Hector Zazou

« If music cannot change the world, what use does it have? « 

This is the question raised by Hector Zazou, one of the most innovative and unpredictable French composers, as the versatility of his career demonstrates: rock music (the band Barricades), French impressionist music (the duet ZNR) or traditional African music (three albums with Bony Bikaye)… Hector Zazou has a surprise waiting with each new composition. Whether it be for string quartet, wind instruments, classical voices or synthesizers, all illustrate his passion for the most unexpected inventions.
The album « Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses » (Universal -1991) was yet another successful experiment blending century-old a-cappella songs with shades of contemporary music performed by Zazou and occasional collaborators such as Jon Hassell, Manu Di Bango, Richard Horowitz, Ryuichi Sakamoto and John Cale.
The following year Hector’s « Sahara Blue » (Crammed Discs/Sony) was released: based on the work of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud and performed by the Sahara Blue Orchestra stars David Sylvian, Bill Laswell, Khaled, Dead Can Dance, Gérard Depardieu among other guests.
Inspired by the musical folk traditions of the Northern Hemisphere, Hector’s next adventure was « Songs From The Cold Seas » (Sony-1995), a literal journey through Siberian Shamanism, Scandinavian folk songs, Japanese ballads and Greenland mythology featuring an impressive cast of musicians including Värttina, Tokiko Kako, Suzanne Vega, Björk, Siouxsie and Jane Siberry.
Released in 1998 (Erato/Warner), « Lights In The Dark » – an exploration of ancient sacred Celtic music from the XIIth century featured some of the most beautiful Irish voices (Katie Mc Mahon, Breda Mayock and Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola), a gospel choir and guest appearances by Mark Isham, Carlos Nuñez, Caroline Lavelle or Peter Gabriel. A successful tour followed in France (Printemps de Bourges), Italy and Switzerland (Montreux Jazz Festival).
Recorded with American singer Sandy Dillon, « Las Vegas Is Cursed » (Crammed Discs-2001) saw the return of Hector Zazou to electricity and experimentation (A flabbergasting baroque opera, a series of intriguing sonic scenes mixing electronic rock and altered chamber music (Keyboards Magazine).
This amazingly rich and eclectic career brings to light the pioneering aspect of Zazou’s unique approach and confirmed his position in the foreground of the world music scene.
In 2003 Hector Zazou composed an original soundtrack for Carl-Théodor Dreyer’s masterwork “la Passion de Jeanne d’Arc” and released “Strong Currents” (Taktic Music) a collection of acoustic songs that was the fruit of several years of work (with Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano, Laurie Anderson…). Spring 2004 saw the release of “L’Absence” (Taktic Music/Warner); an electronic twin of “Strong Currents”.
He was then commissionned (by ciné-mix and Le Forum Des images in Paris) to compose another original soundtrack, this time for Robert Flaherty documentary “Nanouk Of The North”.
Hector Zazou has proven himself as a creative force behind several unsual projects, as a unique musical arranger and producer called upon for his constant capacity of innovation, writing pieces for strings ensembles (By the Balanescu Quartet), contemporary ballets or for the opening night festivities of the 1998 Football World Cup (a three hours series of performances in the streets of Paris, broadcasted live by more than 100 television channels worldwide).
Hector Zazou’s inventiveness as a producer has lead him to work with numerous artists among them Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo (Real World Records), Galician bagpipes player Carlos Nuñez,, Uzbek singer Sevara Nazarkhan (Yol Bolsin, Real World Records) , Italian band PGR (“Per Grazia Ricevuta”, released by Universal, was hailed as a masterpiece by the Italian press), Bulgarian choir masters Eva Quartet (“The Arch”, recorded between 2005 and 2008 was only released in 2012 by Ellen Music)
“Quadri+Chromies” (Taktic Music 2005) was yet another experimental project, a CD+DVD collaboration with French digital painter Bernard Caillaud. More than two years in the making, “Quadri+Chromies” was originally premiered in Firenze, then performed in France, Portugal, Spain. Featured artists on the album included Peter Buck, Brian Eno, Ryuichi Sakamoto.
His very last album “In The House Of Mirrors” (recorded in India) was released in September 2008, a few days only before this artist, decidedly like no other, died from cancer.

