New album for the French progressive rockers Clearlight
Following the recent release of Clearlight’s critically acclaimed ‘The Impressionists Symphony’ CD, comes another groundbreaking new album composed by Cyrille “Clearlight” Verdeaux titled ‘Tribal Hybrid Concept’ on Gonzo MultiMedia. Clearlight is a French progressive rock band created by Cyrille in the 1970s, although their best known work was produced in England and released by a major British record company, Virgin Records. The band’s large and continually changing lineup for 40 years featured a mix of French, American and British musicians around pianist and synthesist Cyrille Verdeaux who is also regarded as its producer.
While progressive rock is an overall genre for Cyrille, much of his work explores various other styles, including classical, due to his long classical formation in his youth, psychedelic, symphonic rock, space rock, jazz fusion, and new age music.
Clearlight’s first album was ‘Clearlight Symphony’. Gilbert Artman of Lard Free and Urban Sax (although he does not play saxophone here, Urban Sax didn’t exist yet), french guitarist Christian Boule (RIP) and several members of GONG: Tim Blake, Steve Hillage and Didier Malherbe collaborated to this first opus.
Violinists Jorge Pinchevsky also of GONG, David Cross of King Crimson, Joel Dugrenot (Zao’s bassist) and Didier Lockwood of Magma were also members at various times. The ensemble released several critically acclaimed albums in the 1970’s including ‘Clearlight Symphony’, ‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’, ‘Les Contes du Singe Fou’ and ‘Clearlight Visions’. Both ‘Clearlight Symphony’ and ‘Clearlight Visions’ made the list of all time best 100 progressive rock albums, according to the Billboard guide for progressive music.
Clearlight has/have continued to produce remarkable music ever since. But the ‘Tribal Hybrid Concept’ album is particularly poignant. Pascal Menetrey passed away accidentally in 2006. This album is dedicated to his memory. RIP, Pascal…
The music on this album is powerful, selected to illustrate the yang side of the first chakra, the one in charge of life and death energy. Samples of Inuits, Papoos, Tuvas, Ethiopian, Native American and Kurdish singers as well as samples of various wild animals facing extinction collected one per one by Pascal Menetrey between 1992 and 1999 are musically shaped by Cyrille Verdeaux to boogie for the pleasure of the ears and the heart. The aim of Tribal Hybrid Music is to help in the stopping of all these trails of tears, these massacres of innocents all around the globe.
But there’s more. Cyrille says about it : “This CD also hosts the one and only song ever recorded by the Amazonian Chief Raoni, from the tribe Kayapo, former protégé of Sting in the 80’s. The old chief is still struggling and still in trouble to keep his tribe alive in spite of the efforts of the Brazilian government to make them disappear once and for all in the name of ‘ordem e progresso’. So the more CDs will be sold, the more royalties Raoni will get to help him to resist to his fatal fate.With the genuine voice of the great Chief of Amazonia, this song in genuine Kayapo language sang by Raoni himself is a moving and wise calling to spear the Amazonian territory, for this ecosystem is essential, not only for the survival of his tribe but also for all the earthlings present and future…”
Raoni’s message:
“I’m back now, because my concern returned. I learned that you too are worried now. The winds came and destroyed your forest. You knew the fear that we know. I tell you, if man continues to destroy the earth, these winds will return with even more force … not once … but many times … sooner or later. These winds will destroy us all. We all breathe one only air, we all drink one only water, we all live on one only earth. We must all protect it. Home invasions began again. Woodcutters and gold diggers do not respect the reserve. We do not have the means to protect this vast forest which we are guardians for all of you. I need your support. And I ask you before it’s too late”.
“Raoni’s Song” was composed and produced by Jean Michel Pinoteau. He explains, “I have deposed the song to the French Sacem on September 26, 2011, with the signature of Raoni for the text, and Jean Michel Pinoteau (me) as composer for the music. I have promised half part of the benefits of my production for Jean-Pierre Dutilleux, the famous explorer, who gave me the track (DAT) of the voice of Raoni. Jean-Pierre Dutilleux is a great friend of Raoni, together they made a world tour with Sting in 1989.”
