Once again, the excellent Sport gave a concert of rare intensity in the Bordeaux lair. In order to promote their 5th studio album in 20 years of career, the Parisian group returns to Barbey and will ignite a willing crowd happy to see Krakatoa, their favorite band, 2 years later.
From "Reptile" to "Wait a Little While", the 20-minute set offered by the 5 members is essentially based on new tracks (almost the entire album is played) including the hits that made their name. "Parmis Eux", "La Salade", "Ivres et Débutants" or "Les Bières Aujourd'hui s'Ouvrent Manuellement" borrowed from Miossec delight the Barbey theater and are sung at the top of their lungs. On "I Might Be Late", Jérôme Coudane invites the girls to come on stage while drummer Julien Bonnet takes a crowd bath while blowing his trumpet with a childish sound. The atmosphere is excellent, the beer cold and the singer's few words funny. We feel the musical cohesion between the rhythmic instruments and the guitars that roar until the last moment of "Paratonnerre" which remains, in my opinion, the best of Deportivo.
THE INTERVIEW
Diego : What state of mind have you been in since your return?
Jérôme : Since our last appearance in 2023, we've continued to play from time to time and, above all, we've composed this new album. Thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, we were able to record it in good conditions. Today, we're completely independent: no more record companies, we manage everything ourselves, from administration to graphics... even cleaning! It's stimulating but exhausting. At this pace, it borders on torture when you can't find time to breathe. But it's a choice. Crowdfunding brings us closer to our audience, but it also generates an enormous workload that we didn't suspect.
Diego : Has this “Do It Yourself” turn revived Deportivo’s momentum?
Jérôme : Clearly, it's thanks to the people who follow us that we're still standing. Without them, we probably would have given up.
Julien Crowdfunding didn't "save" us, but it redefined our relationship with the project, and especially with the public. This direct interaction is invaluable. Everything came together: tour, residency, album release, concerts, logistics... a crazy schedule.
Jérôme : And even when aiming for independence, you remain dependent on other links: the manufacturer, the delivery person... And people become impatient. You have to answer dozens of emails to explain the delays. Today, even when we are autonomous, we entrust the programming to others. We are at the maximum of what independence allows. And to be honest, even with a record company, we have always been free, even if sometimes we felt more competent than some of our interlocutors.
Diego : How was your concert at the Olympia in Paris last week?
Jérôme : A magical moment. All vibrant.
Julien : Red and full of smiles. I had flashes, absences, in the days that followed… A crazy feeling. And then, you go back to do your shopping and voilà! We were lucky enough to fill some very beautiful rooms, it's a real joy.
Diego : “Reptile” lasts 23 minutes for 10 tracks. Record broken?
Jérôme : Yes, it's our shortest album. "Paris Eux" was 27 minutes long with two extra tracks. But with us, there's no filler. I've always composed in a hurry, with this desire to get straight to the point. We were criticized for the brevity of our songs when we started, but we stuck to our guns.
Diego : And on stage, you don't stretch them?
Jérôme : No need! If they're balanced like that, why change them?
Julien : Apart from one or two tracks like "Paratonnerre" where a bridge is added, it's quite rare. It's even funny, I only discovered the total length of the album when it was mastering. It wasn't calculated.
Diego : This is not The Cure!
Jérôme : (laughs) One of my friends loves The Cure, but I prefer it when it rocks.
Julien : We prefer frustration to force-feeding.
Jérôme : When I was young, concerts that were too long bored me.
Julien : And even if we could play for two hours with five albums, that's not our style.
Diego : This urgency appeals to the public. And if you were reptiles, which ones would you be? (laughs)
Jérôme : A spider, a squirrel? No idea! (laughs)
Julien : I've come across plenty of them. Reptiles are ancestral, yet they evolve. They're sometimes perceived as aggressive... But a lizard suits me fine.
Diego : A gecko? A small translucent lizard from overseas?
Julien : I know! My son's soccer coach makes them adopt his posture for warm-ups.
Jérôme : Transparent? I'll take it. A crook! (laughs)
Diego : The guitar in "Avide" sounds a bit like Django. Was that intentional?
Jérôme : Not consciously. It could have sounded like Brassens too. It came from a simple rhythm. Thanks for the nod!
Diego : And "Rubiskube" is a two-minute Deportivo encapsulation. How do you imagine growing old?
Jérôme : By still answering late emails! (laughs) More seriously, I don't think too far ahead. We operate in the short term. I've always had this feeling that everything could stop, so we stay in the moment.
Julien : Twenty years ago, I said to myself: "One day it won't be your age anymore." Today, we're still here, and right where we belong.
Jérôme : With age, you're less afraid of stepping out of line.
Julien : Getting older doesn't mean depriving yourself. Even in a well-ordered life, you can still have fun.
Diego : “Fiasco”, is that your favorite live song?
Jérôme : One of the hardest to play, in any case! We composed it at the end of the Ulule campaign. "Alloués" was an old song I had sent to a friend two years before.
Diego : And “Traînards”, this atypical piano-voice?
Jérôme : It brings another color to the album.
Julien : We played all the songs from "Reptile" on stage except "Rubiskube" and "Avide." They didn't fit well into the blocks of the set.
Diego : We were talking earlier about this post-concert "flashback." Are you experiencing it too?
Jérôme : Yes, these furtive returns are very pleasant.
Julien There were even posters at the Olympia on the subject. It shows that concerts really matter to people. Like a travel souvenir.
Diego : I have plenty in mind!
Jérôme : I have a friend who's a fan of New Model Army. He follows them everywhere.
Julien : A good excuse to travel!
Diego : Is the video for “Reptile” directed by Christophe Acker?
Julien : Yes, and done on the fly, on a green screen, full of winks. Christophe directs all our music videos.
Jérôme Filmed at L'Etage, a theater in Rennes. The director is a fan. We see our city in the suburbs of Paris, our beginnings, our neighborhood, and even a touch of Star Wars for the cosmic atmosphere.
Diego : And the cover?
Julien : My son! It's a collage he made. We added a reptile tongue.
Jérôme : We tested AI, but it made everything too aggressive. Collage was perfect, somewhere between childhood and maturity.
Diego : What are the group's 5 best minutes?
Julien : The next 5!
Jérôme : Or 5 times 1 minute! (laughs) I think of that day when we were in the suburbs, without a record company, and our future manager told us that labels were interested. That day, the frustration vanished. It was a turning point.
Diego : If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead?
Jérôme : My mother, without hesitation. To talk about beautiful things.
Julien : My grandfather. Otherwise, John Lennon would be cool!
Diego : Any festivals coming up?
Jérôme : We have an old memory of missing the Transmusicales, we weren't ready.
Julien : That was 20 years ago! We'd love to go back to "first division" rock festivals...
Diego : Thank you!
Jerome & Julien : Thank you both.
Interview: Diego
Photos: Laurent Robert.
