“Ah, there you go, another actress who is turning to singing!” Please excuse me, dear readers, but I must correct this thought heard on the stairs of Fnac: Clémentine Célarié is not turning to singing; she is returning to it. Before pursuing acting, she made a living in the corridors of the metro with a jazz band. Yes indeed! Her first love is Music!
Her music, which she reveals to us in this album that defies categorization. She invites us into her family of diverse musical influences: folk, soul, rap, jazz, groove, R’n’B. “Voices blend together—childlike, mature, feminine, masculine.” Love songs, songs of hope, songs of brotherhood, songs of respect, funny songs too, and sometimes “sappy songs.” It’s fun to listen to her!
Eric Serrat, stopping at Fnac, even revealed to the audience: “At the Célarié’s, every evening, they jam. They tap on the table. They sing. They’re like four kids playing together. There’s truly a sense of family in the Célariés.”
So, aren’t you tempted to get to know her more? Nice-Première is, and even had the privilege of joining this joyous, very close-knit and congenial family, 100% happiness.
Welcome to the “Family Groove!”
Nice-Première: What is the origin of the “Family Groove”?
Clémentine Célarié: The home, the family, the core of our daily life. 
It’s natural to make music. Either it starts from Gustave’s guitar, he’s 16 and a guitarist, or it begins with beats as Abraham says, which he makes on the computer—R’n’B, Hip Hop stuff… or it starts in the car with them beatboxing, we also jam together.
Abraham: We also used to recreate songs we like at home. (Laughs).
N-P: Clémentine, tell us about your “Family Groove”?
C.C.: It’s a record that includes my three children and me. It’s one of the intimate and very important moments of my life with song topics that are super precious to me and my kids. As Abraham describes it, it’s like an album of musical photos. What would you add?
A.: It’s a quite precious moment, frozen in time that we have as an object.
C.C.: Printed!
A.: It’s a symbol for us.
N-P: What themes do you address?
C.C.: I touch on love. What I find very important is love, but universal love. A lady told me earlier that she felt I represented love. So much the better! (Smile) It’s a record about love in its various forms: either the love I have for my children or the love I have for certain men, for men (Laughs), for others, for human beings. An ideal I have, which grows bigger as I age. The older I get, the more idealistic I become. There’s a song for someone who’s ill, I think of AIDS but I don’t mention it. It’s called “Lullaby.” Today, I met an extraordinary woman whose son is ill, very withdrawn and autistic. I dedicated this song to her. But with all humility, I’m so modest that sometimes I don’t dare say things, but you have to. There’s also a love song for people who are locked up, in prison. Otherwise, there are songs about mixing, respect, skin, and the blending of cultures.
N-P: Is this an album you wanted to make for quite some time?
C.C.: Yes, the creation wasn’t long, nor was the inspiration.
A.: We could have made ten albums (Smile) What’s taken long is defending it and getting people to give it importance.
N-P: How did things go with the record labels?
C.C.: A total struggle.
A.: Not good at all. Today, it’s the record labels that decide what they want. It’s quite incredible for music. So, we proposed something not at all in line with what’s happening now, not packaged, not a well-thought-out concept.
C.C.: Actually, the concept stands by itself. We could have commercialized this concept. Exploiting it in a very packaged way as they say now. Like, I could have said: yes, it’s familial. I could have highlighted the people side. But no, our album is sincere; it isn’t formatted. There are people who said: “Look! Why is she putting her kids forward?”
A.: They thought it was a calculated, not at all natural thing.
C.C.: Precisely, it’s not calculated at all and that’s exactly why it’s a problem. Nowadays, when you don’t calculate things, sometimes it’s hard. So it’s a long process. But I know what’s going to happen in the future, fingers crossed: I’m going to make a solo album, Abraham will make his solo album and then we’ll reunite, the kids will surpass me (Smile). Gus will surely become a musician because he’s very talented. Balta is more inclined toward football. But that won’t stop us from reuniting and doing our Family Groove. Next year, we’re doing the Avignon Festival for a month, it’s very important.
A.: Maybe when we each follow our own paths, people will understand.
