Where hip-hop meets reggae, where jazz is played with dirty hands, where a Cuban line meets an Aussie rule, where nothing seems in place but sounds like many places played in one earthy chord. This is the island where THE CAT EMPIRE was born. (Written by the band in 2001)
Melbourne (Australie), 1999. A l'origine, The Cat Empire n'est qu'un simple trio composé du chanteur/batteur Felix Riebl, du clavériste Oliver McGill et du bassiste Ryan Monro. Après l'enregistrement de quelques démos, le groupe n'est pas satisfait et trouve que leurs instruments sont insuffisants pour s'offrir un répertoire digne de leurs ambitions. En 2001, ils recrutent Harry James Angus (trompettiste), Will Hull-Brown (second batteur) et de Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwala (DJ/percussionniste). Ainsi est né "L'empire des chats". La formation n'a pas bougée depuis, et le groupe se décrit lui même comme "a weird little family".
Et il ne faudra pas beaucoup de temps pour que le reste du monde entende parler de ces drôles de chats... Déjà, leurs fans australiens et les backpackers, de passage, s'occupaient sans le savoir, d'exporter l'Empire au delà des océans.
"Everywhere we went overseas, people would come up to us and say a friend in Australia sent the album to them, or one of their mates who travelled through Australia brought it back and we all burned it.
We would arrive in cities like Berlin and Barcelona for the first time, and everyone in the audience would already know the words to every song. I guess the money we lost in cd sales through those territories, we have made up in ticket sales many times over, so although we dont endorse it, we certainly cant begrudge the file sharing."
Tout s’enchaîne, après un passage remarqué au Melbourne Festival, l'enregistrement d'un premier single, "Feline", puis leur participation à plusieurs festivals internationaux, de San Fransisco à Edinburgh. Suivra, en 2003, "The Cat Empire", leur premier album. Avec cinq albums studio, tous différent les uns des autres, enregistrés tour à tour en Australie, aux Etats Unis ou à Cuba (Two Shoes, 2005), The Cat Empire s'amuse et se renouvelle, dépoussiérant le jazz et jouant avec ses dérivés, passant du rock à la samba, du ska au hip-hop, entraînant dans sa course frénétique un public toujours plus nombreux. Et fidèle.
"We feel incredibly grateful to the venues and the super-fans who supported us and took a punt on us in the early days, and have continued to support as our career gained momentum. The venue crawl is a tribute to those people and really unique times"
Et cela fait dix ans que cela dure. Dix ans depuis leur premier concert à 6, ce 5 Mai 2001, au Commercial Club Hotel à Melbourne. Aujourd'hui, ils jouent à guichets fermés, soirs après soirs, aux quatre coins du monde. Dix années passés à construire tout doucement cet Empire qui s'écrit en une centaine de chansons, dans un registre riche et varié, un mélange des genres musicaux éclectique, regroupant leurs influences jazz, reggae, latino, funk, hip-hop, ...
Leur plus grande réussite, selon eux? Que cette expérience les ait réunis comme un groupe, et définis comme individus.
Will Hull-Brown a répondu à quelques questions, pour patienter jusqu'à leur retour en France, le mois prochain.
# How do you feel about the idea to play in France in a couple of months for the 10 years of the The Cat Empire?
Can’t wait to get back to France! I’ve got great memories of our gigs there ever since we first went to France in 2004. The French audiences love to party, and the food and wine just tops it off!
# 10 years, 5 studio albums and 4 live albums, it's a long walk! What can you tell us about the last ten years?
Well it’s hard to believe that it’s 10 years really, it has gone quickly. We’ve done so many shows now that some of them blur into each other, but there’s also been key moments along the way which really show the progress and the journey we have made.
In the early days, the music just really flew out of us because we were so young an energetic, and it was amazing feeling the positive reaction from the audience. These days i love seeing how our audiences have grown – people keep discovering our music, and we can feed off that fresh energy when we do shows. When i stop to think about the last 10 years, i realise how many places we have been to in the world, how many friends we’ve made, how many times we’ve checked into hotels!!! It’s been amazing...
# You've played few times in Paris, in different places, what memories do you have of your visits?
One of our early gigs in Paris was bitter sweet – Great show, but someone stole Harry’s trumpet and ran off with it down into the Metro!!! We’ve had some very interesting tour managers in France – one of which got into our touring van for the first time and accidentally backed into 2 cars as he was trying to get it in gear!!!
The French crowd have always been super energetic for us, which is wonderful. I think they appreciate the fact that Harry can speak French also!
# You spend so many times on tour, but night after night we can feel the passion and the joy you have to be on stage, sharing your music. What's your secret?
Yeah touring can be tiring at times, especially if you let the travelling get to you. But once you are up on stage which a venue full of cheering fans, how can you not be energised by that?! We do actually look after ourselves pretty well on tour – some of us keep fit by running, and no-one drinks too excessively.
# The mix of different musical styles and the message of your songs gives to your music a kind of universality if I can say, which affects a lot of people. How do you explain that? What's your main source of inspiration?
I think a lot of that mix of genres has come from all of the members of the band first and foremost. The six of us had different upbringings, and with that came different musical tastes – funk, jazz, rock, hip-hop, metal, latin, classical etc.
Felix and Harry’s songs just naturally had these universal type feels. Once we started travelling, we started picking up more and more inspiration – Manu Chao (France/Spain), Seeed (Germany), Terra Folk (Slovenia).
# What do you do five minutes before going on stage?
I just try and think about the show itself, and the crowd. I like to get into the same headspace as when i am actually out there on stage. You want to be READY! I also loosen my limbs up and hold a pair of drumsticks.
# What can I wish for you right now?
For me to be a fluent French Speaker! I’m always so envious of Harry when he talks to French people.
## jetez un coup de pattes sur leur site officiel pour plus d'infos :
## on tour :
October, 31th - Rouen
November, 4th - Paris (review &pictures here)
November, 5th - Rennes
November, 6th - Saint Herblain
November, 7th - Merignac
November, 9th - Clermont Ferrand
November 10th - Strasbourg
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