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Radio Elvis: "It's really pretty simple"

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Translation by:

Arwen Dewey

CultureBig Fish

It took quite a few accidents to get there, but they've finally done it. On the 31st of March, the three friends that make up Radio Elvis released their first album, Les Conquêtes. They've been triumphantly reaping the fruits of their labour ever since. Does this mean they're all grown up now?

cafébabel: The modern world can be complex for some people. How would you explain to a child what you do?

Radio Elvis: In Radio Elvis, we try to use poetry to look at the world around us. We spend our days attempting to understand and transcribe what we're living, seeing, and feeling, using a language that we're making up as we go along. Kind of like childhood, you know? It's really pretty simple.

cafébabel: We can all be heroes, just for one day. What's one other thing you've always dreamed of doing?

Radio Elvis: We've always wanted to make music and write. The stage is a place where anyone can become a hero.

cafébabel: For most people, Europe can be a bit of a drag. How do you think we could make it sexier?

Radio Elvis: A drag? Europeans can smoke in the streets and sometimes even in bars. They can drink as much alcohol as they want. They can listen to loud music, even with their apartment windows open, and just laugh when the neighbours bang on the ceiling because of the noise. Most Europeans are flippant and thoughtless; they spend most of their time criticising the country next door. Yeah, Europeans are charming!

cafébabel: What's the thing that outrages you most about today's world?

Radio Elvis: Stupidity.

cafébabel: Our world demands perfection, but what's the one fault you're most tolerant of?

Radio Elvis: No idea! But we do know that perfection isn't really attainable in life and more precisely it goes against that same thing that makes music so exhilarating: accidents.

cafébabel: Nowadays it seems the Internet knows everything, but what's one thing Google doesn't know about you?

Radio Elvis: We can't really say anything. Maybe the Internet does know it all.

cafébabel: Congratulations! You have been chosen as the major representative for the youth of the world. What was your campaign slogan?

Radio Elvis: Listen to Radio Elvis!!!

cafébabel: What’s the first thing you do in the morning, no matter what?

Radio Elvis : We listen to the song of the day. It could be anything from Kurt Vile to Nick Cave, or Bashung, or Arcade Fire... The fragrance of coffee generally perfumes the room.

cafébabel: If you could invent one thing that no one has ever thought of before, what would it be?

Radio Elvis: A machine that could help invent even more things that no one has ever thought of before.

cafébabel: What would you say to a racist?

Radio Elvis: Get a life!

Radio Elvis, "Les Moissons"

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There are plenty of Big Fish in Europe's not-so-small pond. Introducing our new series of interviews delving deeper into the lives of some of the continent's biggest names.

Story by

Matthieu Amaré

Je viens du sud de la France. J'aime les traditions. Mon père a été traumatisé par Séville 82 contre les Allemands au foot. J'ai du mal avec les Anglais au rugby. J'adore le jambon-beurre. Je n'ai jamais fait Erasmus. Autant vous dire que c'était mal barré. Et pourtant, je suis rédacteur en chef du meilleur magazine sur l'Europe du monde.

Translated from Radio Elvis : « C'est finalement très simple »