Phoenix Interview

Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 10:26 Written by rohan williams Wednesday, 03 February 2010 10:37

Content: Music - Music: Rock

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Life Of Mars

A decade and a half since they first got together, French rockers Phoenix are finally getting the adulation they deserve. Frontman Thomas Mars takes a second out from the hoopla to talk brotherhood, fatherhood and why the Grammys owe him big time.

“Music, for us, has always been very intertwined with the fact that we are friends,” Mars explains down the line from Los Angeles, where he and his longtime bandmates - bassist Deck D'Arcy and sibling guitarists Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai - are preparing to play the next date on their 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' tour. The eponymous album has topped charts and best-of-2009 lists around the world on the back of singles 'Lisztomania' and '1901'.  

“Where we grew up (Versailles), it was very hard for us to relate to people in the city,” he continues. “The first thing you do when you're a band is play live for people, but we couldn't do that because there wasn't a music scene there. We started in a home studio and we just did it for the four of us. It wasn't about making music to seduce girls or to get attention … because we came from an unusual place and we sang in English instead of French, we had enough obstacles in our way that we really had to create our own road.”

'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' is a return to that trailblazing spirit, as Mars says the band purposely set out to make an album that made them “uncomfortable”.

“We wanted to create our own road again, to see where we could go … so in the beginning, nothing seemed to fit. But in the end, when you look at the whole thing, it has this storytelling quality to it. That was something we did on the first record, too, because we knew the songs would fit together in the end. Every stage in the recording process, whether it's mixing or mastering, makes them fit together. It creates this frame, and even if you want to create seven different paintings, they'll all be in this same frame.”

Over four albums, thousands of shows and 15 years, the group's lineup has remained unchanged. You might not be able to imagine hanging out with the same three people for most of your life, but Mars insists his band of merry Frenchmen never get sick of each other.

“You know, we have two brothers in the band and I think they're responsible for holding us together.  They're the glue. There's no sense of competition … some bands have a message, or they're taking a stand against something. For us, it was just good chemistry. We'd play in our basement for a really long time and be happy if we came up with something we wanted to hear.”

In recent years, Mars' family has expanded beyond his musical brotherhood to include his partner, famed American director Sofia Coppola, and their three-year-old daughter Romy. With a second child on the way, he claims fatherhood has had a positive impact on his work.

“Sometimes you see people say things in the press like 'fatherhood is my favourite job', and other things that are very cheesy. But I do think (becoming a father) proves life is exceptional; that there's something special about it. I think that's a good thing for creativity.”

If 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' is any indication, there might be something to Mars' theory. The group's most successful album yet saw them secure their first Grammy nomination; not that they really cared.

“We didn't know it was such a big deal! I mean, if you win a Grammy, we understand that's something, but just to be nominated? In France, you really have to make an effort to see the Grammys. The only time I watched it was when I was seven or eight. I saw Prince play 'Purple Rain'. I remember it because I had to stay awake until three in the morning. My whole week was fucked up after that!”

So, essentially, the Grammys owe Mars an award for his troubles?

“Yeah, it was ridiculous,” he laughs. “But if you remember Prince's performance … watching that in Versailles was better than watching aliens land. There was something very inspiring about it. It had everything! Style, violence, melancholy; everything that makes you want to create music.”

Phoenix play the Brisbane Convention Centre on Monday March 1. 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' is available now.