After a slowdown (never a complete stop ;-) ) of my piano work for several years due to hearing issues : tinnitus and overload, I got back into it in 2023. Hearing aids have made it possible for me to better tolerate sounds.
During this period, I avoided group work and reduced collaborations by focusing on solo electronic music in my home studio. Bandcamp.
I also expanded my capabilities in abstract video creation, images, and sounds, with the series "Ouïr-Voir," which is shared on social media : playlist YouTube, and Instagram, Facebook.
The series currently contains 908 videos, each under 30 seconds long. There will be 1,000 in total by early September 2024.
The title of this album, "Gestes et chemins," refers to the movements and paths on the keyboard and the rapid mental journeys that occur during improvisation.
Before improvising these pieces, I researched serial music, the 12-tone series.
This is a new vocabulary, for me, that I use to tell my story through music.
Rhythmically, it’s very free, with successive pulses, speeds, intensities, and varied breaths.
I filmed and recorded these improvisations by placing my iPhone on the left side of the keyboard of my Pleyel baby grand.
You can hear the piano live with both a very close sound and resonances that can blossom over time.
« Gestes et chemins Pt.7 »
Muriel Roger filmed the video "Gestes et chemins" at our home. I designed the album cover.
It truly embodies the spirit of improvised music, I believe, to have a period of research that spans time and to be able to settle in, play freely, and simply in the moment.
The album is on Bandcamp and will be available on all streaming and download sites on June 10, 2024
Henri Roger, May 21, 2024.