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Mirwais interview in Bon temps magazine (FR) spring 2020

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Interview by Olivier Pernot
(extract)

You met Madonna in 1998. How did she discover your music?
Here's the true story: I had a deal with Naïve [French indie music label], when the French Touch was buoyant, even though I was a little older given the fact that I was 38 at the time. Disco Science came out in 1998. I had a deal with Sony for the rest of the world but I wasn't fond of their US team. I thought they were corny. Director Stéphane Sednaoui shot the Disco Science video and he had also done a Madonna video. So I asked him if he could pass on my maxi to Guy Oseary, the label manager at Maverick, the one Madonna had created at Warner. In the beginning, I was looking for a label in the US for my forthcoming album [Production] and Maverick had launched The Prodigy, among others. Guy Oseary gives the maxi to Madonna, she loves the track and the video. Then, Oseary comes to Paris and wants to meet me. He was staying at the Hôtel Costes with Red Hot Chili Peppers. I go there and he asks for more. So I handed him some other tracks. Then, later, he calls Naïve's boss to ask if I'd be interested in trying to work on things with Madonna. And I said "Of course, why not!"

How did the first meeting go?
I go to London for a work session in a recording studio and we hit it off immediately. Our artistic sensibilities are very close. Since then, surprisingly, we never hang out outside of work. But as soon as we're working together, we have an extraordinary relationship musically speaking.

How do you work with her?
With Madonna, it's a fifty-fifty collaboration. I like the idea of sharing and, when I was a teenager, I wanted to be in a band. Sometimes, I'll send her demos. Some with my own vocals. One of Madonna's strengths is that she has a flair for good tracks, for spotting the songwriting in a demo. A track that wouldn't get any label guy's attention, she gets the feeling, she takes it and makes something out of it. For her last album, she was very much influenced by Portugal and you can hear it on the record. She knows that I cross over a lot of things, we can go anywhere, in all directions.

After Music, Madonna called you again for two other albums: American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Her career had been rekindled by Ray of Light, the album she made with William Orbit. Music confirmed the success: it sold 11 million copies and went number 1 in the US. Then, cherry on top, Music, the song, made her ultra-hip again. So, of course, she was keen on us working together again.

(...)

Why has Madonna called you back in 2018 for Madame X?
I stopped working for her in 2006. I did only a few tracks on Confessions on a Dance Floor and I introduced Stuart Price to her. I left because I had personal issues I had to deal with. It had nothing to do with her. I had to focus on myself. But our work wasn't over. Our songwriting relationship wasn't over. We kept in touch. We'd e-mail each other often and, whenever she came to Paris, she invited me to her shows. Our relationship feels like she's family.

It sounds like you admire Madonna.
Yes, I admire her a lot because she has done everything for 40 years, in a lot of different styles. And above all, she is eager, she experiments. That's the most important thing about her. She took part in the New York scene in the 70s. So yes, she is an inspiration even though she isn't perfect. Moreover, she is post-success: she is beyond success and money. She has had all of this for a long time in her life, so her focus is on creation. The two of us get together straightforwardly to create songs. It's that simple.

You agreed to this interview because you wanted to speak of your new album. The former one, Production, is from 2000. Now we're in 2020.
I haven't made an album in 20 years, it's staggering. I was busy with Madonna between 2000 and 2006. It's quite something. In counting, with the last one, there are tracks of mine on 4 Madonna albums. 28 songs. After 2006, I went through depression. And then I started working again.

(...)

(The Retrofuture, Mirwais' next album, will feature Richard Ashcroft from The Verve and Kylie Minogue. It is slated for the fall of 2020, with another album ready for 2021. Mirwais plans a trilogy.)

(...)

Why do you give so few interviews?
Nowadays, you have a choice considering the media you'll talk to. Last year, with Madonna's album, I said no to the biggest TV news shows, because I didn't feel like talking. I did a single interview for a Madonna fan webzine. And then for you, Bon temps, because it's a real discussion, not promotion.

(...)

What excites you in music today?

(Mirwais quotes Bob Dylan and Joy Division's Closer as current influences.)

I'm looking for chaos in order to blend in and I think we're getting there. Something good always emerges from chaos!

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Voguerista

Voguerista 11,725

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17 minutes ago, discohub said:

Interview by Olivier Pernot
(extract)

You met Madonna in 1998. How did she discover your music?
Here's the true story: I had a deal with Naïve [French indie music label], when the French Touch was buoyant, even though I was a little older given the fact that I was 38 at the time. Disco Science came out in 1998. I had a deal with Sony for the rest of the world but I wasn't fond of their US team. I thought they were corny. Director Stéphane Sednaoui shot the Disco Science video and he had also done a Madonna video. So I asked him if he could pass on my maxi to Guy Oseary, the label manager at Maverick, the one Madonna had created at Warner. In the beginning, I was looking for a label in the US for my forthcoming album [Production] and Maverick had launched The Prodigy, among others. Guy Oseary gives the maxi to Madonna, she loves the track and the video. Then, Oseary comes to Paris and wants to meet me. He was staying at the Hôtel Costes with Red Hot Chili Peppers. I go there and he asks for more. So I handed him some other tracks. Then, later, he calls Naïve's boss to ask if I'd be interested in trying to work on things with Madonna. And I said "Of course, why not!"

