Interview by Barnaby Thornton. Photographs by Kiril Bikov.

Noblesse Oblige are so unafraid of exploring new musical horizons, these xenophilous entertainers of worldly pop even make Dr.Who look like a mere pillock in a police box.

Their sophomore record ‘In Exile’ of 2008 was a melodic cocktail of timeless shore-soaked sounds from around the globe, audibly blurring a kaleidoscope of decades and cultures into 53 minutes of addictive chansons, tribal drums and hypnotic electronic lullabies.

Having taken a break from their infinite touring schedule, they’re now back with a brand new release (and you could say their best yet) ‘Malady’ – a concept album inspired by the powers and curiosity surrounding the occult, particularly that of voodoo in the tropics; a place Noblesse Oblige have no problem transporting your imagination to in one breathy poison-arrowed note.

In songs like ‘When Thunder Breaks Up Under’, ‘Lady With The Kazoo’ and ‘May They Come With Spears And Knives’ you can almost taste a cold sweat drip, hissing over your naked hungry lips. The sensual experience heightens – you feel the dirt between your toes; the scratching of the leaves. And with ‘Beck And Call’, the whisper of a storm strikes the back of your neck with its urgent ritualistic strum. There is little doubt – I’m hoodwinked!

Once again they have managed to provocatively and intelligently straddle the emotional wires between reality and imagination, imploring us to dream of other worlds as well as question the mysteries of the one we’re in.

To tell you more, Run-Riot caught up one-half of the fearless French/German duo, live performance artist Valerie Renay.

Barnaby: How does the process of creating a “concept” album differ to that of a wider-topic record? What inspired you to do so?

Valerie: It all started with Robert Pacitti asking us to visualize our own interpretation of ‘The Lovers’ Major Arcane card for a set of tarot cards (photographed by Manuel Vason) created for the London Spill Festival in 2009. It triggered a long period of research in the field of mysticism, voodoo, witchcraft, spirituality, and the world of the occult. It was an exciting process to read, learn and gather information on those fascinating topics and finally digest everything and spit it out in the form of a musical and poetic journey.

We also tried to really immerse ourselves in that world. We created a voodoo altar in our living room, with an African mask, a mannequin with a deer head as well as peacock feathers, crystals, candles and religious drawings. We watched footage of authentic rituals and ceremonies, not to try and reproduce any of it but to extract the essence of what those practices are about and give our own version of it. It felt like a journey of initiation, like that of the ‘walkabout’ where Aborigines take to the dessert for a given length of time - to become real men.

We are living in our comfortable flat in Berlin very far from the primitive tribal tradition we looked at, but this tradition has an intrinsic human quality that we can all understand, and identify with. Something universal and ancestral that will always make sense however far buried we find ourselves in a world of consumerism, and technology. Ready made meals will never completely destroy our hunting instinct.

So making a ‘concept’ album is not an easy path to take, it involves a long thought process, asking questions, revaluating what you know and ultimately taking the risk to shake your own values. It was a truly enriching experience for the band.

Barnaby: Your older and more socio-provocative songs like ‘Daddy, Don’t Touch Me There’ and ‘Offensive Nonsense’ still either raise the eyebrows or indeed genitalia of critics and audiences alike during your live shows. However as songs from your debut, there has definitely since been a shift in the band’s sound – not just sonically but lyrically. Was it a conscious decision to move away from this more confrontational aural stance or did it just occur naturally over time?

Valerie: We constantly thrive to renew ourselves on every level and love to set ourselves new challenges - it fuels inspiration. Embarking on the making of ‘Malady’ was a very ambitious task. We are lucky to be given total freedom of creativity by our label RepoRecords. Without any restriction or guideline to follow we will never attempt to reproduce anything sounding like our first or second album, but we’ll constantly try and push ourselves to explore frontiers.



Barnaby: Noblesse Oblige are internationally renowned for their intense and raw live performances but do the onstage dynamics change in any way with the release of each new album? Will you be taking a different approach to live shows with the release of this more conceptual album?

Valerie: We’ve put together a new live show, only with the songs from ‘Malady’. Sebastian plays acoustic guitar, drums and sings. I mainly sing, play drums, funny percussions and the Ukulele. We’ve added a lot of theatrical elements to the performance. I transform on stage, with visible costume and make up changes; going from a Mexican widow (Alexandro Jodorowsky’s ‘El Topo’ inspired) into a wild Pagan lady, an African tribal chief and bare skin priestess/master of ceremony. I perform a voodoo ritual and put a spell on the audience to finish off!

Barnaby: Critics have also positively remarked on there being a ‘Lynchian’ quality throughout your music. This theatricality we know stems from the overall dramaturgical approach to your music – a sense of sculpting theatricality both on and off the stage – and an intrinsic characteristic to the Noblesse Oblige’s DNA.

