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La musique est une des clés de mon univers personnel depuis l’adolescence et, même si je ne joue pas d’un instrument moi-même, je me suis trouvé accompagné de musique et dans la compagnie des musiciens toute ma vie. Dans cette section du blog je partage avec vous mes découvertes, mes expériences et les événements auxquels j’ai assistés.
J’ai grandi au contact de la musique pop et rock britannique des années 60 et 70 grâce à la radio, la télé, mais surtout les disques et une foule de concerts. En 1981, j’ai emporté tout ça en France pour faire un nouveau mix en y ajoutant la chanson française, la musique classique, le jazz et les musiques du monde.
Au début des années 90, mon monde musical a tremblé de nouveau avec la découverte du tango argentin. Pour la première fois de ma vie, j’ai appris à danser, et j’ai découvert une toute nouvelle perception de la musique. A partir de 2000, j’ai commencé à travailler comme DJ tango en bal, j’ai également fondé une webradio éphémère, puis j’ai démarché auprès des artistes du tango que j’admirais afin d’organiser des événements avec eux. Le tango reste un élément incontournable dans mon paysage musical au quotidien.
Certains posts sur la musique sont en français, d’autres en anglais. Le choix des langues n’est pas réfléchi, mais simplement lié à l’époque ou le contexte de la rencontre.
Van Morrison is a great explorer of the power of resonance and in “Listen to the Lion” he gives us a powerful example. It’s basically a love song, but it explores territories which are older and deeper than most love songs. It still resonates with me years after first hearing it. Let me try and tell you why.
Composers have tried to put the seasons to music, so we can have them all year round. Antonio Vivaldi dominates the field with his Four Seasons from 1725. But since 1999, thanks to an arrangement for classical orchestra called Eight Seasons by Leonid Desyatnikov, a concert programme now alternates movements from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi and those by the Argentinian Astor Piazzolla from his tango suite The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires, also known as Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas. Let’s take Piazzolla out from the shadow of Vivaldi by taking a closer look at his Four Seasons of Buenos Aires.
Est-ce le printemps ou l’automne? Attention! Changement de saison! Si vous êtes au nord, c’est l’automne qui pointe le bout de son nez. Au sud, c’est le printemps qui s’installe. Profitons de ce moment stratégique pour explorer Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (Les 4 Saisons de Buenos Aires), la suite de tangos composés par le bandonéoniste argentin,… […]
Like most people, my musical box contains its own personal mix. You’ll find stuff about discovery, about heroes. There are recollections of those songs which just won’t stop playing on your inner juke box. There are also pieces on Tango, which I discovered in France, and which taught me to dance and to live and listen to music differently. I hope you enjoy the mix!
Songsmith Wreckless Eric and that Special Someone. It’s summer up here in the Northern Hemisphere and time to fall in love again. How about making that definitive this time? Not as easy as it sounds? Questions like these are at the heart of (I’d Go The) Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric which tells the story of a mother’s answer to her son’s despair at ever finding that special someone. Take it away, Wreckless!
Rory Gallagher onstage moved like a cat and played his guitar like a lion. He had a way of speaking between numbers which was natural. He hoped we were enjoying the concert. He thought we might like to hear something from the new album. Nothing was forced. He gave us gold from the end of the Rainbow.
Bruce Springsteen has often felt like a member of my family. Born seven years before me, he was the older brother I never had. What follows is about how a Bruce Springsteen album sneaked its way into my home in Harlow, Essex. The story starts in early 1973.
Tribute to the Dave Simmons Soul Radio Show broadcast by BBC Radio 1 between 1972 and 1974. This was where I discovered not only soul, blues and R&B but also how musical genres and styles are interconnected. You’ll also find links to uploads of recordings of the show online.
The real game-changer for The Pretenders would be Brass in Pocket, which came out in November 79. A joint composition by Hynde and guitarist James Honeyman Scott, it was so successful that it actually altered people’s perceptions of the group’s name : they were still Pretenders, but no longer pretending as in unending make believe; […]
CLICK HERE TO READ AN ENGLISH VERSION OF THIS TEXT Est-ce le printemps ou l’automne? Attention! Changement de saison! Si vous êtes au nord, c’est le printemps qui pointe le bout de son nez. Au sud, c’est l’automne qui s’installe. Profitons de ce moment stratégique pour explorer Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (Les 4 Saisons de Buenos […]
Songsmith David Bowie Back In Berlin As a rule, Bowie didn’t like to repeat himself; he preferred to reinvent. His many characters – Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and The Thin White Duke being probably the most famous – all provided voices and styles for reinventing himself as a constantly changing artist. He rarely […]
Songsmith Chrissie Hynde and the Ladies’ Tea Party It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the rumbling rawness of the Punk Years in the UK, starting in 1976 and spilling over into the next decade. The bad could get really bad, with uncaring unmusical bands, violence and self-mutilation. […]