American author and composer, Desmond Myers, is a name to remember! With his charisma, charming voice and natural languid groove, it is with great pleasure that we share our interview with him on JustFocus.
Just Focus : It was in 2017 that the general public discovered you through the prism of the French soul band Her. At that time, you were replacing Simon Carpentier (voice and guitarist) whose death from cancer at the age of 27 marked the spirits. Can you tell us more about your beginnings?
I grew up in North Carolina and started playing there at a very young age around 13/14. A few years later, during my high school years, I met a producer who invited me to record my songs in his studio in Germany and that's how I arrived in Europe. I played in small venues in Germany until I got in touch with people in Paris who encouraged me to audition for the Lido de Paris. I had the chance and pleasure to be taken there and so I moved to Paris. I am passionate about both creation and performance, which is why I looked for artists with whom I could collaborate in Paris. I then met Victor Solf from Her just before the band released its first songs, and I worked a little on Victor's lyrics, in "American corrector" mode. We kept in touch and continued to collaborate even on my music. When Simon started to need to be replaced on stage, Victor called me. We shared on stage very intense and powerful moments.
A first single " Playing with fire ", a second " Chinatown " and a future album. Can we find out more about the long-awaited latter? And do you have any other surprises in store for us?
We hope to surprise you! The choice of singles is made to create a kind of expectation and ramp-up. These first two tracks are very influenced by the soul R&B that is so precious to me, but we hope to expand the image and history of the project over the release of singles. Between now and the album, there will be a lot of titles that will be unveiled and, little by little, I say a little more about my story, my thoughts and finally my being. I hope to intensify things a little by then.
Regarding the album, we build it remotely due to Covid-19. I talk every day with my musicians in France, I send them songs and they give me their opinions, they record their parts and also mix the work (our guitarist Louis Marin Renaud mixes all my titles). It is often said that this is the first album made on What's App! There will be 10 titles inside and to summarize it in one word, it will be that of "confession".
You lived 5 years in Paris before returning to Atlanta. What influences or experiences have these two cities had in your life? A memory that marked you in each of them.
Even though I'm not from here, Atlanta has always held a special place in my life and in my heart. My brother lived there and he had a recording studio in his house. When I visited him, I saw guitars on the walls, the microphones, the amps; All this material for the first time and it fascinated me. For me Atlanta always meant music. We visited them for concerts and, later, mine, because I played my first concerts outside my hometown here.
I first visited Paris thanks to music and the music scene left me with a memory that will never fade in my music, but Paris brought me much more than that. Atlanta is the great metropolis of the South, but Paris is a capital and a real metropolis. Beyond that, Paris is very specific in comparison with American cities like New York or L.Has. I really like the Parisian lifestyle even when it was hard. Sometimes I could leave my small apartment and walk, see people on the street; Coming from a very small American town with large spaces where you have to constantly take the car, I really liked it.
" Chinatown ", a title in which you declare your love for Chinatown in Paris. A secret memory to give us, a memorable experience that is at the origin of this title?
No specific experience, but the food is definitely very good and not very expensive in this area. I couldn't afford a restaurant at that time. So, Vietnamese caterers, it was my equivalent. I worked a lot at the Lido or in the studio with artists at that time and I often came home late at night. When I lived there, the bars closed very late and it was comforting to see that there were always people on the street. The name Chinatown was sung a little better than Belleville and could refer to the Chinatown neighborhood of New York City as well.
Today, you are surrounded by musicians you trust; Mathieu Gramoli on drums, Louis Marin Renaud on guitar and Pierre Elgrishi on bass. How would you describe your relationship?
We talk to each other every day. The joke that comes up all the time between us is that this is surely the first album made remotely, via What's App! I write a lot and, suddenly, as soon as a title is finished, I send it to the musicians and we vote to see if we democratically find that it has potential or not. The idea is to put forward the best ideas. As soon as we decide on a track, everyone starts recording their parts, then we gather everything, and we send to Louis who in addition to being the guitarist mixes all the titles.
You continue to develop your style and its "indie" mix of soul/R&B and "French Touch". Which artists inspire or admire you?
The current artists who mark me a lot are: Frank Ocean, Perfume Genius and of course Tame Impala, Weyes Blood and ROSALIÀ too.
As more classic references, I love The Iseley Brothers, Smokey Robinson, Jeff Buckley, Prince, Joni Mitchell and French song too; especially Françoise Hardy, of whom I am a big fan.
You made a Zoom to celebrate the release of your new clip, how do you live this year that has completely shaken up the artistic and cultural universe?
I live it quite well despite everything we had to cancel like everyone else. I consider myself very lucky to be able to continue working, there are a lot of people who don't and I try to be aware of that when it's hard. We are making great efforts to move forward despite the situation, and I think we are doing it quite well.
Because we are curious, we would like to know if the project of a title in French is possible?
I've tried many times! I have titles ready with a mix of both languages. I think that one day or another, I will release one.
Finally, we always end our interviews with the following question: if you had to define yourself in an adjective, which word would suit you best?
Fish! Haha being a child of the month of March, I am very attached to my astrological sign.
We thank Desmond Myers for this interview and we invite you to discover his clip "Chinatown" directed by Lucille Descazaux and Francis Courbin. Let yourself go and release your pheromones for a weekend or a song!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFzxQ8bdjH4&ab_channel=DesmondMyers