Along with Clearlight’s latest release ‘The Impressionists Symphony’ and the ‘Tribal Hybrid Concept’ CD, Gonzo MultiMedia has reissued Clearlight’s back catalogue!
Clearlight – Forever Blowing Bubbles (CD)
‘Forever Blowing Bubbles’ is a progressive rock album by Clearlight, released in 1975 on Virgin Records in the UK. Clearlight’s new line up picked up by Cyrille, with drummer Chris Stapinopoulos, bassist Joel Dugrenot, violinist David Cross, flutist-keyboardist Francois Jeanneau and Guitarist Jean Claude D’Agostini (RIP) returned to the Manor studio in England to record this second album for Virgin. It covers many contrasting genres including psychedelic, new age, folk, rock and jazz fusion jamming, and the closing track of abstract electronic music experimentation. Only two songs have vocals, and are sung in French.
Following the release of the album, Clearlight embarked on a UK tour supporting Gong, with an altered line-up comprising Verdeaux, Dugrenot, Jeanneau, D’Agostini, and new members Coco Roussel (drums, ex Heldon, and later in Happy The Man) and Jorge Pinchevsky (violin, later in Gong). CD includes bonus tracks: “Sweet Absinthe”, “Overture” and “Vibrato” recorded few years later
Clearlight – Clearlight Symphony (CD)
This is one of those exquisite records that somehow slipped through the gaps of public consciousness at the time. But now it’s back and you have the chance to revel in a warm bath of psychedelic weirdness. The album was recorded for Virgin Records in 1973 (and probably completed in 1974), after the label’s first and highly successful release, Tubular Bells (1973) by Mike Oldfield, and was one of several subsequent Virgin albums that attempted to copy Tubular Bells’ format of long pieces in a symphonic progressive rock style; in this case, exactly copying its structure of two pieces titled ‘part one’ and ‘part two.’ Since the title Tubular Bells was initially better known to the general public than the name of its artist, Virgin Records decided that Clearlight Symphony would be a one-off album project with just a title. Cyrille kept the name Clearlight as artist name for all his other albums.
Recording was initiated with a session in which Cyrille Verdeaux, alone, played two 20-minute piano solos, which became the basic tracks for the entire album. In later recording sessions at David Vorhaus’s Kaleidophon studio and the Manor, Verdeaux and the other musicians overdubbed many instruments including 10 tracks of mellotrons onto the piano solo to create a complex and genuine symphonic arrangement.
Clearlight – Best Of Clearlight (CD)
To celebrate the release of ‘The Best of Clearlight’, Cyrille has been kind enough to go through the CD track by track:
1. Clearlight Symphony part 1 (1974)
In the original vinyl, Virgin decided to put on side A the original side B, for marketing reasons (original side B was the side where Hillage, Blake and Malherbe were playing). Now, the order is right and part 1 is the real beginning of the Symphony, with Christian Boule (guitar) and Gilbert Artman (Drums) .
2. Clearlight Symphony part 2
Recorded at the cult White Noise studios under Tim Blake’s supervision, it was Cyrille’s first experience of recording in a real multi-track studio and he said about it: “I appreciated it so much that I knew I would do that for the rest of my life…. A recording studio, even home numeric recording studio such as the one I used for my latest work on impressionism is a fantastic space for creativity and I will never be tired of it. I wish I could also work on soundtracks for movies, but my phone never rings for that, unfortunately.”
3. Chanson (from Forever Blowing Bubbles, 1975)
This song is a music composed by both Joel Dugrenot (ex-bassist of Zao) and Cyrille Violinist David Cross (King Crimson) plays a great part on this tune and the Northettes (from Hatfield and the North) are doing back ground choirs. Guitarist Jean Claude d’Agostini (RIP) set the song in fire with his chorus and the Greek citizen Chris Stapinopoulos plays drums…A great example of European cooperation….
4. Without Words (from Forever Blowing Bubbles)
no need for words, as says the title…just for listening….
