Colombey, It’s personal
Colombey is the 30-year-old Frenchman Thibault Gondard, one-third of the noise band Lubriphikattor, one-half of the dark dance act Pizza Noise Mafia, and completely himself as TG and TG Gondard.
His latest incarnation is called Colombey, the moniker he uses to recycle teenage memories of growing up in the French countryside, distilled into raw and sentimental lo-fi pop tunes.
What’s the worst? Smart pop music for adults. I’m looking at an ad for the new Björk album right now. Clearly photoshopped because she used to be fatter. Anyway. Smart pop music. Talk Talk. Radiohead. I hate it. I really do. What’s the best? Shameless sentimental pop music about teenage dreams, sung by a boy or a girl with just a microphone and a karaoke machine. US Girls. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti. Colombey.
Is Colombey the name of the town where you grew up?
Colombey: I was born and raised in a town named Coulommiers, in the east of Paris. Colombey is famous in France for being the place where Général De Gaulle lived and died, but it is about 200 kilometers away from Coulommiers. However, both names share the same etymology, which is why I chose this moniker.
In what kind of milieu did you grow up?
My father is a farmer, so I grew up on a farm surrounded by fields. My mother used to work in a supermarket.
The songs you make using the moniker Colombey are sung in French, but you told me a lot of French-speaking people don’t understand you…
Did I say that? It’s true that some French people might not know some of the slang words that I use in my songs, but most of the time, everybody gets it perfectly. But maybe in Wallonia, it’s more difficult for people to understand this typically French slang and to know the cultural references.
Why do you divide your music between TG Gondard and Colombey?
The music of Colombey is more raw, direct, and punk. TG Gondard is a lot more love songs with a more sophisticated musical background. But both of them are extremely personal.
Your Colombey concerts are almost karaoke: the music is pre-recorded, and only your vocals are live.
I enjoy the fact that I can focus on singing. It’s the first time I don’t have to push buttons or do complicated things while I sing. That’s a nice feeling. I record the music mostly with an old organ. Those instruments are just impossible to carry with you.
Are you working on a Colombey album?
I’ve already recorded more than 25 songs for an album. So it is ready, but nobody offers to release it.
You will release a Colombey 7″ on Lexi Disques soon. Can you tell me what will be on this single?
T
he title track is called ‘j’ai tout oublié.’ It takes place in Châlons-sur-Marne and tells the story of a man who drinks so much he forgets his girlfriend. The B-side is called ‘quelque chose pour moi,’ and it’s the chant of a desperate ex-raver who goes back to the places he used to party to find a little something left—drug or poetry—to fulfill his inner void.
Something else. You described yourself as being poor.
For years now, I manage to live on about 600 to 700 euros a month, which is not much.
You don’t have a day job.
My only income is the money the French administration gives me every month for having no income, plus occasional fees. Right now, they’re threatening me to stop giving me the money, so maybe I’ll have to find a job. But I hate to work. I hate jobs. I hate all of that shit.
Do you think your self-chosen poverty is different from real poverty?
I know there are people out there who are having a real hard time. I don’t think I can compare my peaceful and quiet life with theirs.
You live in an empty office building.
There’s not much to say about this building, really. It is my home. It can be pretty cold in winter, but it could be way worse. I have no reason to complain. I live in comfort. I can do pretty much everything I want to.
Joeri Bruyninckx
Colombey Facebook
