1 ICEBERG: outubro 2010

Quando fui a Londres no ano passado, na Rough Trade de Brick Lane descobri um livro sobre a Krautrock, uma editora de Dusseldorf, na altura ajudou-me a descobrir e interessar-me por um dos icebergs musicais dos anos 70. Há meses comprei uma compilação da Soul Jazz Records: "Deutsche Elektronische Musik", onde descobri esta música. Espero que gostem.

Michael Bundt - Companheiro dos Kraftwerk, um dos muitos génios da escola de Dusseldorf, os melhores de entre os que levaram na segunda metade da decada de 70 o Rock Psicadélico ao extremo, descobrindo uma nova nave espacial: a música electrónica (no seu início) / Rock Progressivo mais psicadelico.

Com o surgimento da revolucionaria e muito influente editora Krautrock, estes viriam a ser os melhores de entre vários pioneiros a chegar a este novo mundo musical, provocador de abstracções, sons e sentidos novos que faziam sentir tão perto de tanta coisa invulgar mas tão famíliar e natural ao subconsciente.

Vanguardismo puro.

Prova de qualidade é a independência do consumo de drogas, que se revela desnecessário, (embora compreensivelmente propício), para disfrutar tão intensamente a música. Esta, suficiente para o entendimento de tais dimensões de abstracção de pensamento, frutos da riqueza e poder desta nova música.

Música que viria a abrir portas para um imaginário vastíssimo que, entre outros, viria a ser introduzida contemporâneamente também em Inglaterra. Outros pioneiros dos sintetizadores, Emerson Lake and Palmer, estes esticavam mais a corda do Prog.Rock mais progressivo, que propriamente electrificar a música. Pouco mais tarde teremos outros desenvolventes bem adiantados, como Laurie Anderson ou os New Order.
Entretanto a música electrónica trataria de tomar inúmeros rumos, bebendo nas mais diversas fontes, chegando num passado recente a uma riqueza hoje em dia incontável e muitas vezes difícil de arrumar. De melhor ou pior forma tem sempre influênciado inúmeros géneros e autores musicais e não só.

Entretanto, parece que tem estado na moda falar disto, e eu cá estou.

Comçando pelo malhor de todos, que foi censurado no Youtube,aqui fica o link para ver no Vimeo.com, o aínda recente e aínda controverso teledisco feito para "Born Free" de M.I.A.

Faço aqui um apanhado dos telediscos de Romain Gavras, um Realizador Francês, descendente de Gregos, que descobri há já uns meses, mas só agora tenho a oportunidade de o partilhar convosco.

Segue sempre um modo bastante novo de dar a violência, dando-a num embrulho barato, que quando se abre começa a custar caro e a dar bem que pensar, por caminhos para onde a violência nos tinha levado muito muito raramente, lembrando-me apenas Stanley Kubrik com "Laranja Mecânica", só por aqui já é de louvar tal vanguardismo.

Em "Born Free" de M.I.A. e "Stress" dos Justice a violência aparentemente barata torna-se intelectual, sendo meio de crítica e veículo para propostas. Muito pelo estado atarantado que nos deixa este bom teor de chocante.
Dá que pensar, assim como dão "I Believe" de Simian Mobile Disco e "Signature" de DJ Mehdi, com uma maneira interessante de mostrar um cenário rural e outro urbano, ambos fácilmente bizzarros, sujos, feios e desconfortáveis...juntando-lhes optimas músicas com uma boa coordenação. Assim se realça o que se quer mostrar dando um glamour inesperado e especial a tais situações.

Tá bom sim Sr...ò Gavras!

http://vimeo.com/11622786

Romain Gavras

Este artigo e Entrevista foram retirados do site do estúdio creativo Flux.

His music videos for artists like The Last Shadow Puppets, Simian Mobile Disco, and DJ Mehdi show an eye for aggressive loneliness, brutal landscapes and fraught faces; but it’s his severe and gritty “Stress” clip for chronically leather-clad electronic duo Justice that stirred the most controversy among the media elite and citizens of the Republic Of Blogosphere. The experience was enough to render French director Romain Gavras — member of the politically active artist collective Kourtrajmé, and son of the Oscar-winning, sometimes controversial Greek director Constantin Costa-Gavras — mum for a while. “The good thing about being a director is that you’re in the back seat, and you can observe,” he told Flux in a rare talkative moment. “You’re not in the light.”

Well, metaphorically speaking, at least. When we caught up with Gavras backstage at the Montalbán, Nike Sportswear’s special event theater in Hollywood, during the West Coast premiere of his latest project, A Cross The Universe, he’d just shared the lime-lit stage with co-director So-Me (“D.A.N.C.E.,” “DVNO”), Busy P (owner of Ed Banger Records), and the Justice boys, where he answered audience questions about the yet-to-be-released film (DVD release - Nov. 24 Europe, Dec. 9 USA) that follows the French musicians and various members of their eclectic posse on a three-week U.S. tour.

Gavras isn’t getting too comfortable in the realm of the anti-reticent, however. He told Flux he’s about to “take a break from music videos and commercials” to focus on his first feature film, which stars French actor Vincent Cassel (La Haine, Ocean’s Twelve), and is set for pre-preproduction in early 2009. So, before Gavras had a chance to cut off communication lines again, Flux cornered him to discuss secrecy, scandal, art not imitating life, and that disturbing moment when one discovers that a close friend is, in fact, kinda sexy.