5. The Key (Les contes du singe fou, 1976)
6. Soliloque (Les contes du singe fou)
Originally, this album was the #3 scheduled to be released by Virgin by contract and Cyrille wanted this time to do a cosmic opera with a singer, to alternate styles. He says: “The problem is that Richard Branson decided to prematurely end my contract because of my impossibility to live permanently in London as he was requesting. My wife was 6 months pregnant at this time and didn’t want to go to live in London, and that caused the end of my English adventure! Richard doesn’t like it when people don’t obey his wishes, obviously…. But I managed to find a small French label, Isadora, willing to pay for the recording and Joel Dugrenot helped me to record it in a little Parisian Studio. I wrote spiritual lyrics, wonderfully translated in English by Francis Mandin in order to try to be useful also on a philosophical level. The Beatles syndrome, probably”.
7. Novanna (Delired Camaleon Family, 1976)
Cyrille : “This album is not specifically a Clearlight album but mostly 3 days of improvisations with a lot of friends living in Paris at this time.
EMI booked for us a recording studio with the pretext to make a soundtrack for Pierre Clementi’s movie very ‘psychedelic’ with his friend guitarist Yvan Coiquette. I invited some friends to play on it, as I always do, Yvan also invited some of his friends and we ended with a packed recording studio, each recording a track on the spot…Totally ‘here and now’. Unfortunately, we had only one day and one night to mix all these tracks together so it has a special charm, different from my other prods….”
8. Spirale D’amour (from Clearlight Visions, 1977)
Cyrille : “This album is the first that I have produced from A to Z, including the choice of the studio, the musicians, the musical compositions, etc. Didier Lockwood had just quit with Magma and I could hire him to play his violin. I asked to Didier Malherbe to come to play flute and sax, and I am proud to say that this very personal album has been selected among the all time 100 best prog albums according to the billboard guide for progressive music.”
9. Trance Pire (Tribal Hybrid Concept, 1994)
Cyrille: “During the 15 years between 1980 to 1994 I went in India, studied yoga and made mostly new age music under my name. During these years the music evolved tremendously, came the computers, internet, the samples, etc, giving opportunity to poor independent musicians to continue to work at home even without a producer or a label to back them up financially. I had a friend, Pascal Menetrey (RIP) who had everything I needed in his house to make a new album based on hundreds of samples of natural sounds, ethnic chants or instruments and this is how Tribal Hybrid Concept is born…Probably a Guinness book record for the number of samples used in a single album…Several hundreds… So I call it a tribal progressive album, because this is exactly what it is.”
10. Elf Dance, Solar Transfusion, 1998
Cyrille : “At this time, I had the luck to have a friend, Patrick Meynier, that loan me a 24-tracks that could fit in my bedroom and I could take all the time I needed to record all the keyboards and sample drums tracks of this Solar Transfusion album. When they have been recorded, Patrick booked a studio and we recorded his wife, Genevieve (violin) and some other live instruments on my tracks. I call it a House progressive album.”
11. Renoir. Impressionist symphony, 2013)
Cyrille: “Originally, this album comes from the idea to compose a new music to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of the Clearlight Symphony and I asked Steve Hillage, Didier Mallherbe and Tim Blake to redo the winning team of 1974. This track is just a preview of the future album and will be improved in its final version. For instance, other instrumentalists have been recorded since. This album has been released beginning of 2014.”
The Impressionists Symphony (CD)
Lastly, much to the excitement of progressive rock fans worldwide, legendary French prog ensemble Clearlight featuring Cyrille ‘Clearlight’ Verdeaux released their first new album in decades on March 24, 2014! ‘The Impressionist Symphony’ focuses on the artistic style of impressionism, painting and music as well with a Ravel, Satie and Debussy influence merged with Cyrille’s progressive music experience and linked with the French impressionist school of painting. Featuring guest appearances by Steve Hillage (GONG), Tim Blake (GONG), Didier Malherbe (GONG), Paul Sears (The Muffins), Don Falcone (Spirits Burning), Linda Cushma (Oxygene8) Chris Kovax (newom) and others, Clearlight’s ‘The Impressionist Symphony’ is clearly one of the most anticipated new releases of 2014! The special package includes a 12-page color booklet that captures Cyrille’s vision, as well as pictures from the sessions that produced these works.
Source: Gonzo Multimedia
