“Music has the power to make you happy”: Jenifer opens up on her latest album

It had been four years since she last heard from her. four years ago New page. Here is Jenifer coming back with his No. 9.

Nine like the opening of horizons in numerology, as is not lacking in this new album. New not so new, because this disc smells good of the sounds of sixties and seventiesa period of creativity dear to the Niçoise who won the Star Ac’ twenty years ago.

Her Revolution, it was the public that allowed it. The interpreter ofUnder the sun has multiplied platinum records, sold five million albums, performed hundreds of concerts.

In an interview, his contagious energy and his bursts of laughter immediately break the ice.

How was this N°9 juice born?

With a lot of heart! We allowed ourselves to be more free than ever. I say “we” because there is still a nice notion of a group on this album, I couldn’t have done it without the extraordinary musicians who accompanied me, who wrote the songs.

It’s an album that gives you the energy… You needed something positive?

The goal is to invite people to dance, to put aside their worries. To entertain, to make people happy, that is, in my opinion, the power that music offers. And for that, I wanted to put people back at the heart of this album. Today we hear very synthetic sound that is well suited to many projects, but here I wanted authenticity.

You recorded at Eastcote Studios in London, which hosted the Sex Pistols, Amy Winehouse and Adele. Why this choice?

It is a studio in which one can record on tapes, in conditions of live and immediately, it brings a different sound. The musicians play together, in an old booth with old microphones. There is a soul. Modernity, I added it afterwards, in particular with two directors, Julio and Jordan, who come from the city and are used to working on less vintage software!

The patina is also brought from the brass, very present on this disc…

We started thinking about songs in the middle of Covid. I missed people, I wanted to celebrate, to put on a concert like a big show with lots of musicians on stage, something generous and authentic. When I think about my musical projects, I need to think about the form it could take on stage. And I imagined myself in an atmosphere, with brass instruments around!

It sounds very sixties and seventies… What do you like about that era?

The overflowing imagination of those years! There were a lot of cheeky musical proposals. And then there is also the aesthetics. The clothes, the haircuts… I am lucky that people lend me clothes – the price of which is often noted (laughs) – and as long as I have fun! Visually, with the 1960s and 1970s, there is plenty to do!

There is this ballad, Waitinga little apart on the album and which speaks of the family… Was it important that she was there?

She’s a bit like the UFO of the album, more classic than the others. I couldn’t ignore it, because it touched me a lot. It speaks of the sense of family, I obviously thought of my descendants but also of the cycles of life, of people who can be nostalgic for the passage of time. It took me a while to sing it, it’s one of the only ballads on the album with I see youwritten and composed by Yseult.

Hoshi also signs a title…

Yes it’s Melancholya very solar and very luminous song!

Have you ever thought about composing your songs?

I love to write and compose… In what I do, there’s always a bit of my touch: I make leads, I share my ideas… But I don’t know how to do it alone; I love working with others in the studio, creating musical ping-pongs… It’s like doing a school presentation where everyone brings their little idea, it’s so cool!

2022 is also the year of your twenty-year career, do you have the feeling of having explored everything you wanted?

It happened very quickly! It is often said that you have to savor the present moment, that’s what I did. I’m lucky to have lived a lot of incredible human adventures through different scenes, tours, album recordings. I took various musical directions, I am epicurean in my life as in my musical affinities. I love to learn. Through all of these challenges, I do a reset every time. Whether in The Voiceto the Star Ac’I always take it as a new challenge to take up.

Are there universes that you would like to exploit?

I have a lot of desires! I listen to everything, rap, electro, pop, soul and I want to do it all! That’s why it’s not painful to grow old for me, I still have so much to learn, so many ways to activate my curiosity.

You will soon be celebrating your 40th birthday…

But why is everyone talking to me about this?! (laughs). But it is okay! Even if there are days when I say to myself: “Still, okay”I am comfortable with my age.

Return to star Academy Twenty years later, what has it been?

It made me so happy to go back there to participate, I have always had a lot of tenderness and gratitude for this adventure which gave me an incredible springboard. It’s a showcase for artists in the making, a rather healthy reality show… Afterwards, it’s up to the candidates to work on this beautiful basis!