(from Sexuality on Recordmakers)

Sebastien Tellier comes from France where he gets in trouble for singing in English and works in close-quarters harmony with Air and Daft Punk. His new album Sexuality is not about horticulture, the political situation at sea off the horn of Africa or a nostalgic highway tour through a disappearing America.

You’re here for the week?
Yes, yes, for nine days. I have to rehearse with my new band. Because now to play in U.S., I play with American guys. So now I have to work with them to play a good show. It’s a very interesting thing for me to play with strangers. But I’m very confident because usually U.S. musicians are better than French musicians. So I am confident.
When you meet, are you going to explain to them what your performance style is like? Because it’s—how can you describe it?
Perhaps I like to put a little more energy in U.S. because maybe American people need a little more energy and emotion when Americans go to see a show. There is maybe a difference between European audience and American audience. For example: in Paris, they go to a gig to think about music and to talk about the music and na-na-na-na. And maybe in the U.S., it’s more to take some pleasure. For me, that’s more interesting—to create some pleasure rather than think and think and think.
Do you perform differently in France?
Maybe it’s just a little bit more intellectual in France. In a show, I make like intellectual jokes or this kind of thing. And maybe in US that will be more musical.
A little more caressing the microphone?
Yes, you know, the microphone in my pants and everything.
Can you describe your relationship to the microphone?
For me it’s like—what is the name in English? Deek . . . deek, oof, no [mutters in French] . . . ?
Dick?
Yes, oh yes. Sexo Phall, Sexual Masculin, Sexo—
Ok, yes—I know what you’re talking about.
Oui, oh ya, bien. And so yes, it’s for me—I can play with a dick in front of the audience. My music, it’s always been two opposite ideas. Like full of hope and hopeless in the same song. And sometimes I make very stupid song and in the same time very deep song—that’s the same song. And so for me, I play with that with bisexuality. In the same time, on stage I’m a kind of seducer for girls and like to take some pleasure with a big dick on stage—the mic. I’m not bisexual but it’s a show and during the show my role is a big bisexual.
Do you think that everything is built on dualities in the world?
Yes. For me, for example, if you are just superficial, there is no point to be just superficial. Time after time it is boring to be just superficial. But if you are just deep, always deep, always deep—it’s so boring because we need fun to be happy. The best way to create some good art is to try and create something in the balance between two opposite ideas. For me, it is really important. If you put just a little fun in a sad song, you can create a masterpiece—why not?
So how about the controversy over your song ‘Divine’—a song in English to represent France in the Eurovision contest?
It was this big problem in France. During two weeks, it was huge news. All the French people and all the information on TV was talking about that, and even the government and the parliament—they talked about the song because it was in English. For me, it was just big commercial publicity. It was funny because it’s nothing—it’s just one little song. It’s in English but it’s nothing. But French people have to know—that to explain what is the French vision of the world, you have to explain that in English because if you talk in French to the stranger, nobody understands. So if you want to talk about the French spirit to the world, you have to do that in English. But French people are so silly. It’s always the same story. French people are afraid of ‘the stranger’ and they are very afraid of losing their language. But for me it’s all bullshit. There are two sides of brain. So the best thing is to use the two sides of your brain. And there are some people, they just use one part of their brain. And for me, I want to be everything in life. It’s my way of life, in fact.
If you could spend one day as any other thing, what would you want to be?
Maybe a woman. That would be perfect for one day, just to try it. And maybe animal—what is my favorite animal? It’s a kind of a mouse but it’s not a mouse. It’s like a mouse but very small and very cute?
A gerbil?
I don’t know the name in English. In French it’s ham-stehr?
Hamster!
Because it’s so cute, a hamster, that would be perfect for me?
What object?
An object. Maybe you know when a girl goes to the shop to try underwear, maybe that would be perfect. To be the little place where women change… Yes, the dressing room. Perfect.
Since we’re getting into sexual territory, please describe for me the most sexual food.
The most sexual food is strawberry with champagne. Strawberry, for me, is very, very sexual food.
The most sexual room in a house?
The living room. Because there is sofa, some little place to make fire, and it’s perfect, a table—there is everything to have a sex party.
Body of water?
Lake. For me, lake is perfect because it’s very calm. And so yes, yes, and very often in Europe I go during the holiday in Italia, in the north of Italia, in the land named Normandy. It’s this part of Italia full of lake and it’s wonderful to make love on the boat, on the lake. It’s really wonderful.
Public place?
It’s wonderful to make love in a train. Yes, yes, I don’t know if U.S., but in Europe we have some luxurious trains where you have your own little room with a little bed and it’s wonderful to make love.

SEBASTIEN TELLIER WITH DJ MISS TOATS AND HEARTSREVOLUTION ON WED., DEC. 3, AT THE MUSIC BOX AT THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE, 6126 HOLLYWOOD BLVD., HOLLYWOOD. 8 PM / $20 / ALL AGES. GOLDENVOICE.COM. SEBASTIEN TELLIER’S SEXUALITY IS OUT NOW ON RECORDMAKERS. VISIT SEBASTIEN TELLIER AT MYSPACE.COM/SEBASTIENTELLIER.