“I loved the sound of the instrument, from the moment I could stand I tried to press down the keys”. Music was always around Vallon – when most families were arguing at Christmas, his was gathering at the ever-present piano, singing hymns and Gospel. “From the moment I could stand I tried to press down the keys” Interviewing him, I found an assured and fiery spirit a pianist with a clear intelligence, driven to carving out his own, individual path. There’s a distinct aesthetic to his playing, it’s mindful and sombre as if remembering a lost love. Listening to it, or to him speak, you might think he’s a bit soft – a gentle soul. “Le Vent” is Colin Vallon‘s second album for the prestigious label ECM.
“Lacrimosa” to be released on vinyl, November here! The Great Noise Choral at AMR Jazz Club in Geneva, 19 & 20 December Plaistow live London, Pizza Express, 20 November ( London Jazz Festival)Ĭesis (Latvia), Vidzeme Concert Hall, 28 novembreĭaugavpils (Latvia), Mark Rothko Art Center, 29 novembre I’m certain it will be something pretty hardcore. It will feature, ’20 to 30 people only using voice and making some noise’. In fact Johann’s next project is the Great Noise Choral which will debut in December. ‘It’s an old fantasy of mine, I would like to have a two hour concert the way you would do with a DJ set – I will take your brain, trust me, and then I give it back to you at the end.’ This best sums up Plaistow’s raison d’être, it reminds me of the theatre of Artaud or Stravinky’s Rite of Spring – primal yet with a care for the concept of ceremony, event, people.
Johann understands that visuals can divert attention from the music so they need to be justified by making the performance an immersive experience. To take these ideas further the art and animations of Nicolas Berger will be integral to the new album. Plaistow au Centre Culturel Suisse (Paris) ©Simon Letellier So, I said with Plaistow let’s pretend we are just a jazz trio but we actually are filled with techno and noise walls…let’s make that music but with acoustic instruments.’ ‘I will take your brain, trust me…’ ‘I can play this piano the way I played all those machines, but I found the significance of every move I make is very important, if I don’t move there is nothing, if I do a very small thing it is very meaningful…The movement – that is very important…you have to be physically be in the present. Their musical angle comes from Johann’s early years of immersing himself in drum ‘n’ bass and techno (he has currently got Rrose on rewind), using machines and synths, ‘I had many years of this kind of experimentation with electronics…and computer noise stuff.’ At one gig, pre-Plaistow, fed up of lugging equipment around, Johann decided to play acoustic piano – opening it up to use the strings to create a more powerful sound. ‘You have to be physically be in the present’ Eventually they felt there was something worthwhile, ‘I said to Cyril, OK but I’m a very crazy guy so if I do a band…I will do it very seriously, very deeply, and I will expect people around me to do the same, so maybe it’s better not to go too far with this, and he said, ‘No, no, no, no, you don’t know me, if I do a band it’s going to be a mother******.’ So we decided to do it.’ That was in 2007 when they recruited, Raphaël Ortis on bass, though more recently, Vincent Ruiz on double bass.
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Johann moved to a squat in Geneva (‘a big house full of crazy people’) and he played regularly with Cyril, but not seriously (‘I was partying a lot.’). Their connection is the cornerstone of Plaistow, you can hear it on the albums.
‘…maybe it’s better not to go too far with this’įrench-born and studying jazz in Toulouse, he met drummer Cyril Bondi doing a gig in Geneva. It could be said Johann Bourquenez is hardcore. It didn’t surprise me when he said in preparing for the next album (due out in April 2015) he woke at 6am, worked 8 hours at the piano, then took a bike ride in the evening…every day for a month. The albums, Citadelle and Lacrimosa, with their trance-inducing repetition, microscopic detail and Johann’s rounds of claustrophobic piano notes, feel driven by a desire for the raw and pure. There’s an aroma of smoke and an intensity quivering a hair’s breadth beneath the surface, a rapid rhythm. Dressed in black, head shaved, lean – he is stripped back. ©Janice Siegrist Johann Bourquenez is hardcoreĪs Johann walked into the hotel for our first meeting, I got Plaistow‘s music.
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