Pierre Chrétien's new sound library inspired Visions album by his Cinephonic project was recorded on reel-to-reel tape.
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Cinephonic's sophomore release "Visions" is a baroque funk tour-de-force - an intriguing concept album made up of ancient medieval and baroque themes, refracted through a modern prism of soul, jazz and psychedelia, all performed by a massive fourteen-piece ensemble, and meticulously captured to analogue reel-to-reel tape.
Cinephonic was founded in 2018 by multi-instrumentalist composer Pierre Chrétien, as an outlet for the new cinematic tunes he had been quietly writing when he wasn't busy leading groups such as The Souljazz Orchestra, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble and Slim Moore & the Mar-Kays.
Drawing inspiration from classic film and library music, Cinephonic expands on the sound with elements of cinematic soul, psychedelic rock, and spiritual jazz, creating a rich, evocative, and complex soundscape that juxtaposes intricate compositions with dark funk backbeats - a kind of epic soundtrack for a film that never existed.
Listen to a few tracks below. Get a copy of Cinephonic's Visions via Bandcamp right here.
Note: vintage portable Fisher Price record player shown above not included.
Personnel:
Zakari Frantz - Flute Petr Cancura - Tenor Sax Ed Lister - Trumpet Ajo Elias - Flugelhorn Mark Ferguson - Trombone Mike Schultz - Trombone Keith Hartshorn-Walton - Tuba Cendrine Despax - Violin Jean Despax - Violin Olivier Philippe-Auguste - Viola Valérie Despax - Cello Pierre Chrétien - Piano, Organ, Clavinet, Vibraphone, Guitar, Perc Thibeaux Toussaint - Bass Mike Essoudry - Drums
All songs arranged and conducted by Pierre Chrétien. Produced by Jason Jaknunas and Pierre Chrétien. Engineered and mastered to Studer B67 2-track by Jason Jaknunas. Recorded at Metropolitan Studios. Cover photograph by Claudia Soraya. Design by Pierre Chrétien.
Cinephonic's debut album Les Paradis Artificiels was inspired by French film soundtracks and sound library recordings.
Here's the scoop...
Cinephonic was founded in 2018 by composer/pianist/vibraphonist Pierre Chrétien, as an outlet for the new cinematic tunes he had been quietly writing when he wasn't busy leading larger groups such as The Souljazz Orchestra, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble and Slim Moore & the Mar-Kays.
In the fall of 2020, he releases "Les Paradis artificiels", his first full-length album under the Cinephonic moniker, on which he collaborates with heavyweight hip-hop drummer Robert Biesewig (Wu-Tang Clan, Havoc, Alchemist) and versatile percussionist Marielle Rivard (The Souljazz Orchestra, Slim Moore & the Mar-Kays), while performing all other parts himself on mellotron, piano and vibraphone.
Drawing inspiration from classic French film and library music, Chrétien expands on the sound with elements of orchestral jazz, cinematic soul, and instrumental hip-hop, creating a rich, evocative, and complex soundscape that juxtaposes intricate compositions with dark funk backbeats - a kind of epic soundtrack for a film that never existed.
Listen to the title track "Paradis Artificiels," Éveil de la cité and "Les Corbeaux"(below). Get a copy of Cinephonic's new album via Bandcamp right here.
The Souljazz Orchestra's 9th album Chaos Theories album is out September 13th. They're at the Velvet Underground November 30.
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Ottawa's Souljazz Orchestra return with a brand new studio album for our troubled times, Chaos Theories, released on the UK-based Strut Records and Do Right! in Canada on September 13th.
Always known for their uncompromising social and political messages, the Canadian collective hit harder than ever on nine new tracks, outing the hypocrisy of modern day politics, police brutality and the everyday struggle of the working man. Led by chief songwriter and arranger Pierre Chrètien, the band continue to evolve their sound, drawing on a broad palette from their trademark Latin, Afro and Caribbean styles to some of the UK’s political sounds of the early ‘80s, the era of The Clash, The Police, 2-Tone and frontline reggae. “We were basically messing around with the idea of creating our own brand of ‘Afro-punk’”, remembers Chrétien, “something with the aggressive, in-your-face energy of punk rock or free jazz, but still backed by the hypnotic, pulsating grooves of tropical music.”
The album takes the listener from carefully targeted sonic missiles to more reflective thought-provoking moments. ‘Police The Police’ starts the offensive: “I wrote this after my neighbour was beaten to death by Ottawa police during an arrest,” explains Chrétien. “The authorities downplayed the incident and the officers were working the next day like nothing had happened.” ‘House Of Cards’ takes a thinly veiled swipe at the current US administration on an infectious disco groove: “lies within lies within lies… like so many Russian dolls”; ‘Boat Rockers’ challenges us all to look beyond accepted norms and ‘General Strike’ documents the frustrations of the working class as the pay gap gets increasingly wider; ‘Slumlord’ shines the spotlight on dodgy landlords while the brilliant closer ‘Well Runs Dry’ laments modern day living, with its confused pace and mundane obsessions, remembering simpler days gone by.
Leading their field for 17 years, The Souljazz Orchestra's Chaos Theories is their 9th album, is released on LP, CD, cassette and digital / streaming and is mastered by The Carvery. LP comes as a special dark blue vinyl edition.
The Souljazz Orchestra will be on tour Europe and Canada during September, October and November beginning with a hometown kick-off show at Babylon in Ottawa on September 20th and finishing at Toronto's Velvet Underground on November 30th. Check the complete list of tour dates following the audio clip for ‘House Of Cards’
Souljazz Orchestra on tour
Sep 20 – Ottawa, ON – Babylon
Sep 27 – Montpellier, FR – Rockstore
Sep 28 – Rambouillet, FR – Usine à Chapeaux
Sep 29 – Chelles, FR – Les Cuizines
Sep 30 – Paris, FR – New Morning
Oct 01 – Gent, BE – Vooruit Balzaal
Oct 02 – Madrid, ES – Café Berlín
Oct 04 – Granada ES – Planta Baja
Oct 05 – Zaragoza ES – Las Armas
Oct 06 – Barcelona ES – La Nau
Oct 09 – Dusseldorf DE – Zakk
Oct 10 – Mainz DE – KUZ
Oct 11 – Athens GR – Gagarin 205
Oct 12 – Thessaloniki GR – WE Complex
Oct 13 – Berlin DE – Gretchen
Oct 14 – Dresden DE – Tonne
Oct 16 – London UK – Jazz Café
Oct 17 – Dublin IE – Sugar Club
Oct 18 – Épinay-sur-Seine – PMO
Oct 19 – Nancy FR – Nancy Jazz Pulsations
Nov 16 – Gatineau QC – Le Petit Chicago
Nov 21 – Sherbrooke QC – La Petite Boîte Noire
Nov 22 – Montréal QC – Groove Nation
Nov 23 – Québec QC – L’Anti
Nov 28 – Waterloo ON – Starlight
Nov 29 – Hamilton ON – This Ain’t Hollywood Nov 30 – Toronto ON – Velvet Underground
