RFI Musique: Bethesda marks a comeback after a relatively long period of silence. Why did you stay away for so long?
Silvain Vanot: After making five albums I just reached a point where I didn't feel like singing any more. Certain routines in my life were beginning to weigh on me. I was finishing up an album in the studio and then rushing straight off on tour, saying to myself "OK, this time it's got to work!" But the return for all that effort was pretty mediocre. I got to a point where I decided it was time to turn the page and that was that… I started writing film music and documentary soundtracks and I began work on a children's project that never got released. But I kept my hand in on the music scene, too, accompanying other artists such as Mareva Galanter and  Sport Murphy.

The years went by and suddenly people started asking me to do the odd concert here and there. Much to my surprise, I found I actually enjoyed performing live again! Recently, I even got an urge to sit down and start writing new songs. That all kicked in again fairly naturally, although I have to say I don't really consider myself to be a singer any more. I prefer to work for other people these days.

Your new album is released on the small, independent label Megaphone. Is this a way of regaining your freedom after all those years committed to a major?
I didn't have much choice really. My fifth album went down well with the critics, but it wasn't exactly a popular hit. And for the first time in my career my label told me I'd be making my next album on a much smaller budget. I could feel the tide was about to turn so I jumped before they pushed me. I had my pride. By that point the record industry was already undergoing radical change and restructuration. Let's just say my label didn't waste any time in accepting my resignation!

The good thing about Megaphone is that now I get to work with one producer. Obviously, I don't have the same constraints as before, but I don't have the same luxury, either. I realise now that I took advantage of the days when record companies had big bucks, although that situation made us a bit complacent, too. If you had an album that wasn't selling, you had the luxury of telling yourself it didn't matter because your label was still behind you…

Compared with your earlier albums, Bethesda is a much more humble, home-crafted affair…
That's all down to the fact that I'm working on a tighter budget! We recorded things really quickly, working in a small studio with a lot of instruments which weren't all that well tuned. You can hear a few crackles and background noises on the final mix. We recorded the songs under live conditions, trying to capture the natural groove you get between musicians like Neil Young and Crazy Horse.

You've championed indie rock with lyrics sung exclusively in French, but that style appears to have become increasingly marginalized these days…
That was our thing, us old forty-somethings, we made a conscious decision to sing in French. It's funny but when I look around now I don't think there have ever been so many interesting French artists, but most of them insist on singing in English and that's something that really irritates me. I'd love to hear a band like Phoenix singing in French for once. And you know what? I'm pretty sure that if they did they'd be just as successful in the U.S. and Japan, maybe even more so! There are a few French groups who have continued singing in the "local tongue", like Arlt, for instance. I'm a huge Arlt fan. But let me give you a bit of a scoop here - my next album is almost certainly going to be in English!