C.C.: And then, it’s above all a performance album. We’ve worked a lot at home. Abraham has helped me a lot with the phrasing of rap. I’m more of jazz. It’s the beginning of a story. When I’m old, when I’m 80, inshallah as they say, and they’ll be there (Smile).
It’s a talent thing. It’s not because they’re my kids that I made an album. It’s because they have talent. Gus has great guitar talent, he’s composing more and more, Abraham has great talent as a composer and lyricist, he writes amazing lyrics. Excuse me for talking about you in front of you (Smile). In my next solo album, I’ll probably ask him to write one or two songs for me. It’s the beginning of something. It’s nice to come to Fnac in Nice, to interact with people.
N-P: After this family album, are you tempted to do a solo album?
A.: Yes. I’m working on it right now. It’s close to my heart. A solo album under the name Tismé, my stage name. I don’t have the album’s name yet, but I’m working on it. (Smile) The album will be in French.
N-P: What musical textures?
A.: In France, I like Mc Solaar, I also really like Abd-al-Malik’s lyrics.
N-P: Abraham, what kind of mother is Clémentine Célarié?
A.: She’s a very nice mom. (Smile) It’s delicate to answer; I’d need a day. You don’t describe your mother in a few words. Plus, it’s awkward in front of her (Smile).
C.C.: We’re very modest in the family. (Clémentine Célarié covers her ears).
A.: She has a huge thirst for creativity, and I think she has passed it on to us well.
N-P: And you, Clémentine, what kind of son is Abraham?
C.C.: I have the same problem he does. (Laughs) Plus, I have three. I can’t answer that question. I’m incredibly lucky. I realize it when I 
meet people who have misfortunes, problems with their kids, or who don’t have any. Earlier, I met two little girls who just lost their father. I’m very fortunate. But it’s not always rosy. There are times when we’re demanding. I’m very demanding, maybe too much. I’m obsessed with the idea of constantly creating: create, create, create… It’s stupid! Sometimes it’s an obsession that’s terrible, that limits me from living. I’m obsessed with writing all the time. We’ve had issues with record companies, but now things are better. You have to be tenacious. I tend not to respect what I do. I’m impatient. I like to create, but I don’t like to dwell on what I’ve done; I want to do other things, but you have to dwell on what you do because it’s important. Coming back to the question (Smile), Abraham is someone very gifted beyond being my son. He’s simply someone who has a lot of talent and ability. So I consider myself very lucky. He’s someone with a lot of maturity, much more than I do sometimes. I’m nearly 50, he’s only 21, and sometimes he gives me advice, it’s incredible. We have this exceptional exchange. I don’t live with a man beside me. I’m a romantic at heart. I have nothing exceptional. I’m a woman like any other, maybe I commit to living what I want to live. It’s not always easy, but I have a sense of freedom. And the four of us have an exceptional exchange because I give them a lot of space, that’s for sure. But I don’t want to unconsciously create dependence with the kids, so I push them: “Go ahead, don’t worry about me!” If there is any dependence, let it be artistic. We’re very close-knit, but sometimes you have to know how to step away from the group so that everyone can exist. (Smile)
N-P: In a song, you say “I’m so scared,” of what?
C.C.: Of many things, of love… It’s a song about someone who’s afraid of love, of emotion. I’m very much a victim of my emotions. It’s really annoying (Laughs) because it paralyzes me in many things. I’m very fragile; it’s silly to say that. I don’t look it, but I’m not tough at all (Smile) so I’m afraid of many things, of immense love…. I explain that in the song (Smile).
N-P: Theatre and music at the moment!
C.C.: Yes (Smile) , I’m at the theatre with Jean Reno until December 31st in a comedy called “Les Grandes Occasions.” With “Family Groove,” we’ll be doing other Fnacs as well. But the big event is in July with the Avignon Festival for a month, and there will even be one evening when the whole family will be united; my father, who’s 85, will read stories, and my mother will play the piano. Then I’ll be on tour alone for my one-woman show that Abraham directed.
Where to get the album? “Family Groove”
Where to listen to their album? MySpace
