Patricia Kaas's fifth studio album, "Le Mot de passe", was simultaneously released in France and forty other countries on 18 May. The album follows a little over two years after Ms. Kaas's best-selling predecessor "Dans ma chair" (which racked up sales of almost 1.5 million copies in France and neighbouring French-speaking countries!)
"Le Mot de passe" finds Patricia Kaas in particularly fine form. Gone are the fumbling débuts of the timid young singer from the coal-mining district of Lorraine. Make no mistake about it, this new album is the work of a feisty 32-year-old artist who knows her own mind and her own musical tastes!

Two tracks on the new album were written by one-man French hit-machine Jean-Jacques Goldman ("Une fille de l'Est" and "Les chansons commençent") and the remaining ten by Pascal Obispo, who teamed up with a host of top French songwriters including the successful young pop diva Zazie ("J'attends de nous"). Popular French singer/songwriter Obispo, who has made a name for himself producing albums for Johnny Hallyday and Florent Pagny, has contributed some superb arrangements and production work on "Le Mot de passe". What's more, Obispo has applied a much less heavier production hand than usual, allowing the delicacy of Ms. Kaas's feminine emotions to filter through unhindered.
"Le mot de passe" - which successfully fuses classical-sounding string sections, catchy electro beats, natural lyrics and some brilliant harmonies on piano and acoustic guitar - is doubtless one of the most accomplished feats of French variété circa 1999! And, given the excellent arrangements on "Ma liberté contre la tienne" (the first single release in France) and the swelling chorus of "Les chansons commencent", Patricia Kaas's fifth album is set to spawn a whole string of hits!

Ms. Kaas's French fans will be able to catch their idol in concert during a major tour, which kicks off in November of this year. However, international fans will have to be a little more patient - for the moment Ms. Kaas has no dates lined up for a foreign tour! So, cyber music fans, we hope our brief interview below will be enough to keep you going for the time being:

Patricia, you released your last album two years ago and then, straight after finishing it, set off on an extremely lengthy tour … Now you're back with a brand new album. Do you ever get time to take a rest in the midst of this hectic schedule?
Before I recorded my last album, "Dans ma chair", I got time to take a rest. But this time round there was no time for a break. By the time I finished my tour, I'd already started working on a selection of songs for my new album. In fact, by the end of the tour I'd already started working with several people including Pascal Obispo. And then in December I went into the studio to start recording. This proved to be a good moment to start working on the album, in fact, as by the end of the tour my voice was sounding just right. In January I managed to snatch a quick holiday, then in February I went back into the studio to finish the album. I worked pretty much non-stop, but I never really had the impression that things were spiralling out of control and going too fast.

How come Pascal Obispo ended up playing such a major role on your new album?
Well, I just worked the same way on this album as I always do. I wanted some really good songs for the album, so a year before I started recording I asked different songwriters and composers to start sending me material. At the time I thought Pascal would end up writing three or four songs for the album. But he just kept sending me more and more material. I'd turn down one song and then he'd send me another, I'd turn down a second song and then another one would appear … In fact, Pascal must have ended up proposing at least forty songs! So it was hardly surprising that when I made my final choice ten of his songs were in the final selection … In the end it seemed only natural that, as Pascal had written so much material for the album, he should end up producing the whole thing - including the two songs written by Jean-Jacques Goldman. What's more, Jean-Jacques had absolutely no objection to having his songs produced by Pascal.

Your record company delayed the release of Le Mot de Passe in France so that your new album could enjoy simultaneous release abroad. Do your international fans mean a lot to you?
Of course! They're the reason I spend so much time touring abroad! I don't go abroad to 'defend' the image of French music, I go on tour to see if there's an audience out there for my work. And it makes me really proud to know that my new album's being released in forty different countries. You know, I like the fact that "Le Mot de Passe" has come out in May. I released my last two albums in April and this time round I felt like changing the date a bit. May's a special month for me. It's the month my mother died, and I had a kind of superstitious notion that releasing the new album in May would bring me luck.

Are you planning to do a lot of interviews with the international media?
Well, I'm planning to promote my new album in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria and Holland. I don't think it's a good idea to go overboard with the media, but it's important to assure the minimum...

Do you feel you have the same image abroad as you do here at home?
Well, in France I'm just one singer among many, many others. But in a lot of other countries I'm the only French artist music fans know. I'm not talking about the generations of French singers before me, of course - people have obviously heard of Aznavour, Brel and Piaf! But when it comes to artists working on the current music scene, foreign music fans really don't know much else. Foreign music fans have a very specific image of France, you know - for them France represents luxury, elegance and all things romantic!
You know, I used to wonder whether the French media were actually interested in trying to export French artists abroad. I mean, one year the 'Victoires de la Musique' awards actually did away with the prize for Most Exported Artist of the Year! That made me really angry - but, then again, it wasn't particularly easy for me to speak out on the issue as I'd won the award four years running.

Do you feel that the French media have stopped considering you as some sort of strange sociological phenomenon and have finally started taking an interest in you as a serious artist?
Yes, I feel the media find me a bit more interesting now. To begin with I was just this young girl from the East who could belt out a good song, but didn't actually have too much to say! Which I guess was pretty close to the truth at the time really. But, you know, when you put out your first album, you don't know whether you're going to be a one-hit wonder or whether you're going to be around for a while and get the chance to make your mark.
You have to remember that when my single Mademoiselle chante le blues came out in March 1987, nobody wanted to know about it! The song was never written with me in mind, of course - it had been hanging around in Barbelivien's bottom drawer for years! I ended up recording the song because my mother was really ill at the time and her last wish was to see me appear on TV. I really fought for that song, I can tell you! And Polygram - my record company at the time - realised I was really motivated about it. So, after the song failed to take off in the spring, we just kept working away at it and finally in October of '87 Mademoiselle chante le blues started getting some recognition.
OK, I didn't have to struggle that hard, I guess. But I did fight to get that song off the ground and the best thing was my mother died after getting her final wish.

And, one final question … What about the album you're meant to be recording in English for release in the U.S.?
Ah, now we're getting round to the really embarrassing question! … The album you're referring to is actually already mixed, recorded and lying waiting in the studio. And I hope that one day it will actually get released! The problem with the album in English was that there were too many people involved with the project, too many people giving different advice and pulling in different directions. The problem was that we tried to listen to everyone and incorporate everyone's advice, whereas we should have just gone ahead and done what we wanted.

If the album does ever get released, I think we'll just have to go with what we want and ignore everyone else's advice. After all, you can't deny your own personal taste! Actually, I think that - as a matter of my own personal pride - I would like the album to be released. That way I can tell myself I've carried all my projects through to the end! After that, it's not particularly important to me whether the American public like the album or not.

Text and interview : Bertrand DICALE
Translation: Julie STREET

Le mot de passe(COL 494559 2)