- Title: GERMANY: FRENCH DUO MODJO PERFORM IN CONCERT IN GERMANY
- Date: 13th November 2001
- Summary: ASSORTED SHOTS OF MODJO PERFORMING ON STAGE IN DARMSTADT CUTAWAY OF AUDIENCE DANCING VARIOUS, SHOTS OF MODJO PERFORMING ON STAGE IN DARMSTADT VARIOUS, AUDIENCE VARIOUS, MODJO PERFORMING
- Embargoed: 28th November 2001 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: DARMSTADT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA8N3NRFLWN4B7ONUBKXJ7MIW3
- Story Text: The French duo Modjo first burst onto the scene last year with the international hit 'Lady, Hear Me Tonight', a debut single that became a major dance anthem across the world. The group have just released their first album 'Modjo' a collection of quite different tracks. Reuters recently caught up with them on the German leg of their current tour to discuss the album, commercial success and their Björk fantasies! Modjo, alias Parisian duo Romain Tranchart and Yann Destagnol have just released their debut album Modjo. The duo who launched their career with the world-wide number one hit 'Lady, Hear Me Tonight' are amazingly down to earth about their success and rather than dreaming about the riches that could lay ahead in their careers, they prefer to dream about the artists that they hope one day to work with! " (YANN DESTAGNOL) Tonight I was dreaming about Björk".
(ROMAIN TRANCHART ADDS) "Making music?" (YANN DESTAGNOL) "I was at a party and she was like there, and there as like somebody right here and she was there and we spoke and then the phone was like (mimics phone ringing) was it your phone?"
(ROMAIN TRANCHART) "Maybe, I'm sorry." (YANN DESTAGNOL)" You woke me up, having a beautiful dream (ROMAIN TRANCHART) "It is maybe Matthias." (YANN DESTAGNOL) "He called, then he stopped, then he called again, then he called again." (ROMAIN TRANCHART) "Matthias~!" (YANN DESTAGNOL) "It was so sad."
But despite being best known for a huge dance hit, the group were determined not to be pigeonholed with the new album.
Several tracks, including the new single release 'What I Mean' are beautiful Rn'B ballads that have taken fans by surprise and so led to poorer sales than expected.
" But you know, even if it was not like a huge success, it was a very good thing for us to explain that to our audience and people who like our music, that we are not only about dance, that we are not DJ's, that we make real music. It doesn't matter if it is dance or soul funk or bossa nova, you know, we just make our melodies and that is just the only point."
Indeed, the group are so determined to be known as simply as musicians and not as a dance duo, that they point to the Beatles as an example of a band that didn't need to compromise.
"People were surprised only because today, they are not used to somebody that makes one track can make a different track.
But when you listen to the Beatles, you know there is like in the same album there is '(Wild) Honey Pie' 'Helter Skelter', 'Ob la di ob la da ' a lot of different styles of music and always the same identity and atmosphere you know."
Like many artists enjoying success at the moment, they believe it is time to put music back in its rightful position, well far forward of the image or presentation of the band itself.
These two are pure musicians through and through and even though they are disappointed not to have repeated the success of 'Lady, Hear Me Tonight', they stand by their music.
" We just feel that the thing that lacks is good melodies and strong melodies like a few decades ago and we feel that we have all this in our album and a song like 'No More Tears', 'What I Mean' also 'On Fire', 'Piece Of Mind', you know we are very happy with what we did. We think that musically speaking it is a great album."
And although, the beautiful ballad 'What I Mean' may not be currently enjoying the chart success it deserves, it can only be a matter of time before Modjo wins a new set of fans for all its music styles.
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