Interview with BLONDE REDHEAD'S KAZU. Backstage at Rockefeller, Oslo. April 14th, 2008.

A whole year after the release of their 7th lp, 23, Blonde Redhead finally decided to pay a long awaited visit to Oslo this spring (NB: they’ll be back for Storaasfestival in the beginning of August -their last European date of the summer).
The soundcheck was not finished when we entered the dark, empty venue, which gave us the chance to enjoy a whole song performed just for us -or so it seemed- and the sound engineer, obviously. We followed Kazu into a small back room after promising Playground’s Glenn not to take any pictures. Strange when most people would be watching the concert, some 4 hours later, through the screen of their cellphone but whatever, we’re on the serious, pro side of the stage now and there are some rules we have to play along to  or look like we do at least.

We’re alone with her now. None of us is comfortable and I’m so nervous I’m about to pass out. On her side, Kazu’s a bit annoyed because the soundcheck was not really satisfactory. She apologizes for being a bit tired while pulling the curtains shut but ends up confessing that the Swedish gig last night went so well that they stayed up very late/early drinking. Somehow, the tension drops a bit  when we realize it was just caused by some heavy hangover and more casual discussions begin, starting with ....horses.

Here are, transcribed as faithfully as possible (fuck teasing-effiecent-fast golden rule of journalism... all you need is some truth and we’ll give you some truth) these 20 minutes spent with Kazu. Please, do take a seat, relax. We hope you’ll enjoy....

Ovary Action: First of all, I need to apologize for not being able to give you good addresses to ride around Oslo1 . I know there are some, though. I reckoned it would have been difficult to squeeze this between soundcheck, interviews and the gig..... As a replacement, I brought you a postcard of a fjording, it’s a typical norwegian horse.
Kazu: Oh yes, it’s beautiful, thank you

Oa: Have you been riding horses for a long time or is it a recent passion?
Kazu: It’s been a while, but it’s getting more and more... it’s taking over my life a little bit so it’s getting hard to do both music and horses.

Oa: What is it you do with them? Do you ride in races? Do you jump?
Kazu: Yes, I jump. Then I have a few horses I work with for a given period. You know, it’s like a partnership so you have to keep riding them. It’s a very much time consuming thing and I play music with the twins, which is in the city, and the horses are of course in the countryside. So I spend my time commuting: I wake up at dawn and start riding, then I get back in a car to the city to practice... so it’s pretty tiring.

Oa: Do you feel like you’re gonna have to give up one of your passion?
Kazu: You know what, I think about it because I feel almost guilty that I love riding horses so much, that I’m not giving enough attention to music sometimes, but.... they’re both really similar, I don’t think I could live without one or the other. I must say that being on tour has been a relief because I don’t have to worry about the horses.

Oa: Did you leave someone to work with your horses while you’re away or are they just having a break?
Kazu: No, no, they have easier work because I’m not there, I think, but they have other people who ride them. It’s tricky, though, because you become partners with the horses. They get very attached to you and then they get confused when other people ride them. It’s better with only one rider, but.....

Oa: Talking about horses, I wanted to ask you if you remembered where you took that picture on Misery is a Butterfly.... because you see, I come from southern France originally and....
Kazu: Oh yeah, that’s a Camargue horse.

Oa: OK, yeah, that’s exactly what I thought. (The picture was also used for the BrH website)
Kazu: You know what, it was a book I have been given. I’ve had it for years, though I can’t quite remember.... I love that photo! It’s nice, right?

OA: yeah!
Kazu: They’re  running in the water

OA: Many of them are still wild there.... or almost completely wild.
Kazu: You know, I’ve never been.... I’ve seen some Camargue horses, but not actually there, you know, on the beach, running like that. I heard that they are really wild: they have a mind of their own, they do what they want.

OA: Yeah, but they are generally very straight forward as well, so thay’re really nice to ride....  But : about music now....(laughs: the ice ‘s broken). Did you play music before you played in Blonde Redhead?
Kazu: Yeah

OA: In bands? On your own?
Kazu, laughing: yes.

OA: What’s making you laugh, were they bad experiences?
Kazu: No, no, I was always doing it, without any ambition whatsoever, but I was always playing music.

Oa: Any kind of instrument in particular?
Kazu: Piano, I guess. I had never picked up a guitar before. That’s just after Blonde Redhead I started playing guitar, just becasue I wanted to, but I’m a really bad guitar player. (laughs)

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