Pascal OBISPO: – I wanted to offer fans twelve different types of musical 'universe' on my new album.

There's everything from piano and strings on Ce qu'on voit allée Rimbaud - a song I wrote with Roda Gil - to loops and drum'n bass on Vivre ici. Par absence has got a bit of a Craig Armstrong feel to it and then there's a touch of Todd Terry-style house on Variations sur le même "tu manques". But the album also features songs like Mon océan - which sounds a lot like stuff I was doing before - and a traditional song called L'important c'est d'aimer. The album's also got a bit of a soul vein with a Curtis Mayfield feel to it here and there. And there's even a hint of Spain on the title track Soledad...

– After having worked in a very "Brit Pop" vein, it looks like you've moved on to trip hop now …
– It's true. I've always done a lot of Brit Pop-style songs. But while I'd agree Craig Armstrong was Brit Pop, I'd say Tricky's not really trip hop - he's more Melody Nelson!

– I'd like to bring up a bit of an unpleasant question now, about your reputation...
– That's OK. I'm used to it!

– Really?
– Well, it's strange but whenever I get together with journalists, they always go on about me having a bad reputation in the press. But I've kept every single one of my reviews - I've got 25 files of press cuttings sitting in a cupboard back home - and all I can say is, there are only 5 or 6 negative articles in the whole bunch!

– But recently Johnny Hallyday did say that he thought the album you wrote for him wasn't «Johnny Hallyday enough».
– Well, I'd say you can't ever impose anything against Johnny's wishes. It's always Johnny who gets the final say and if he doesn't want to work with someone, he doesn't work with them. I could have ended up just writing three songs for him but it was Johnny who chose to take 14 – that's to say, he decided to do an entire album showing my personal vision of him. Actually, I felt like Allumer le feu is a song which suits Johnny down to the ground. It's the perfect stadium song, perfect for him to belt out to audiences at the "Stade de France"! In my opinion, Chacun cherche son cœur, Que ma Harley repose en paix and Seul are also pure Johnny.
But in the end who could possibly write better songs for Johnny than his own flesh and blood? His son David's got a lot of talent and it's obvious that when David works with his father he's much better than anyone else at writing songs which really resemble Johnny. If Laura ever starts writing for her father one day, it'll be the same thing. Having said that, however, I don't think Sang pour sang (Ed. Hallyday's new album co-written with his son) is Johnny's most original album to date, but it resembles him a lot more than the songs I wrote for him. Johnny's right in that respect and I don't bear him any grudges for having said it. It's not a nasty thing to say, it's perfectly clear-sighted. But Johnny has only ever recorded three albums in his career which were entirely written by one songwriter. And prior to the release of Sang pour sang, I wrote Johnny's best-selling album, the one which comes in equal top with Lorada. And I'm pleased that the album I wrote went down so well with the public.

-Don't you ever feel tempted to keep back your best songs for yourself?
I always give the best of myself when I write a song - I don't ever give people songs I've had hanging around in a bottom drawer for a while! When I wrote Savoir aimer with Lionel Florence, we wrote it specially for Florent Pagny. And when I'd finished writing Allumer le feu in my hotel room in Aix-les-Bains, I immediately got on the phone to Johnny, who was on his boat in New York at the time. I wouldn't have done that if I'd wanted to keep them, would I? Anyway, I'd never have sold as many singles as Florent has with Savoir aimer: It's his song, not mine. And, in the same way, Johnny's the only one who can really perform Allumer le feu
-Don't you ever feel like making your own recordings of the songs you write for others?
– Sometimes when I go on TV shows I do medleys of songs I've written for other singers, because I'm proud of them. I can imagine doing it at concerts too. But that's very different from actually recording the songs myself.

-Would you say you're a prolific songwriter?
– I feel my love of music is a lot stronger than songwriters who are less prolific.

Do you think you'll ever do an Alain Souchon and end up taking six years to write a 10-track album?
– Well, it's not really the same thing. Alain writes French 'chanson'. And that's more literary. Alain's more of an author and authors have to spend a lot of time thinking, getting each word just right. That was what was important in the 'chanson' era - Souchon's an author, you know, people quote from his songs. But I have a much more musical approach. The way I work revolves around creating a sort of 'communion' with other musicians.

– Do you ever worry that your source might dry up?
– There is no source! My working method is more like a sieve - I listen to music and absorb information every day and eventually it all filters through …

– The lyrics on your new album appear to be a lot more serious than your previous work …
– When I take a stand on something, it's because I believe I can do something about it. You know, in all the interviews I've done over the past few days I've said to journalists "Have you seen the guy begging outside the post office down there? He has to sit there all day looking up at this big sign which says 'air-conditioned offices to rent'!" You know, when I was 16 we used to dream about what it would be like in the year 2000. We used to fantasise about it. That's what the song Neil Armstrong ou Gagarine is about: what's the point of being able to go to the moon when there's still guys begging in the street?

Interview: Bertrand DICALE
English translation: Julie STREET