“We are quite sensitive guys”: the group Kyo gives two concerts at the Théâtre de la Mer in Sète on June 19 and 20

The Kyo group (Benoît Pohier wears a white t-shirt) is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its formation in 2024! Stéphane Ridard – stephane

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Chemin”, its phenomenally successful 2nd album, the group Kyo has been on tour since last year. Before his two dates at the Théâtre de la Mer, in Sète, on June 19 and 20, its singer Benoît Poher returns to this record, and to their unique sound, both energetic and emotional.

Looking back, how do you find this record “The Path” ?

On the occasion of its reissue, we really dove back into it… Of course, we've been playing the songs for years, on tour, we've rearranged them many times, but listening to the original versions again was very special, quite moving. For its reissue, we wanted to make a beautiful object for early fans, with unreleased items. We added duet covers to add artistic freshness. But the impact on the public of this reissue has exceeded our expectations. We knew that The Path had been important for a generation when it was released in 2003, but everything took on unexpected proportions: we just had to do a single to celebrate its 20th anniversary before moving on to the next album… but we found ourselves doing this tour for the public.

Have you understood the reasons for its phenomenal success ?

We looked because it’s always intriguing… But for a large part, success remains inexplicable. We make an artistic proposal at the exact moment when people want it, it’s something absolutely impossible to master. It’s a meeting. Which can be frustrating for the rest of your career. I remember an interview with Robert Smith, of the Cure, in which he said that they always had the impression of making their best album when something new was released (which is normal, we feel ;rsquo;improves, we have experience) and yet in the hearts of fans, nothing beats The head on the door ou Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me… This is what happens when you really meet the public, when you touch a generation…hellip;

So I don't know how to explain it but I know that if there are still people listening to us today it's because we touched them at the time. ;adolescence. To the question of the disc for the desert island, I know that I will never take an album that I loved recently but necessarily one that I listened to three million times when I was between 15 and 20 years old. When we are teenagers, music touches us more than ever, it identifies us, brings us closer, consoles us, helps us build ourselves. If we are still here, twenty later, it is undoubtedly because there are people for whom The path is their disk to the desert island.

The fact that upon re-listening, we realize that the sound of Le Chemin has done better than age well, it is downright current, both very pop, but with big riffs, big kicks on the drums…

It’s a story of cycles, I imagine: in music, fashions come back, even in urban areas there are more and more guitars. For the sound itself of Le Chemin, we must tip our hat to producer François Delabrière who had a major influence in defining Kyo's sound: a mixture of pop melodies, French song and codes borrowed from everything that ;rsquo;we listened; indie, rock, metal… Normally, when something works, labels always try to find similar artists but with Kyo, that didn't happen, I don't see anything that resembles him. If we had the chance to come back after our break (which lasted more than eight years – that’s a long time!), when we released the album The balance (we weren't being smart, by the way: will we be remembered ?), it's also due to the fact that there haven't really been any artists in the same spirit…hellip;.

This mixture of energy and sensitivity, which is Kyo's DNA, is precisely what characterizes the new generation born after the ;rsquo;year 2000 !

That’s not wrong. If we take an artist like Nuit incolore with whom we collaborated on a cover of Je cours. Between him and us, it was super fluid, the connection s& rsquo;is done easily, and we co-wrote the piece Rendez-vouswhich appears on his album. Young people today actually have this sensitive thing, this skin-deep side, that we had back then.

What you were sometimes criticized for, too much of this, not enough of that…

When we were younger we were sensitive to that but with experience, we no longer give a damn, even if I can hear the criticism. But we're not going to deny ourselves, that's how we are. We're pretty sensitive guys. It’s not always easy, moreover, to find your balance when you are like that, but hey… When I see what I'm writing for the next album, ok, the lexical field has evolved, a lot of things have changed, but the sensitivity is still there. It’s beyond our control, we’re like that, period.

What can you tell us about the next album, precisely ?

We were supposed to release it a lot earlier but we're on tour. The positive side is that we have extra time to refine it. We are well advanced. We should return to the studio in September to release the album on the eve of the Accor Arena, in Paris, which we must do on June 7, 2025. Until then, we will have a lot , lots of pieces. We're really excited, and I'm going to speak like Robert Smith: I really have the impression that it's going to be a beautiful record, I'm better than ever at translating into my lyrics what I ;I want to say. I am very excited to share his new songs with the public… and I hope he will be of the same opinion as me!

What do you have in store for your concerts at the Théâtre de la Mer ?

We'll first do The pathin full, in order. It’s not a concept that we invented, lots of groups have already done album anniversary tours, I’ve seen it, I found it great. There is no surprise effect, that’s for sure, but a particular emotion, linked to waiting. In a second part, we play pieces from our repertoire which we know always provoke a big response, the big kiff… At the Théâtre de la Mer, it’s going to be great. We played there twenty-one years ago for the Le chemin tour, in fact. We don't remember all the dates but this one, yes, as if it were yesterday! This location ! Plus, two evenings are classy. We will have time to swim. Besides, on a date recently, I made a beginner's mistake…hellip; after more than twenty careers: I forgot my swimsuit. This time, it won't happen!

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