The Rock en Seine festival, which takes place at the end of summer in the national domain of Saint-Cloud, near Paris, could not make a better announcement in the spring when it added Young Fathers to its already well-stocked program. with Billie Eilish, The Chemical Brothers or The Strokes.
Seeing this trio on stage is a release, a joy, an experience in itself. Holder of the prestigious Mercury Price for their first album, Dead, in 2014, they have on four discs, and in particular the last, Heavy Heavy, imposed their style where the energy of punk, the rage of hip-hop, the beauty of folk music and the melodies of pop collide.
Indefinable, those who call themselves “Young fathers”, because they all bear the first name of their patriarch, could, on stage, appeal to the greatest scenographers, but the three childhood friends from Edinburgh prefer to present themselves on the sets. festivals as they are in their studio in Scotland. With them, no pyrotechnic effects, video screens or dancers.
For their background, they have only a simple sheet with holes, unearthed in an old theater in their city: “We were given it. Our fans have already offered to patch it up or sew up the holes, but we like it that way.” laughs Kayus Bankole, one of the three singers. “Our concerts are a bit of a mess, like in our studio, adds Graham Hastings, there are instruments on the ground, ready to be used. »
Sour comrade agrees, he has never used the harmonica, but he remains available just in case. “It’s a headache for our sound engineer, admits Kayus Bankole. He must be ready for the unexpected, at all times. But the idea is that the public concentrates on us and not on the decor. Moreover, the lighting of our shows is more reminiscent of a play than that of a rock concert. »
Texts resulting from brainstorming
Interviewing them is also an experience. They arrive in a pearly way: one because he was finishing ironing his black viscose shirt, the other, Alloysious Massaquoi, because his alarm clock didn’t ring. Then, once together, the three friends, who met at 14 while participating in a rap battle in their city, embark on long conversations about their texts which they say they have built during brainstormings of which they keep the secret.
After having, for many years, sought to be famous, by recording songs worthy of“a strange pop boy band”, by their own admission, the three young men who come from very different backgrounds ended up giving up their dream of glory to finally have fun and find their style, nourished by their personal stories.
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