{"id":21996,"date":"2020-06-16T15:30:04","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T19:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/interviews-panm360\/jehnny-beth-devoilement-sans-complaisance\/"},"modified":"2020-06-17T12:30:30","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T16:30:30","slug":"jehnny-beth-devoilement-sans-complaisance","status":"publish","type":"interviews","link":"https:\/\/panm360.com\/en\/interviews-panm360\/jehnny-beth-devoilement-sans-complaisance\/","title":{"rendered":"Jehnny Beth: Revealing without servility"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With Savages, Berthomier had built an artistic identity. But now…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I needed to see how to enrich it, not deconstruct it.\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to be a character you can draw in one go. In Savages, I made the choice not to say things about myself, no one was stopping me, mind you. I was the one who decided to restrict myself, to be clear, easily identifiable. I think that was very helpful in Savages; the band had a soul, we all agreed with that identity, we were all going in the same direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=QYcVIPQiOpU\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The image on the cover of the album To Love Is To Live<\/em> does not lie: Jehnny Beth wanted to reveal herself without deferring to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the album cover,\u201d she says, adding to her explanation, \u201cwe decided to close the pores on the skin of the image. It’s an image without regrets that represented a certain strength, which is one of the recurring themes on this album, and also on my songs in general. I’m thinking of the album Adore Life<\/em>.  So I do my own thing, even if I do it at a degree of removal. It’s a bit clich\u00e9 to say it, but this album’s a way of revealing sides of me that I didn’t express in Savages. I figured this was my chance to do it. I had help thinking that way and making this album, from Romy Madley Croft, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before beginning this creative process, Berthomier didn’t know what to do with her contradictory thoughts, the essential source of the lyrics in To Love Is To Live<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was full of guilt and shame about thoughts that were passing through my mind,\u201d she says. \u201cI’m lucky enough to be able to make songs out of it, to get into a dialogue with myself. I’m trying to figure it out a little. So I started by exploring the thoughts that kept me awake at night. I was unable to make this album without talking about what was bothering me so much at home. The human being is imperfect, plagued by contradictory thoughts, we tend to not put this complexity forward. And I think that’s what art is for!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Berthomier uses the example of her song \u201cI’m the man\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lyrics speak of the need to take responsibility for the evil that exists in the world, not just on the other side of the planet, but also in my neighbour’s home or even in my own. The man I’m describing in this song is also me. This responsibility is reflected in the context of our current failures to address racism. We have to look each other in the face, see each other without complaisance, and art is there to do that. So I don’t want to show just my good side. I refuse to draw a white line between good on one side and evil on the other, and put myself on the right side by saying that I have pure thoughts. No! We mustn\u2019t have only a pure voice to allow ourselves to speak. That’s why I worked with Joe Talbot from IDLES, he has the courage to say I\u2019ve been a jealous man and can be again, and I\u2019m fighting with this violence inside me. And I say the same thing, except I’m a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It can be deduced that \u201cself-doubt, apathy, and isolation\u201d are key vectors in To Love Is To Live<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it’s not just that,\u201d says Berthomier. \u201cI juxtapose these darker moods with other states that break them up. It’s like we\u2019ve been working towards a sense of happiness, going through all this. For example, the lyrics to \u2018French Countryside\u2019 were written in an airplane during an episode of harsh turbulence. I thought we were going to crash, I had started to take stock \u2013 I should have loved better, done better, been more generous, been better, etc. And then the plane landed,\u201d she laughs, \u201cI survived! The next few days, I really enjoyed life, the flowers and the birds… before I forgot. It’s important not to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of gender, the image that the artist projects is clearly in line with queer pride and the diversification of sexual identities. She corroborates without going into detail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am a woman making art in 2020 and reflecting what women are becoming in 2020.  I’m not doing this out of political envy, but I’m doing it anyway, I’m a woman. I never quite understood the tomboy label. People don’t necessarily realize… \u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=F8WMhLzBU94&feature=emb_logo\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Flood, Atticus Ross, and Johnny Hostile co-produced To Love Is To Live<\/em>, a visibly ambitious project given the reputation of the professionals recruited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJohnny Hostile,\u201d says Berthomier, \u201chas been much more than just my accompanist for 15 years. He\u2019s notably the producer of several songs on this album. I like to describe him as my muse, because he inspires me so much. He\u2019s always suggesting new ideas, he gives me a lot of freedom and gives me strength. It’s mutual, by the way. As for Flood, he came along to make things better, among other things to make me record without headphones, with the speakers open. \u2018Tell me what you feel, don’t tell me what you think,\u2019 he suggested! For his part, Atticus Ross added layers and layers of sound to the original music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, To Love Is To Live<\/em> is not a pure rock album. Jehnny Beth didn’t draw from the \u201980s and \u201990s like she to obvious success with Savages. She has taken a different path and added arrows to her quiver, enriching a course that is atypical to say the least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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