INTERVIEW. The singer who died of a long illness on May 24 was one of a kind. As the songwriter André Manoukian explains to us.
Interview by Léo Rougagnou
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On are all left speechless when Tina Turner plays in our ears. It also works for André Manoukian, the songwriter, former juror of New star. After learning of the American’s death, he listened to some of the artist’s key pieces again, always with the same pleasure.
It paints a portrait of a woman who shone, sank, rose again and has become one of the biggest soul and rock stars today.
Point : For you, what does Tina Turner represent?
André Manoukian: Tina Turner is the story of a successful resurrection and above all that of a musical resurrection. She made a bridge between the world of soul and the world of rock. We can say that Tina Turner, on her own, she was both Run-DMC (American hip-hop group) and Aerosmith (an American metal group). She was the happy meeting of two worlds.
She went through a dark period in her career. How did she get over it?
The problem in America with soul is that it’s genre music. Kind of like gospel. It’s pretty fixed, you can’t change it too much. There are codes. In the 1980s, she had the chance to meet the British Electric Foundation (BEF). It begins to be produced by the English and in particular Martyn Ware, its founder. And when the English touch soul, they always do something different with it. So, I would say that, in a way, it was the English who transformed this soul. They chose Tina Turner who was adrift, “has been”, and who practically no longer existed. It is the mixture of his incredible voice and the class of these British who will bring him to another much more pop and rock territory. The association with the English will have allowed him to climb the slope and years later, to fill stadiums all over the world.
I don’t advise anyone to sing like her. It is a risk, bordering on dangerous.
How can you describe her unique voice?
I would say it is pure energy. She has all the faults of what should not be done, that is to say that she goes there in force. She does it with such ease that everything seems simpler. Her voice of strength totally resonates with what she has endured. We all know that she was beaten by her husband, Ike Turner, that she was a victim and that she got away with it. So she definitely has a survivor voice, in a way. It goes beyond the voices of gospel which are more in a kind of religious praise. His voice is a cry that is beautiful. I don’t advise anyone to sing like her. It is a risk, bordering on dangerous. She went beyond the limits and was always in control. That is what is magnificent.
As early as the 1980s, fans were already calling her the “Granny of Rock”. For what ?
Because after 27 years in rock, you’re old or you’re dead. It’s the law, it’s like that, we can’t do anything about it. And that’s where it’s badass what she does. It’s because it’s going to appeal to all audiences, including young people. I know the credit goes a lot to the arrangers. But she’s the one wearing it. She’s a leader and it’s also in this sense that she’s rock. She’s not a singer with a pretty voice, who’s a pretty doll. It’s a girl who devastates everything in her path.
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What will we keep from Tina Turner?
All we can take is his energy. You know, I like to make a bit of a comparison because I live in Chamonix. When you create a way to go up on a top, certainly behind one can pass by this way. But we can’t create another one. She, she has created a path that few people can follow because of her incredible vocal skills. An American is back on her way today, it’s Queen Beyoncé!