We remember our first meeting in 2002, when Jason Beck, a Canadian pianist residing in Berlin, seasoned his English with a clumsy touch of French while responding to inquiries posed to him as he assumed the persona of Chilly Gonzales, the cabaret rapper, at the turn of the millennium. A little over 20 years later, he's no longer worried about "the language of Voltaire, Flaubert, Baudelaire and Bangalter," which this English speaker said he was "too proud to speak," in a song, "French Kiss," and a new album of the same name, the first written in French.
Gonzales uses this kiss "with tongue" to declare his paradoxical love for a country where his career as a singer and instrumentalist, as well as arranger and producer (for Jane Birkin, Philippe Katerine, Teki Latex, Arielle Dombasle, Feist and Daft Punk), has been one love affair, break-up and reconciliation after another. Burlesque, ironic, sincere and childlike, this linguistic challenge is also a portrait of a profound fool.
Born in 1972, this Montrealer grew up as an English speaker in the Quebec metropolis, even though his studies in a French school familiarized him with a language that would continue to intimidate him. "I quickly realized that French speakers have a special attachment to their language, more so than English speakers. For them, it's an instrument, a tool of seduction, which requires a certain virtuosity."
His early career as an eccentric rapper began in English. He crossed the Atlantic to join the effervescent Berlin scene, before finally settling in Paris in 2003. At the time, the "über-entertainer" found himself in the fantasy of local underground rap, driven by groups like TTC, whose leader, Teki Latex, became one of his close friends.
The pianist's fascination with the Impressionist school (Fauré, Debussy and Ravel) and his melodic heritage marked by the French tradition have also opened other doors for him. Not least alongside Renaud Letang, a mainstay at Studios Ferber (Paris, 20th arrondissement), where he has established himself as one of the leading producers of French pop. "I had mixed his third album, Presidential Suite [2002], without meeting him," said Letang. "I had noticed that his rap-electro [style] was enriched by excellent harmonic arrangements. I was convinced that his talent could be adapted to many styles."
After an initial collaboration with Guesch Patti, the Letang-Gonzales duo went on to flourish in the service of an impressive variety of artists. "I felt like I was entering the 'royal court' of French chanson," said Gonzales. "One foot in the music elite and one foot outside it, like a madman capable of saying 'Who's that homeless guy?' when meeting Souchon, whom I didn't know."
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