What inspired Patricia to add a Moroccan flavour to her new tour? Well, according to the singer, a recent appearance on a TV show where the set was decorated with Moroccan arts and crafts! Patricia was instantly inspired by the set's hanging brass lanterns, wrought-iron grills and rich-coloured rugs. And when she toured Germany this summer (with a full symphony orchestra!), the singer decided to introduce a Moroccan feel to her set, decorating the stage with candelabras and ochre-coloured wall hangings.

Patricia is embarking her Moroccan décor on her current tour too. When she performs at Le Zénith in Paris (until 20 November) and at the "Paris Casino" in Las Vegas (26 and 27 November), the singer will invite fans into a huge white desert tent hung with glowing lanterns and Moroccan rugs. This décor, which manages to combine exoticism and a certain intimacy, is perfectly in keeping with the new arrangements of Patricia's songs - which owe more to Craig Armstrong's influence than to Pascal Obispo's production on her album "Le Mot de passe" (Columbia-Sony). However, in all fairness, it was Obispo's work on "Le Mot de passe" which inspired Armstrong's innovative new arrangements mixing electronic programming with a string quartet.

Patricia's new repertoire pulses with synthetic rhythms, loops and electronic percussion, which are perfectly balanced by the acoustic string section. The singer performs eleven tracks from "Le Mot de passe" (which accounts for half of the repertoire on her new tour). But whereas Obispo gave the album tracks a hard, almost masculine edge, Armstrong's arrangements give the live songs a more emotive, feminine touch. Patricia's performance also counts for a lot too, as anyone who has heard the serenely determined stage version of "Les chansons commencent" - an anthem Jean-Jacques Goldman penned for her last album - will tell you.
Patricia does not forget her old friend 'Jean-Jacques' on her new tour either. In fact, "Ce sera nous" includes five of the seven hits Goldman has composed for her since 1993 - "Il me dit que je suis belle", "Je voudrais la connaître", "Quand j'ai peur de tout", "Les chansons commencent" and the famous "Une fille de l'Est". The singer also manages to breathe new life into a series of old hits with an acoustic medley of "Kennedy Rose", "Quand Jimmy dit" and "Les Riches", an innovative modern version of "D'Allemagne" and a slight change of rhythm in her legendary smash hit "Mon mec à moi".

Patricia is decidedly more relaxed on stage this time round, too, throwing off the stereotyped roles she played on her previous tour (which ranged from seductive femme fatale to fashion victim!) Patricia's new stage outfits adopt a more natural approach, the singer appearing on stage in a hippie-style vest top, a long black dress - which is soberly sexy rather than over-the-top - and a simple skirt and sweater outfit which she wears sitting on the side of the stage to sing her softer, acoustic numbers. But the most radical change in Patricia's new look are her glasses, kept ready to hand throughout the show lest the singer forget the lyrics of her new hits or the words of the Léo Ferré classic "Avec le temps" - a song which is guaranteed to bring the house down when Patricia performs it as her final encore!