We receive the American artist Natalia M King for the release of his new album Woman Mind Of My Own and Elliott Murphy, the most French of Americans, as a duet in this album on the title Pink houses of John Mellencamp. They are our guests in the #SessionLive as well as 2 journalists who have agreed to present them: Francis Dordor and Laurent Bachet.
Portrait of Natalia M King by Francis Dordor.
Born in New York in the late 1960s, Natalia Maria King grew up in Brooklyn, in a single parent family. Her mother, of Dominican origin, works as a maid in a school canteen. In the 70s and 80s, New York was a formidable melting pot and Natalia’s ears were solicited by a wide range of music: rock, disco, soul, salsa, rap. But for all that, can we speak of influences, in the case of an artist who will for a long time strive to erase all belonging, seek to break with everything that has preceded her, to invent her own language, her own sound? , find your own truth.
His life is thus made of many ruptures. The first takes place at the University of Rochester where she devotes herself to the thought of the philosopher John de Salisbury, a medieval humanist to whom we owe this quote: “We are dwarves, sitting on the shoulders of giants“.
If studying philosophy takes her out of her native environment, allows her to know a little more about herself and her place in this world, she does not intend to remain seated for long, even on the shoulders of ‘a giant. In a tradition which owes as much to Arthur Rimbaud as to beatnik authors, she then takes the road, crosses the United States from East to West, aboard a bus, accumulating food jobs on the way, she plunges into the restaurants, delivers pizzas, empties engines and takes advantage of his wasted moments to fill a notebook with bits of poetry, the beginnings of his songs. After working on a trawler off Alaska, she headed for California where she became a taxi driver in Long Beach. It was in California that she really discovered music, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Doors, which made her say “I do not believe in the conflict between generations “.
It is found in 1998 in Paris, a city that had been a refuge for many black American artists including Miles Davis and Archie Shepp, who were no longer required to take the service entrance to access a room. From there, she burns the steps, and subway corridors where she sings accompanying herself on the guitar for a few pieces, finds herself in 1time part of Diana krall on the stage of the Olympia.
Sound 1er album album Milagro in 2001 is unparalleled for the time. Having kept the spirit of the wildest rock, while freeing itself from form, her free rock owes nothing to anyone, if not to herself and her indomitable character. Two other equally radical works “Furyandsound” and “Flesh Is Speaking” will follow. Too radical perhaps. Still, tired of digging the same alternative path, she decides to return to the United States and continues the food jobs. We must believe that only the real stars deserve to reappear after an eclipse, because back in France after a few years, Natalia will return to music with Soulblazz and Bluezzin T’il Dawn. And the one who does not believe in the conflict between generations, slips naturally in the footsteps of 2 immense singers, Nina Simone and Billie Holiday.
This new break announces his latest collection Woman Mind Of My Own which is both a tribute to a few big names in blues and soul like Robert Johnson or Aretha Franklin, but also a celebration of what she is deep within herself, a free woman who claims her sexuality , an artist who lived the blues before singing it.
Then we get Elliott Murphy, signed portrait Laurent Bachet.
So question: is it Elliott Murphy who chose France, or is it France who chose Elliott Murphy? In any case, he has lived in Paris for 32 years and nobody complains, quite the contrary.
The 1time time he played here it was at the Palace in 1979, where he got 6 callbacks. He said to himself: “Here, they like me ”. Finally, he said it to himself in New York English, because at the time, he did not yet speak French perfectly.
Of course, he is already appreciated by the great pens of the specialized press and by a cohort of devoted fans who, since the publication of his 1er album in 73, adores the poetic and urban universe of this cultivated rocker, passionate and elegant dandy.
In the United States, Elliott Murphy is therefore a cult artist who himself admires Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and his friend Lou Reed. With this culture and this know-how, even if you are an excellent showman, it is not always easy to impose yourself, especially if you are compared to other artists who are emerging at the same time as you like David Bowie or Bruce Springsteen, another friend of his, because yes Elliott has a lot of friends.
So he tries the journey, the adventure, perhaps exile. In the summer of 89, he landed in Paris with his guitar, his harmonica and moved to the Bastille. That day, the Patrouille de France jets paraded in the sky, leaving large multicolored trails, not to mention the 2 huge parades on the Champs-Elysées. In the streets we sing, we dance, we party. Very naturally, Elliott Murphy takes all of this as a welcome sign to him. However, it was July 14, 1989 and France was celebrating the bicentenary of the French Revolution with great pomp. Immediately adopted by the local population, Eliott Murphy found his refuge here and since then he shines throughout Europe with an average of a hundred concerts per year.
He knows how to write songs that become classics, he knows how to stand on a stage, and he knows how to surround himself with faithful and talented musicians like Melissa Cox and Olivier Durand here present. On the other hand, Elliott Murphy does not know how to give bad concerts. Between folk, blues and rock, he offers intense journeys that are unlike any other. And as this troubadour is more of the hyperactive type, between 2 concerts and 2 albums, he writes articles, beautiful novels and he even happens to act in films. Because Elliott Murphy also has a hell of a look: stylish all-season headgear, corsair scarf, pointed Beatles-style boots, all highlighting an oh-so-sharp silhouette.
Because since he lives near the Italian theaters on the big boulevards in Paris, he has also acquired something a little particular and quite French: the panache! The American class, he already had it.
Songs performed at RFI during the #SessionLive
– Woman Mind Of My Own (Natalia M King)
– A Touch Of Kindness (Elliott Murphy)
– Forget Yourself (Natalia M King)
– On Elvis Presley’s Birthday (Elliott Murphy)
And the duo on Pink Houses (Natalia & Elliott) by John Mellencamp.
Musicians
– Elliott Murphy, guitar, vocals
– Olivier Durand, guitar, choir
– Melissa Cox, violin.
– Natalia M King, voice, guitar
– Ludovic Bruni, guitar.
His : Mathias taylor and Benoît Letirant
Production : Steven Helsly.