Track By Track: Bernard Fevre – Orbit Ceremony 77
Undiscovered for forty years the mysterious musical works of Bernard Fevre are now beginning to finally receive the attention they have always deserved. Futuristic, odd and set for the stars the music incorporates elements of science fiction fusion: space age music with a twist. Lo Recordings are now releasing his album "Orbit Ceremony 77" which was originally recorded back rather non surprisingly in, well, 1977. We are humbled as he takes us through the release track by track. Read his words below…
"After the recent reissues of my albums from the 1970s (Suspense, Cosmos 2043, The Strange World of Bernard Fevre and Black Devil's Disco Club) I began to dig further in my archives. I was convinced that I had some other tapes from that era but couldn't remember what was on them or indeed where to find them. I just wasn't sure if it was part of my imagination or if they really existed.
On top of this whilst I’ve always lived in Paris I had still moved many times between 1975 and now and I was used to getting rid of lots of my belongings every once a while. Until recently I hadn’t worried about this as nobody had really cared about my music, so I was like “Ah, if it's lost for ever I don't mind, if people don't like this music that's not a big loss". But during the last decade things have changed a lot for me as you may know and I started to worry a bit more about my possible lost work."
"I knew that I had stuff in my parents’ garage but they have been gone since just a bit after 2000, so they will never get to know that people now enjoy my music. Anyway, I started to look in our family archives and I did find some old vintage and kitsch stuff under the dust, including an old vault (ie une malle, in French, between a vault and a luggage) which had my name was written on it. It was locked and of course I didn't have the key, so I had to break into it like a burglar and by chance the tapes I was thinking about were here!
I found an old magnetophone and did the digital transfer myself. I did some EQ, some compression, remastered it… Basically I didn't change much. It's just the sound of 1977 with the "standards" of 2016. It's kind of a gift to the fans and to myself, a surprise no one really expected.
I still don't know if I have other hidden music somewhere, as I've already said it was a long time ago and I had done other works in between, so I had forgotten about this previous aborted career until the Chemical Brothers and Aphex Twin starting to dig into my past.
So anyway that’s how ‘Orbit Ceremony 77’ reappeared, an album of Library music written to soundtrack other people’s fantastical visions and here's a track by track review of what visions these songs conjure up for me…"
THAT IS TO BE
In a creative brain full of lava, a baby is born, and this song is my gift to him. I'm trying to tell him what life is like between the best and the worst. But I'm confused and don't really know how to explain the complexity of our world.
FOXY SPLEEN
In a lobby, some doors open up and some strange creatures (a bit like clowns) hug and kiss me. For some reason a fox is here to protect me and to say "don't worry, it's gonna be alright".
MAX STROKE
Really it doesn't mean anything but it sounds great. It's a fake intergalactic thriller OST full of metal architecture and ladies with weaponized breasts.
MESTOPHILES
It's a pun with the devil: In a french village from middle age, every week-end the devil buys food at the local market to cook for his children.
NEBULOUS MELODY
This is basically an ode to my style. A pure electronic melody that no one else but me could create. At least that's what I like to think, and I don't really know how I managed to do it. Still it sounds like me.
NOT BE WARY
Strange animals are gathering around humans. We’re scared but we shouldn't be as they are only thinking how to communicate with us and how to help us.
OUT OF DARK
This is a suspense tune for TV games with a rusted bike race.
PASTE MERGE
Yes, with this I remember funny things I did with a girlfriend (no comment).
RAW BEAT
Cleopatra takes a bath quietly. She's chilling, she’s thinking she's on top of the world. But terrible things are being plotted behind her back to get her being eaten.
SPACE ANGLE
What if space wasn't infinite? What if it could terminate in a corner? It's crazy to think about it.
TESTMAKER
This was more of an improvisation in my old home studio: how to make a unique sound. How to create something that has never been heard before. It's also a challenge to my brain: can it be agile and inventive?
Buy the release HERE.
