INTERVIEW: Yael Naim & David Donatien
- Posted on March 11, 2008 2:34 PM
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Interview by Zarina Raja
Singer/song-writer Yael Naim and percussionist David Donatien collaborated a while back and have spent the last two years holed up in Yael’s apartment. In those two years, like most musicians, they probably smoked a lot of cigarettes and drunk unhealthy amounts of coffee, but they also made some cracking soft Acoustic tracks, tinged with a delectable French accent and a scattering of songs written in Hebrew.
Yael Naim had me hooked after I heard her version of Britney Spears’ Toxic. There is something ludicrously inviting about covering a song in a way so different from the original.
On a blustery winter morning, over a horrendous phone line, we got to chat to Yael and David, Paris’ hottest Folk songstress and musician.
Hey guys! Let’s talk about the next few months. You have a lot of tour dates lined up.
Yael: Yeah! It was really exciting for us because we worked on this album for two years and it was very surprising for us to see that people already knew the lyrics.
Where is your favourite place to perform?
David: Well, we’ve just started so we don’t have any! We can answer that question in a few months.
Which country are you looking forward to performing in most?
Yael: Japan. We are really curious about it because it is so different from everything else; people tell us a lot about it.
Your cover of Britney Spear’s Toxic was lovely. Do you like to cover songs or was that just a one off?
Yael: It’s wasn’t especially because we like to do covers. It was just a joke in the beginning.
Are you a Britney Spears fan?
Yael: Uh, no! I respect her though.
Your new album is out soon. What does is represent?
Yael: A lot of things; for usit’s freedom, for the first time ever we could really do something that we loved. We recorded it before we had a record company. It is really just two people doing something they love and connecting. It is life for us. When the songs were written it was a very sad period. From the moment we started to collect the music and record the album an amazing period started and it still hasn’t finished. It grows and grows with time.
How did you and David meet?
David: We met four years ago.
Did you hit it off straight away?
David: Oh, Yes! When I could see that she could play piano and sing, I was really impressed!
There seems to be a great energy which you can hear in your music. Have you got any UK dates lined up?
Yael: No, not at the moment.
Do you want to come over here and play for us?
David: Sure! We have played here before; we played at a little club called the Luminaire.
Did you guys both know that you always wanted to be in music?
Yael: Each one of us has a very different story and approach to music. For me, I discovered the piano when I was nine. I then started taking some Classical lessons which I thought I wanted to do for the rest of my life but I changed from Classical music to writing songs. It takes a few years to discover how you want to do your music.
David: I started to play music at five-years-old. My family was into music.
What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t in the music biz?
Yael: Maybe drawing or painting – I don’t know!
Do you ever any spare time to do this?
David: Oh, we don’t have days off! When we have a day off, we make music to relax! It’s true, we play with music and we record the songs and make them perfect.
What kind of music influenced you guys as children?
David: I am greatly influenced by Jazz and Soul music.
Yael: For me, in the beginning, it was Classical and then a bit of Soul music. Then I listened to song writers like Joni Mitchell.
Who do you think it would be fun to collaborate with?
David: The Neptunes! And a lot more.
Is there a song that you wish you had written?
Yael: Ohhhh, so many; clouds by Joni Mitchell.
David: Anything from OK Computer by Radiohead.
What is the best gig you have been to as a fan?
Yael: Erykah Badu about five years ago.
David: For me, it was when I was about 16, I saw Prince perform Sign 'O' the Times.
Related Links
Yael Naim's MySpace
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