a subtly hovering orchestration. To listen alone in the rocks while waiting for the rising tide after going to prostrate on the tomb of Chateaubriand.
Photo credit: Nicolas Pludwinski.