How did the first meeting go?
I go to London for a work session in a recording studio and we hit it off immediately. Our artistic sensibilities are very close. Since then, surprisingly, we never hang out outside of work. But as soon as we're working together, we have an extraordinary relationship musically speaking.

How do you work with her?
With Madonna, it's a fifty-fifty collaboration. I like the idea of sharing and, when I was a teenager, I wanted to be in a band. Sometimes, I'll send her demos. Some with my own vocals. One of Madonna's strengths is that she has a flair for good tracks, for spotting the songwriting in a demo. A track that wouldn't get any label guy's attention, she gets the feeling, she takes it and makes something out of it. For her last album, she was very much influenced by Portugal and you can hear it on the record. She knows that I cross over a lot of things, we can go anywhere, in all directions.

After Music, Madonna called you again for two other albums: American Life and Confessions on a Dance Floor.
Her career had been rekindled by Ray of Light, the album she made with William Orbit. Music confirmed the success: it sold 11 million copies and went number 1 in the US. Then, cherry on top, Music, the song, made her ultra-hip again. So, of course, she was keen on us working together again.

(...)

Why has Madonna called you back in 2018 for Madame X?
I stopped working for her in 2006. I did only a few tracks on Confessions on a Dance Floor and I introduced Stuart Price to her. I left because I had personal issues I had to deal with. It had nothing to do with her. I had to focus on myself. But our work wasn't over. Our songwriting relationship wasn't over. We kept in touch. We'd e-mail each other often and, whenever she came to Paris, she invited me to her shows. Our relationship feels like she's family.

It sounds like you admire Madonna.
Yes, I admire her a lot because she has done everything for 40 years, in a lot of different styles. And above all, she is eager, she experiments. That's the most important thing about her. She took part in the New York scene in the 70s. So yes, she is an inspiration even though she isn't perfect. Moreover, she is post-success: she is beyond success and money. She has had all of this for a long time in her life, so her focus is on creation. The two of us get together straightforwardly to create songs. It's that simple.

You agreed to this interview because you wanted to speak of your new album. The former one, Production, is from 2000. Now we're in 2020.
I haven't made an album in 20 years, it's staggering. I was busy with Madonna between 2000 and 2006. It's quite something. In counting, with the last one, there are tracks of mine on 4 Madonna albums. 28 songs. After 2006, I went through depression. And then I started working again.

(...)

(The Retrofuture, Mirwais' next album, will feature Richard Ashcroft from The Verve and Kylie Minogue. It is slated for the fall of 2020, with another album ready for 2021. Mirwais plans a trilogy.)

(...)

Why do you give so few interviews?
Nowadays, you have a choice considering the media you'll talk to. Last year, with Madonna's album, I said no to the biggest TV news shows, because I didn't feel like talking. I did a single interview for a Madonna fan webzine. And then for you, Bon temps, because it's a real discussion, not promotion.

(...)

What excites you in music today?

(Mirwais quotes Bob Dylan and Joy Division's Closer as current influences.)

I'm looking for chaos in order to blend in and I think we're getting there. Something good always emerges from chaos!

Great interview! Thank you.  I love his and Madonna's connection and how well they can work  together. I want her to work with Stuart Price so badly again, but, I'll always be open for the eclectic genius of Mirwais too. 

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azrael

azrael 735

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Thanks for the translation. Nice interview. I like how matter of fact Mirwais is, definitely a no bullshit kinda guy. That's a rare trait these days in the capitalist excess of the entertainment industry. Sad to hear he went through dark days but I hope he has found some new form of peace and is ready to treat us all to more solo music - event after twenty years 'PRODUCTION' is a serious piece of work.

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drivebitch

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On 5/2/2020 at 3:59 PM, Voguerista said:

Great interview! Thank you.  I love his and Madonna's connection and how well they can work  together. I want her to work with Stuart Price so badly again, but, I'll always be open for the eclectic genius of Mirwais too. 

I'd rather he concentrate on working with songwriters like Pat Leonard than djs and hip producers. Madame X, while not bad, really should be her and Mirwais' swan song. They've done 4 albums together now. It's becoming redundant. It would be like her doing another album with Timbaland or Diplo. It's been done to death. I have no idea what she'll decide to do next musically. Hell, she doesn't even have a record contract right now. No one knows what music will be like in a few years time. I do think that she would be better off concentrating on crafting a great song, not trying to reinvent the wheel with each album sonically. 

Am I the only one surprised that she hasn't built her own music studio. We all know what a miser she is. Certainly this would save her money and she'd be able to work whenever and however long she wanted. I'm even surprised she hasn't invested in a big studio for other artists to use - Candy Shop Studios. lol She'd certainly make a bundle.

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