“In England they have Peter Gabriel, in America they have David Byrne,
in France we have Hector Zazou”
(Jean-françois Bizot) in Actuel

L’homme qui vivait au coeur de la musique

«De toute façon, je crois que nous ne pourrions pas aller beaucoup plus loin dans cette voie du traitement électronique de la musique organique», «Ce disque sera mon testament», «En Inde, j’ai découvert un mystère lié à nos origines musicales et nous devons le percer».

Ce sont là quelques unes des confidences qu’Hector nous a faites il y a quelques semaines, à Xurxo et à moi en nous tenant la main, sur son lit d’un hôpital parisien d’où il voyait la Tour Eifffel. Puis il nous a salués d’un «Mes amis, au revoir».

En fait, Hector Zazou est notre ami depuis que nous l’avons rencontré, il y a douze ans. Le Maître de la musique électronique sous son jour le plus romantique, pluri-culturel et humain, vient de mourir d’un cancer qui l’a dévoré en quelques mois. Il venait d’avoir 60 ans. Il avait l’enthousiasme, l’esprit et la générosité d’un débutant et était sans doute l’un des musiciens les plus mystérieux de notre temps par sa façon d’être et le modus operandi de sa création. Il se cachait des photographes, il fuyait les scènes, prenait le métro parisien pour aller, de sa maison du centre, se réfugier dans sa caverne de création, dans le quartier africain de Montreuil. Il taisait son vrai nom et utilisait parfois d’autres pseudonymes (il m’a confié que l’un d’entre eux était André Compostel).

Nous avons fréquemment collaboré l’un avec l’autre durant toutes ces années. A chaque fois qu’il était engagé dans un projet intéressant, il m’appelait du bout du monde pour m’en parler ou pour m’inviter à y participer. Pour ma part, certains de mes enregistrements préférés comme «Danza da Lua en Santiago» ou «Danza de Entrelazado de Allariz» n’auraient pas été possibles sans ses mystérieux traitements électroniques et ses conseils sur les formes musicales et les macrostructures. Je lui dois aussi l’heureuse idée d’enregistrer à la gaita un Prélude de Bach. Hector a été particulièrement généreux avec Xurxo en lui faisant partager ses secrets comme un fils… Nous n’oublierons jamais ce Noël que nous avons passé ensemble, enfermés dans la maison de San Adrian pour préparer «Os Amores Libres»… la musique était Tout pour nous et tu nous as prouvé qu’il en était de même pour toi.

Quand je l’ai quitté l’autre jour, je lui ai dit «Hector, tu n’es pas un être tangible et quantifiable comme le reste des humains, tu es une énergie étrange qui vit au coeur de la musique, tu es comme un esprit qui se cache et qui ne laisse que deviner sa présence… au-delà du monde des apparences». Cela sembla lui plaire et il a dit à Jean-Michel Reusser, son manager, éditeur et ami, «Prends note, Jean-Mi, pour mon épitaphe». J’aurais pu dire autre chose à Hector, au moment de le quitter, une chose que j’avais confiée à mon manager, Fernando Conde, au lendemain de notre dernier enregistrement avec lui, chez lui l’hiver dernier : je crois que cet enregistrement, punteiro de la gaita en main, avec des musiques d’Inde et d’Ouzbekistan, a été le plus incroyable que j’ai jamais vécu. Hector était un génie, il m’a fait redécouvrir l’instrument dont je joue depuis presque 30 ans, m’a guidé vers des territoires que je crois inexplorés ; par son désir d’émanciper cet instrument de la «musique celtique», il nous a mis sur la voie d’un retour aux origines perdues en Eurasie. Cet ultime enregistrement avec Hector, je l’ai vécu comme un voyage initiatique. Il s’en est allé et, au moment de nos adieux, il nous a dit qu’il partait accompli et heureux.