You don’t do a lot of interviews.No. I don’t do lots of interviews.

And, you’ve disclosed very little about A Cross The Universe. Why so private?I like it better when people think for themselves when they see a film, [as opposed to] me, as a director, saying, “Yeah, we wanted to say this, or this.” It’s better for the audience to think what they will. For example, in France, the “Stress” video became a big thing. Lots of interviews. After that, I did zero interviews. It’s better.

JUSTICE - A CROSS THE UNIVERSE (teaser)

Were you taken aback by the amount of controversy “Stress” created?No. I was happy. For a few months, I was one of the most hated men in France, but it was fun. It was amazing free promo. [In France], you can only get that much press if you have sex with children. [Laughs.]

On that scale of controversy, then, where do you put A Cross The Universe?We won’t know until it’s released, but we’ll see. We didn’t do it to create controversy.

Why did you do it? What was the concept for the film, when you first began?The idea was “three weeks on the U.S. tour.” The technique was something like a “holiday film.” No interviews, no “interview, concert, interview, concert, blah blah.” We wanted viewers to feel like they are there with us. Since me, So-Me, and The Justice boys are friends, it’s not like a camera crew filming the band. It’s more intimate. We catch stuff that other people won’t catch. There are different characters, and the film is more about life on tour, than it is about Justice.

How were you able to sustain that intimacy while still sticking cameras in various faces?For the first three days, it was really awkward. But, after those three days, people didn’t think of the cameras anymore. That’s why we have good things happening. Plus, we used very small cameras, made in Japan. They’re very, very small, but very good quality, so we didn’t have big, obvious equipment. A lot of the time, people didn’t even see the cameras, so [the end result] is more natural.

And, how much of the end result is a fabrication?[Laughs.] What do you mean, a fabrication?

How much of the film is fiction?Well, basically, everything is real, nothing is fake, but since we were filming, sometimes we’d think, “What Would Axl Rose Do?” For example, in Vegas, we were drunk, and we said, “Oh! It would be fun if Gaspard [Augé of Justice] married a girl.” So, he proposed to a fan, and she said “yes.”

Will the real Justice please stand up: During The Montalbán screening Q&A - Justice’s Gaspard had not yet arrived. When an audience member asked where he was, Gavras insisted that he was in fact Gaspard. This archival photo from the Justice tour, explains why Gavras thought he might be able to get away with the ruse.

You definitely found some of the more spirited Justice fans to capture on film. Was there ever a concern about how to fairly present the fans?I don’t judge. There’s no statement about the fans. Of course most of the fans in the video come out looking crazy, because for me as a director, it’s more interesting to film the crazy ones, the ones dressed up, the ones who get violent.

Is there a statement about the U.S. in the film? The focus seems to be on super-sized America — all Hooters, guns, and Vegas weddings.Basically, it’s everything a teenaged French boy thinks America is great for: Weddings, cops, violence, cheeseburgers. It’s all the fantasy of a young teenaged French boy, but not in a bad way. It’s just the American dream for a young, French teenager.

That in mind, is the film a comedy or a tragedy?If you’re a teenager, I think you see it as a comedy. You want to be that. But, if you see it as somebody who’s older — 28 or 30 — then it’s also a bit tragic, a bit sad. There are different layers to the film. Some people watch it and say, “Oh, man, that’s so depressing, the life of a [musician],” while some kids are, like “Ah! That’s really great!” Depending on who you are, and where you’re at in your life, you see it completely differently.

Is there a vision you prefer?No. If you’re not bored during the film, and if it entertains you, then my job is done.

Performance shot from the film, A Cross the Universe, with Xavier of Justice

Did you talk about how you would portray the band, before you started?No, but it came up in editing. We did a scene in Texas where we went on a hunt, and [Justice] didn’t want it in the movie. For me, as a director, it was beautiful, but for them it was not the way they wanted to show themselves.

Was there often a clash of egos?No, no, no. Because, we’re friends. So-Me’s done videos for Justice, I’ve done videos for Justice, and so we trust each other and there’s no conflict of egos. It’s not, like anybody’s going to come to me and say, “Oh, no, eh…” and I’m going to go crazy: “I’m the director! No! Fuck you!” No, it’s never like that.

How is the end result different from what you had anticipated when you first began work on the film? Does anything surprise you?That they come across really sexy. I’m friends with them, I don’t see them that way. If I found them sexy in real life, it would be disturbing. But, in the end, I thought, “Oh. It’s a success: we managed to make them look sexy.”

A still from A Cross the Universe where Gaspard and Xavier go house shopping and explore a decadent Los Angeles home that is on the market.

Are you saying they’re nerds in real life?We’re so boring. In real life we go back to our hotel rooms and read William Blake.

That’s not so bad.And smoke weed like hippies.

Great.[Laughs.] And, that’s it.

LINKS
Romain’s MySpace page
El Niño, Romain’s music video works at his production company’s site.
Kourtrajmé, artist collective, co-founded by Romain.