There are those in life who strive for perfection. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the iconic composer, was one. And then there’s Phoenix, a Gallic combo with a penchant for creating three minute bombs of pop bliss. Their new long-player Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix might just be as close as you get to its namesake: he’s dead. Nathan Thompson reports on a long distance call with Phoenix guitarist Christian Mazzalai, who’s alive and well in Paris…
Hi Christian, so I googled the title of your new album, and the whole first page is torrent sites offering it for free before release, that’s pretty crazy.
For us it’s a fantastic time because all of this is about chaos. And chaos is fantastic for imagination, for creation, for art. I’m not here for the money. I’m just here to express something with my friends. If people want to download it they can do it. Everyone is free.
And that leads us to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix tell me about it?
We took our time to do an album that was strong. And to do that we rented different locations, beautiful places in Paris, to find inspiration to write. In the end we wrote more than one thousand pieces of music.
Erm… there’s ten tracks on the album so you’ve a lot of extra material?!
Yes!
Phoenix - -'Lisztomania'
For me Phoenix encapsulates perfect pop music – so what is your perfect pop song? If you think there is one?
The Beach Boys were good for that. What they do looks very simple, almost stupid. But if you analyse it, it is the most complex arrangement ever. It looks easy and charming. But behind it there is subtlety and beautiful darkness.
Is that something Phoenix strives for?
Yes. We want our music to be emotional but with something hidden behind. There is always something behind the curtain.
And taking it one step further, are there any concerts or videos you have seen that define the perfect pop moment?
When I was six my brother and I [Branco is also axe welder in Phoenix] got Michael Jackson’s
Thriller as a gift for Christmas. It messed with our brain the way he put black and white music together. That was the first stone. Then when we were teenagers we discovered indie music, but we always loved mainstream acts at the same time. We are in love with so many things.
That is what’s great about modern music. I think it’s a result of digital music and the play-list generation. You can have a hip hop piece, beside a classical piece, beside a pop piece and it works.
It’s true. There are no boundaries and no limits in terms of genre. They exploded, and it’s beautiful.
PHOENIX - AUSTRALIAN PROMO TOUR 2009
Monday August 3 - Melbourne - Palace Theatre
Wednesday August 5 - Sydney - Enmore Theatre
Tickets go on sale next Friday, May 29.
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is out May 22.
UPDATE: Head over to www.wearephoenix.com/banquedefrance for a secret EP of outtakes and demos from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
. Password: Concorde
By Nathan Thompson for Groupie.com.au