Vangelis n'est plus, emporté lui aussi par la pandémie du COVID-19. Il reste et restera pour longtemps encore ma principale influence dans le domaine de la musique pour synthétiseurs, de même que dans celui de la construction sonore elle-même. Il incarnait pour moi l'exemple même de l'artiste : autodidacte, ultra créatif, farouchement indépendant, sans concession avec l'industrie musicale, en perpétuelle recherche. Son œuvre est inégale, certes. Ces travaux les plus récents ne m'ont pas touché (Juno, Rosetta). En revanche, Mask, Antartica, l'Opéra Sauvage, l'imposant Mythodea (dont il faut regarder la version live!) sont éternels. Mais son oeuvre maîtresse restera pour toujours Blade Runner (l'histoire de cette BO qu'il n'a pas pu publier immédiatement est épique). Pour moi, Blade Runner, surtout son Main Titles, c'est Debussy qui joue du CS-80. Ce qui me marque le plus, c'est que sa musique est en très grande partie improvisée. Il s

ENZO Editor, by StudioCode You know that I am a big fan of the Meris Enzo pedal , allowing be to mix both worlds of guitar and synthsizers. I have created a MIDI box to control this pedal. But the smart guys of Studio Code have  created an online editor  that I heavily use and I thank them for this tool ! Here is the link to use it :  https://studiocode.dev/enzo-editor/# To enjoy it, you will need: A Meris Enzo pedal (well... yes.) A MIDI box, either a DIY one or the MERIS version A TRS cable to connect your MIDI box to the Enzo A USB-MIDI interface like this one A computer with an internet access Using your preferred Internet browser, go to the editor's URL (see above) and pay attention to the special authorizations that are required to access your MIDI device. In the editor's windows, configure the MIDI input and output to ensure that the editor communicates with the pedal. AND ENJOY ! The editor gives you a visual interface of ALL the settings of the pedal. Furthermore,

  Back to basics... with an SSS config with my Kinman Woodstock noiseless set. I got rid of the Seymour Duncan Hot Rails that I mounted a few days ago . It sounds too muddy to my taste (and/or to my very peculiar Lady Blue strat...) Anyway, the EMG SPC (the black knob) provides a creamy and powerful tone when needed. I don't really need an humbucker here.

This song is sadly relevant : war in Ukraine, and far-right rising in Europe, specially in France Lyrics We are not there yet We have not evolved We have no respect We have lost control We're going backwards Ignoring the realities Going backwards Are you counting all the casualties? We are not there yet Where we need to be We are still in debt To our insanities We're going backwards Turning back our history Going backwards Piling on the misery We can track it all with satellites See it all in plain sight Watch men die in real time But we have nothing inside We feel nothing inside We are not there yet We have lost our soul The course has been set We're digging our own hole We're going backwards Armed with new technology Going backwards To a caveman mentality We can emulate on consoles Killings we can control With senses that have been dulled Because there's nothing inside We feel nothing inside We feel nothing inside (We feel nothing, nothing inside) We feel nothin

  Close up of the recent modifications Lady Blue is my main guitar. A 1992 stratocaster (a former Hohner ST-59) which has been deeply, deeply modified over the years . I already posted some of the schematics of the strange pickups routing , inspired by the Brian May's Red Special. At that time, pickups were wired in series. I recently put them back in parallel. True story : this the very first guitar that I have ever owned. It is a gift from my father. We went in a guitar shop of Orleans (were I was born), and he bought me this guitar on Friday, September 18th, 1992. Since, here is the list of what has been replaced of added: Shaller locking tuners Birdseye maple neck with ebony fingerboard TUSQ graphite nut Frets in stainless steel Wilkinson floating VS100C  bridge (discontinued) which locks as a fixed bridge when the whammy bar is pointing down Master tone for the 3 pickups EMG SPC adapted for passive pickups (the black knob) giving uo to +6dB boost in the mid frequencies (9V ba

  Note : this article is the English translation of this one . I have just finished reading Just Kids by Patti Smith. It recounts her early life, including her decisive and life-saving meeting with Robert Mapplethorpe. This two birds loved and admired each other, broke up yet never stopped loving each other, and they drew a lot from their relationship for their respective art. Their paths will ultimately be radically different, but their souls will be forever bound. Patti Smith takes us on a journey of initiation, with the help of dense, rich prose that wanders with pleasure into poetry at times. This journey through time allows us to meet a whole gallery of colourful characters, some of whom are quite famous, such as William Burroughs, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Sam Shepard, Tom Verlaine...  But one of the central characters is New York, the teeming city of the 60's and 70's, where drugs are particularly devastating, where art is of an unprecedented freedom, and, at the very

Je partage ici cet album que j'ai découvert il y a quelques années et pour lequel j'ai écrit une chronique pour le webzine Clair & Obscur . C'est une merveille de virtuosité guitaristique au service de la musicalité. C'est un plaisir de le réécouter ! Jakub Zytecki a une technique de l'autre monde et dont je suis totalement admiratif.