A clamor arose on Friday February 11 around 11:15 p.m. in Saint-Étienne (Loire). For once, it was not a cry from football fans, but from music lovers. A clamor for two brothers, who received for the first time a Victoire de la musique, that of the male revelation of the year. The duo Terrenoire, whose name pays homage to their working-class district of Saint-Étienne, was quite justly rewarded for their dazzling first album, “Les forces contraries”, which has just come out enriched with six new titles.
Raphaël and Théo Herrerias, 31 and 26, were our favourites. And the logical favorites in their category. Their album and the concerts they have given over the past two years reflect their powerful performance at Les Victoires, mixing “Until my last breath” and “L’infini”, a new, more danceable title. What charisma, these brothers! They are beautiful, intense, poetic, magnetic, in total osmosis…
We do not emerge unscathed from their music, a rare blend of emotion and energy, of violins and machines, of French chanson and electro without borders, of tradition and modernity. Perhaps attentive viewers recognized in the first song the soundtrack used by Intermarché for one of its solidarity ads during the health crisis.
“Forever children of Terrenoire”
Rare in television, the siblings could only be jubilant. “We did it, my brother”, exulted Raphaël on stage, the hand of his brother Théo on his shoulder. After thanking their team, they dedicated their Victory to their father, who died of cancer in 2018, when they were starting to record their album, and which they talk about in their moving song “Derrière le soleil”. “We said we would place gold at your feet, we did it, threw his son at him, looking at the sky. This victory is for you, and also for our brother and our mother, who are in the audience. Theo added big kisses to their grandfather and grandmother.
“Terrenoire is our story and also yours, concluded the brothers. Thanks to our city. To our childhood friends. “When their album was released in September 2020, the Terrenoires told us that this name had imposed itself. “For the mystical side, fertile ground, but also as a safeguard, to never forget where you come from,” sums up Raphaël. We will forever be children of Terrenoire. »
An incisive feather as much as a traveler
Fruit of a couple of English teachers who always pushed them to “get out of their condition”, inspired by a rocker uncle, Raphaël and Théo started music at 14 years old. The first as an all-terrain guitarist, from jazz to metal, the second on the saxophone and in production. “I sang for a long time in groups and solo, Raphaël explained to us. Until the day Théo joined me for a concert with his computers. Leaving the stage, it was obvious to put down my guitar and continue as a couple. »
No wonder these two connected with their Saint-Etienne hero, Bernard Lavilliers, who we would have liked to see also nominated for Victories with his latest album, “Sous un soleil enormous”. The three musicians co-wrote and shared a duet last year on his album, “I care about her”, in tribute to Saint-Étienne. “I wouldn’t have thought of writing one more time about Saint-Étienne, but this song touches me a lot,” Lavilliers confessed to us.
But they don’t just have their city and working-class heritage in common. They have the incisive pen as much as traveler, the sensitivity as restless as bloody. “And they have a soul and culture, Lavilliers also boasted to us, about his friends a few months ago. I may be half a century older, but we can talk about a lot of stuff. They introduce me to young artists from Saint-Etienne. »
The three local artists also have a sense of humor in common. At the Victoires, the Terrenoire left the stage with a little nod to Olivier Minne. “And Fort Boyard, whenever you want. The host of Victories and the game show smiled: “I am very tempted to invite you. »
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