France D’Amour: The Right Co-writer – A Matter of Chemistry

France D’Amour has always been a staunch defender of creative freedom. After two rock-inspired albums early in her career (Animal in 1992 and Déchaînée in 1994), this singer-songwriter crossed over to a gentler sound in 1998 with Le Silence des roses. A more intimate album, it included the two hit songs “Je comprends” and “Si c’était vrai”. France D’Amour has starred as Esméralda in Notre-Dame de Paris, and at press time in March 2000, was recording her fourth album.

You enjoy writing songs with other artists. Your latest album lists, among others, Stéphane Dufour as a composer and Roger Tabra as a lyricist. Is there a recipe for finding the right co-writer?
You’ve got to keep looking. Keep things wide open. Leave it to chance, intuition, fate. Look around you. You never know—you might make contact at the convenience store! Éric Lapointe, who is a mutual friend, introduced me to Tabra. There’s no rule, really.

For my next album I’ll be working with Francis Basset, who’s written the lyrics for Isabelle Boulay’s “Le Saule” and for “Toute ma religion” on Le Silence des roses. He and I met in a more formal way. BMG France introduced me to two producers, and one of them put me in touch with Francis Basset. We clicked right away. We’ve become friends and will be working together. Strong lyrics are neither easy to write nor easy to find, especially for me, because I see myself primarily as a musician.

Describe the perfect co-writer.
Number one, it’s someone you look up to – somebody who strikes a responsive chord in you, and whose talent inspires you. After that, it’s just a matter of chemistry. If the two of you don’t click right away, forget it. There are exceedingly talented people with whom it is extremely difficult to work. So the artistic side should come before the human side, which determines whether things are going to work out.

I would add that you should not allow your egos to clash, and concentrate instead on give and take. Working together must be fun because this is what sparks creativity. The lyricist and the composer must share a vision and be headed in the some direction. And, of course, the results must appeal to me. I must be able to get a feeling. By choosing someone you admire or like, you’re sure to get a songwriter who is sufficiently in tune with you.

Are music publishers a good source of potential co-writers?
I’ve never gone that route. I’m sure it works for some artists, but I personally would rather work with friends, people I like, rather than with strangers with official titles. It’s quite possible that I might get smitten with a song from a catalogue, but I never look into catalogues. I’m more inclined to search for an alter ego with a point of view that’s different from mine. I love to get on board someone else’s mind and see where it will take me. This has become increasingly important to me. At first, it’s normal to write mostly in the first person singular, but over time you lose interest in the navel gazing.

Does the prospect of writing a series of albums with the same lyricist appeal to you?
I imagine that if I feel like working with the same person for 10 years it’s because there’s something important going on between us. However, I’m not sure this is exactly what I want. All I know is that meeting a good co-writer is of prime importance. It’s akin to finding a soul mate, because that person is going to make a difference in other aspects of your life too.

(Interview by Jean-Christophe Laurence.)

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