Odezenne: «Our programming freedom is unique in Switzerland».»

Alix Caillet, lead singer of French alternative band Odezenne, was interviewed at the Montreux Palace, with a beer in hand, just hours before his colorful concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival on Saturday, July 9, 2022. With a light touch and a few laughs, he gives us his vision of Swiss festivals and audiences.

Le Regard Libre: This is the second time your band has come to Montreux Jazz. The first was ten years and one day ago, on July 8, 2012, on a free stage. How do you feel about your return to the festival?

AC: I have a twinge of sadness. Ten years ago, my sister Marie-Priska was a member of the group [ed. note: until 2013]., but she passed away in 2021. So, obviously, it casts a rather special spotlight on the evening. But overall, I feel very happy to be programmed tonight, especially alongside Diana Ross: I think it's the first and last time our name will be displayed next to her. It has to be said that the programming is very special at Jazz and in Switzerland in general.

Is there a difference with France?

Yes, we have a slight problem with programming in our country. All the posters are very similar. There's not a lot of risk-taking, compared to tonight for example. Between our band, Diana Ross and Tinashe, there's a certain freedom of programming that you wouldn't see in France. I also think that the festival is so well known that it can afford to offer this kind of delirium. And that's all the more true in view of the fact that our band's music is pretty open-minded.

Do you have a pre-concert ritual?

Not anymore. We used to have a lot of them, but as our audience grew—and as they gave us more energy on stage by singing along to our songs and cheering the moment we stepped on stage—the rituals faded away. I feel like those are things you do at the beginning to give yourself a boost, when you have to win over your audience because nobody knows you. It’s like stepping into an arena. You have to fight to get people to listen to you. But little by little, after about ten years, we just want to go for it! Of course, we still get a little nervous for a few seconds. But it’s the good kind of nerves—a desire to do well, to put on a great show.

If the stage is no longer an arena, what does it represent today?

Either a place to connect with our audience during our own concerts, or—at a festival—a place to spark enthusiasm, because we’ll be relying on our existing community and trying to put on the best show possible so that people who don’t know us yet will want to keep listening to us. A concert in a venue is a place where you celebrate an album that everyone has already listened to and is singing along to. At a festival, there will always be people who don’t know you… We’re not Michael Jackson, after all. Even on a stage like tonight’s, with 2,000 people, we’re going to have to go out and win over a new audience.

Do Swiss audiences stand out from French audiences?

Yes, he has the particularity of being uninhibited. In France, I think people are a bit more careful about the image they project when they listen to a particular artist. It's undoubtedly related to the history of hype whereas in Switzerland, I've always felt that people listen very carefully to the lyrics, and I think they switch easily from one music to another, in a free way. The proof: tonight's line-up. I've also noticed a great desire to party among you!

And are these differences felt on stage?

Yes, of course. You can see it in people's eyes, in the way they sing... You can feel it. After the concerts, we usually have a chat with the people who come to see us, to get a feel for them, and the feedback is always very kind and benevolent, which is great!

What do you think is behind this Swiss casualness - if anything?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I have the impression that there are fewer problems in Switzerland. In France, it's a bit gloomy at the moment with the social and political problems. Here, it's like arriving at Eurodisney! Not in the pejorative sense: I think it's a great opportunity. You can really see it. For example, in Switzerland, there are always parties and afters after our concerts, whereas in France, it's very different. I've spent some crazy evenings in Geneva and Neuchâtel, for example!

Some people will tell you that in countries in dire straits, people are more inclined to celebrate. And Neuchâtel isn't Paris, either... Nothing to see here: do you like Swiss chocolate?

I love it! When I come back from Switzerland, I always fill up for my mother.

Is there a Swiss trait you particularly appreciate?

Open-mindedness. And drug accessibility [Laughs]. Maybe that goes with it after all...

Write to the author: [email protected]

Header image: Bordeaux band Odezenne © Edouar Nardon and Clément Pascal

You've just read an open-access article. Debates, analysis, cultural news: subscribe to support us and get access to all our content!