Interview with Aurus "I try to put things in my music, encounters.. "

Aurus is an artist. A real one. A music chemist who does what he loves. He appeared to us covered in gold with his crown. He confides in his music and the reasons that push him to make it. JustFocus: How's it going? Aurus: it's okay, there's stress rising, it's good stress, it's not paralyzing. It's a galvanizing stress. JF: Aurus, that's your stage name, why this choice? A: At first, I worked under the name of Bastien Picot, I wanted to go further and this name-first name did not correspond to what I wanted to give. With this name-first name, we expect more French variety and I wanted more to create a visual and musical universe. Aurus was like a no-brainer. It conveyed something impalpable, non-physical, like an inspiration from Egyptian mythology… the eye of Aurus… the third eye. Nor is it a question of taking me for an Egyptian god… (Laughter) JF: We come back to your music. What are your influences? A: It's a difficult question because it's complicated. You can't put yourself in a box. In response, I would say that there is pop, tribal, orchestral and also something very organic and very electronic too. It's like a musical chimera. That's why I called my album Chimera. I put meetings of different things that seem not to be able to coexist but that can nevertheless like English and Creole (especially from Reunion) even within the same piece. There are also very organic sounds; percussion, kayambs and completely electronic stuff that I made, crushed. In short! A tribal, orchestral pop. Jf: At the end of the album, we find North Sentinel… Who is talking about the famous island, I suppose? A: I was fascinated by the history of this island. An American had gone there to evangelize the local people and was greeted with spear throws. It is an island under Indian government but does not want contact with the outside world, which wants to remain cut off from the world. Several attempts have been made to try to approach them under the pretext of rescue, for example, while history since Christopher Columbus has shown the devastation that these approaches can cause. Why reproduce the same mistakes? I wanted to talk about that! that the other is different and entering its territory can put it in danger. I put myself in the shoes of these sentinels and it took on a different echo when I played in India. I talked to people there who obviously know this island and who thought it was good to talk about it. JF: Is respecting others, finding your place, your identity, something very important in your music? Is it a subject that inspires you or for you it's just important to talk about it? A: It inspires me! It is a very broad subject that encompasses many things. It is also to question one's place, our relationship to us, our relationship to others, to society and what results from it. It is sometimes good to stop for introspection and better understand each other, better accept each other, which can allow to have a more open dialogue towards the other. It is this diversity that makes humanity. In this world where we tend towards standardization in a very binary way, we forget diversity. JF: You talk about acceptance, does the choice of a stage name help you to talk about it or does it help you to accept yourself? A: It's a way of being free and accepting that freedom. There is our identity but we can also feel free to embody different things. We are changing beings, we are constantly evolving. This name opens up a lot of possibilities and much more than if I had had to confine myself to a name and surname that would not necessarily have allowed me to dare to stage myself in certain ways. All delusions if necessary are more allowed to me. JF: Why write in English? A: I will give you a bit the same answer as the question before. It is a question of freedom. I also asked myself the question and I know that it is not a strategic choice (quota to go on the radio). In addition, I am passionate about languages and especially English. Part of my family is in Mauritius which allows me to speak English there. Very early on, I started writing in English. It's instinctive and natural but I also have Creole. The two go very well together. JF: If you feel like it, would you also write in French on a future album? A: I'm not against it. It can be done. For now, French comes to me especially when I write poems. To put to music, it is not yet in my desires but I remain open to this possibility and why not in other languages? JF: Isn't setting a text written in two languages to music very complicated in terms of rhythms in particular? A: Not too much, they go well together and suddenly I feel like I'm doing something quite fluid, which "flows" well. JF: Why go into music and become a musician? A: There were a lot of small steps. I've always loved it. I did it first as an amateur and at one point I was studying languages to ensure the back as asked by parents, society, but it was not me. I wanted to make music and I did not dare to take the plunge and at one point I found help to be able to do a professional training in music at the CEAM of Bordeaux. I told my parents that I was stopping "classical" studies to start studying music, I found financial solutions. There, I allowed myself to do what I wanted to do. JF: What is your definition of an artist? A: It's getting philosophical, I have 4 hours? (Laughter) overused answer and already heard: we are all more or less artists, in different environments and ways. To be an artist is to create. Even if it is only a question of furnishing one's house, one is a bit in the field of creation, one becomes a creator. Even the creation of jewelry falls within this definition, the creation of a text, a book. Today, there are artists of all kinds even if they are not all in the light. What is certain is that we all have this potential.