However, in citing American avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger as one of the personal influences for ‘Malady’, (an earlier director than David, also famous for his intrigue with the occult and effective use of pop music scores) would you say it’s more he who has helped shape the cinematic feel and sound design of your darker modern-pop compositions?

Valerie: The world of Noblesse Oblige is and has always been very filmic. The albums title is partly inspired by Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s film ‘Tropical Malady’, a modern day ghost story set in the jungle of Thailand. The way we create music is very visual. Especially for this album, it’s a lot about a certain atmosphere, a mood, which is very present in Kenneth Anger’s movies. I would love to appear on stage as the Egyptian great priestess of ‘Lucifer Rising’.



Barnaby: Could you tell us a bit about the more experimental instruments recorded on Malady?

Valerie: A sense of curiosity is essential. We have never been satisfied with a standard musical set up. On ‘Malady’ we’ve introduced the Ukulele, somewhere between a banjo and a mandolin, with its un-missable Hawaiian quality and cuteness. It fitted perfectly with the exotic flavour of the album as a counter balance to the more traditional acoustic guitar. Then in terms of percussion we started using timbales, which have an authentic tropical vibe and work so well in contrast with the deep sound of ‘Goth’ toms. It’s always interesting to mix unlikely elements to get a fuller sound. Same thing with maracas and pagan sounding tambourine. Finally, the kazoo added the Ennio Morricone touch we love.

Barnaby: Valerie, you spent a part of your teenage years on the French-Caribbean island of Martinique – a place renowned for the established cultural practise of voodoo. Can you share with us your most potent memories of island life and its local mythology? Are there any stories which have specifically made their way into the songs on ’Malady’?

Valerie: Martinique is an island very close to Haiti - the real heartland of voodoo practice. My neighbour was a voodoo priestess. It left me with very strong memories of being woken up in the middle of the night by haunting chanting and a strong smell of incense. I used to watch people coming in and out of her house hiding their faces so as not be recognised. I was also warned never to walk bare foot, because people would put crushed glass by your bed mixed with poison and you’ll soon lose the use of your legs. There were also many stories about the natural substance that would turn you into a zombie - you drink it and first it slows your heart beat and then it leaves you brain dead but still able to stand. All those stories remain very present for me. They opened my mind to a different way of seeing things. I discovered a world full of magic, curses, and peculiar beliefs, all with some roots in the reality of our everyday life. Those tales particularly influenced the songs ‘Sambo’, ‘Tropical Fever’ and ‘May They Come With Spears and Knives’.



Barnaby: It’s evident that your move from London to Berlin where you set up your own studio paved a new way for you to be even more daring in exploring a fresh sound in creating the music of second album ‘In Exile’.

’Malady’ seems to have taken this explorative journey one step further. You’ve also played over 300 shows across Europe and South America. So if logistics were thrown aside for the time being, where in the world would you want to set up the ‘Blige base camp next and has the nostalgic influence behind Malady spurred you to record in more exotic locations?

Valerie: Touring in Brazil for the second time has definitely left a sweet flavour at the back of our throats. The texture of the sand on Ipanema beach is, after all, very close to sugar cane. While Sebastian, walking down the streets of St Petersburg on New Year’s Eve, felt very much like a romantic hero from a Dostoevsky story. So in the end we had to agree to stay in Berlin because it still feels like the best place to be, surrounded as we are by a vibrant community of artists.

Barnaby: Do you each have a favourite song off the new album?

Valerie: I love ‘Morning Docks’ for its melancholy, simplicity and timelessness. It’s more of an intro than a real song but it sets the mood so perfectly.

Sebastian’s favourite is ’The Great Electrifier’ with its melodic charm. theatricality and Spanish castagnettes.

Barnaby: Voodoo-induced tropical fever aside, the UK is recently recovering from being awash with political fervency. If Noblesse Oblige had formed an electoral party, what would your 2010 manifesto have been? I mean, sure, with a guitar case full of voodoo dolls putting you at an advantage, who cares about ethics, right?

Valerie: Well, Noblesse Oblige IS a manifesto in itself! It affirms a sense of respect for others and promotes high moral qualities, ideals, and a greatness of character. What more could you ask for!

Noblesse Oblige ‘Malady’ Album Release, Friday, 28th May 2010.

In June the new album and its Live show will be presented on a European tour. The album released on code7 via Plastic Head Distribution on May 28th 2010 which will also include digital release of Double A-side single: The Great Electrifier / Beck & Call including bonus remixes by Funker Vogt, Eric D. Clark, Lucas Croon, Dunwich, Tolouse Low Trax and Spidersleg.





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UK Press:
Daniel Theo
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