With a father who is a legend (Serge Gainsbourg) and a mother who is… another legend (Jane Birkin)… well, Charlotte Gainsbourg‘s life has not been easy. It’s the burden of having two cultural icons as parents and being a sensitive girl.
Charlotte debuted as a singer in 1984 (she was 12), duetting with her father in a scandalous song called “Lemon Incest” and until now she pursued both acting and music as careers. Her last musical effort is a live album.
As Pitchfork – which published a long interview with her – puts it: “Though she comes from a family of performers [...], Charlotte is far from a natural onstage; she’s nervous, tentative, uncertain. So her recent live album, the accurately-dubbed Stage Whisper, isn’t as much an exhibition of supreme stage prowess as a triumph of will“.
Charlotte is still frightened of the stage and of the mistakes sometimes you make while performing: “Before I started touring, I worked with someone to help me, even physically, because I was so shy. And you can’t be shy going onstage. So I had to push myself in a direction that wasn’t myself. Even moving around onstage seemed very artificial. But at the same time you have to make that effort in order to get back to who you are and even accept not moving, if that’s who you are. I hope one day I will be able to be completely myself. Maybe I’ll be wilder“.
But Charlotte is a real tough lady and she’s already thinking about her next album: “I have ideas of subjects and atmospheres that I love. I either want to go in a tougher, stronger direction or do the opposite: simple ballads. I’d love to be able to be there the whole time and just see everything, too. Working with Beck on IRM was great when I was there at the beginning of the song, but then I was a bit frustrated when I went back because he was able to work without me. He didn’t really need me. I want to try and be less shy. I used to go to see Beck, and I was so shy about showing him what I had written because I didn’t like it. I was ashamed, and he was very funny because he said, “You should try and write the worst song because you can only go up from there.” But I wish I could just accept that I’m not that good and not be shy about the fact that I’m not that professional. It doesn’t matter. So I just hope I’ll be able to implicate myself completely next time. That’s what I want“.
Read the whole interview here.
