2023-11-03 18:00:30
Stéphane Milochevitch in Paris, June 19, 2023. PHILIPPE MAZZONI
“Two years ago, I was fed up. I got to the point of stopping music », confesses Stéphane Milochevitch straight away before sticking his fork into a soft chocolate cake. This would have been a shame for the author, composer and performer, until now known under the pseudonym Thousand, met in a canteen in the 10th arrondissement of Paris one afternoon in October. His first album published under his name in the civil registry, Fortune tellinghas just been released and is already showered with praise (Les Inrocks, West France, single entry Mustang you 26 in the France Inter playlist…) despite a change of identity that is not insignificant for a musician who has been playing on the professional circuit for around fifteen years already. At 42 years old – we would give him ten years less – this slender brunette with a matte complexion is perfectly negotiating his return, or rather his new beginning.
Backtracking. In Paradise, Thousand’s previous opus was released on March 20, 2020. Just a few days after the first confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The career of this superb record found itself compromised: deprived of promotion, the musician had to wait six months before performing for two concerts with his group, then a handful of others in duet with the singer and keyboardist Emma Broughton (valuable partner on his previous albums who has since led a promising solo career with his project, Blumi).
And then “life is built”, as he says, with a long-matured desire to leave Paris with his family, to settle in the Drôme – the boy is originally from Grenoble. Departure at the start of 2021 for Dieulefit, a quiet town of 3,000 souls, 12,000 in the summer season. His job ” next to ” – adaptation and synchronized translation for film subtitling – allows him to work at home. Stéphane Milochevitch distances himself, claims an existence « dilettante militant ». One foot in music, but not too much either, his way of preserving himself. Nice formula.
” Make a clean sweep “
But that’s counting without Sean Bouchard, the boss of the Talitres label who has been with him since 2015 and three albums. He finds the words to put him back in the saddle, to encourage him to compose. The autodidact then dusts off his Fender Stratocaster guitar and his favorite synthesizer, the Roland Juno-60 – “perfect for playing I’m on Firethe Bruce Springsteen », says the Dieulefitois. Around ten compositions were recorded at the Melodium studio in Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) with producer Yann Arnaud (Pomme, Sparks, Camille…), under the escort of the rhythm section Olivier Marguerit (bass) and Lucien Chatin (drums).
You have 60% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
#Stéphane #Milochevitch #freedman #French #rock