Christophe, an eternally enigmatic figure, has never given proper media interviews. He prefers to meet journalists on a one-to-one basis and indulge in the pleasure of real conversation, holding forth at great length on his favourite topics - music, film, art and the virtues of his long-time "companion", the night. Here then are a few choice excerpts from a recent conversation with Christophe. It is twilight, we are sitting comfortably in the bar of a luxury Parisian hotel and the great man is waxing lyrical about the guest artists on his new album Aimer ce que nous sommes.

RFI Musique: The list of credits on Aimer ce que nous sommes certainly makes impressive reading. Right from the opening track we hear Isabelle Adjani herself…
Christophe: Well, the thing is whenever I make an album I tend to see the film in my head first. And with this album even before I started making it I just knew it was going to open with a spoken intro recorded by someone other than myself. Actually, I'd originally intended for it to be Alain Bashung. But this was two years ago now and Alain was wrapped up in making his own album, leading his own life… Then he ended up doing something with Daniel Darc (the duo LUV which appears on Darc's latest album, Amours suprêmes) so I couldn't use him. I had to look elsewhere - and looking elsewhere for me meant turning to the great Isabelle!

I went to the theatre on four occasions to see Isabelle in La dernière nuit pour Marie Stuart - and each time I went I had the honour of spending five minutes with her in her dressing room. After that, I ended up asking her if she'd guest on my album and she sent me the most extraordinary text message on my phone. It was really amazing!  She only recorded two takes in the studio for the spoken text and one for the backing vocals. I was busy at the controls doing the sound and she was standing just behind me. I didn't want to disturb her or break her concentration in any way. When she'd finished she offered to do a few more takes, but I just turned round and said, "What I want from you is your breath, your vibration and all the sensuality that comes across in your breathing." Moments like that are truly unforgettable. In fact, moments like that are so unforgettable that it's hard to believe they ever really happened! 

Another famous name who puts in an appearance on your new album is the jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz. You've guested on Truffaz's albums and performed on stage with him quite a few times in the past…
... another important encounter, a meeting of minds. When Erik comes round to my place he likes to play this little trumpet I have which is supposed to have belonged to Boris Vian. He plays very softly in my apartment so as not to wake the neighbours. It sounds as if he's scarcely blowing into the trumpet at all, as if he's whispering in your ear.

There are also more unexpected guest appearances on Aimer ce que nous sommes, like the moment when we hear photographer Denise Colomb's voice on It Must Be A Sign...
I'd had a recording of Denise's voice for something like twenty years - and I only started working on this song in 2004. It was another of those occasions when things just sounded right. Denise was Antonin Artaud's photographer and one day I sat down at the piano and did these romantic-style keyboards around her voice. Then Carmine Appice came along and put drums over that and then the Gypsies did their bit...

You were recently involved on two tracks on Julien Doré's album. What was that like?
Oh that was nothing, just me doing a bit of tweaking here and there. It was one of those magical moments when I got involved in something which really struck a chord with me... Julien is a silent type really but you can tell there's a lot going on inside. I have a lot of objets d'art and books and photos of architecture and design at my place and the moment he walked in he was interested in everything. Julien's not a singer. He's an artist in the broadest sense of the term  - and it just so happens that he's a singer on top of everything else! Exactly the way I like it.

I'm someone who came to music after being involved in painting and sculpture first… I'm a handyman when it comes to music, someone who spends a lot of time fiddling about and trying to make things fit. I never actually learnt music the classical way because I never had the time. I think if I had learnt music I would have played an instrument. The piano is always the basis of my creation. But as I never learnt to play properly, I developed my own particular style which you can hear on this album - apart from on the track Parle-lui de moi where the piano is not played by me, but by a truly talented pianist, Eumir Deadato.

Are you planning to take to the road to present your new album to fans at some point?
Yes, I am, but I'm going to go off on holiday somewhere first. Obviously these days I'm a lot less able to whisk off wherever the wind takes me - because of driving license issues. I still think I deserve one but I've had mine taken away. After I've taken a break I'd like to come back and perform in a number of magical places I know in France and Belgium and Switzerland… I made a live comeback in 2002, but things weren't exactly the way I wanted. This time round, though, I've had more time, I've been able to step back and look at things objectively and I've got a dream line-up of musicians... Carmine Appice has agreed to play live with me and the Gypsies are on for it, too… But now it means it's not just going to be Christophe up on stage. We'll have to have new posters printed with "Moraito, Carmine Appice, Christophe."

You took a very long leave of absence from the French music scene before making a comeback on the recording front with the album Bevilacqua in 1995. Would you say you're now a singer again for good?
All I can say is I'll never be a singer. I never have the impression that I'm singing at all. I'd say my style is more "non-singing"… and that's precisely why I like Thom Yorke. Thom Yorke doesn't sing either. He produces sounds with his voice.

Do you think there may come a time when you take another long leave of absence?
Well, if I did I'd have to think long and hard about it first.

So you're reconciled with the music scene these days?
Yes, as a matter of obligation.

But out of pleasure, too?
Yes. Out of pleasure, too.