Carlos Nuñez
Novembre 2008

The man who lived in the heart of music

“At any rate, I don’t think that we can go any further in this way of electronically treating organic music.” “This CD will be my last testament,” “In India, I discovered a mystery that is linked to our musical origins and we need to pierce that mystery.”  

Those are a few things that Hector said to us a few weeks ago, Xurxo and me, as he held our hands on his Parisian hospital bed, from which he could see the Eiffel Tower. And then he said “Goodbye, my friends.”  

Hector Zazou was our friend from the day we met him, some twelve years ago. The Master of electronic music, in his most romantic, multi-cultural and human phase, recently passed away from a cancer that devoured him in just a few months. He had just turned 60. He had the enthusiasm, spirit and generosity of a beginner and was undoubtedly one of the most mysterious musicians of our time, both in the way he operated and in the way he created. He hid from photographers, fled from the stage, took the metro from his apartment in Paris’s city center to find refuge in his creative cave in the African neighborhood of Montreuil. He hid his real name and sometimes used other pseudonyms (he once admitted that one of them was André Compostel).

We collaborated frequently over the years. Every time he was involved in an interesting project, he would call me from some far-off corner of the world to tell me about it, or invite me to participate. As far as my own work goes some of my favorite recordings, like “Danza da Lua en Santiago” or “Danza de Entrelazado de Allariz” would never have been possible without his mysterious electronic treatment and his advice on musical shapes and macrostructures. I also have to thank him for the happy idea to record a Bach prelude played on a Galician gaita. Hector was particularly generous with Xurxo, sharing his secrets with him like a son… We will never forget the Christmas that we spent together, holed up in the house in San Adrian to prepare “Os Amores Libres”… Music was Everything for us and you proved that it was the same for you.  

The last time I left him, I told him “Hector, you are not a tangible and quantifiable being like other humans; you are some strange energy that lives in the heart of music, you are like a spirit that hides and only allows its presence to be divined…. beyond the world of appearances.” I think he liked hearing that and he told Jean-Michel Reusser, his manager, publisher and friend, “Remember that Jean-Mi, for my epitaph.”  I could have told Hector another thing, when we said goodbye, something I had once told my manager, Fernando Conde, the day after our last recording at his place last winter. I was saying how I thought that the recording session, with my Galician bagpipe and music from India and Uzbekistan, was the most incredible I had ever experienced. Hector was a genius, and allowed me to rediscover the instrument I had been playing for nearly 30 years. He guided me toward territories that I am pretty sure have never been explored, thanks to his desire to free this instrument from its “Celtic music” context and put it back on the path to its lost origins, in Eurasia. That last recording with Hector was like an initiatory journey for me.

He’s gone now. And as we said goodbye that day, he told us that he was leaving feeling accomplished and happy.  

Carlos Nuñez
Novembre 2008

Albums

ZNR (Zazou-Racaille) : Barricades  3 – RCA 1976

ZNR (Zazou/Racaille) Traité De Mécanique Populaire – Invisible Records 1978

La Perversita – Invisible Records 1979

Zazou/Bikaye – Noir & Blanc – Crammed Discs 1982

Reivax au Bongo  (Ray Lema, Bony Bikaye, Kanda Bongo…) – Crammed Discs 1984

Zazou/Bikaye Mr Manager – Crammed Discs 1985

Zazou/Bikaye Guilty – Crammed Discs 1987

Géologies – Crammed Discs 1989

Géographies/13 Proverbes Africains – Crammed 1989

Hector Zazou 1977- 1990 – Tonk 1990

Hector Zazou & Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses – Polygram/Universal 1991

Sahara Blue (with Gérard Depardieu, David Sylvian, Khaled…) – Crammed Discs/Sony 1992

Chansons Des Mers Froides (Suzanne Vega, Björk, John Cale…) – Columbia/Sony 1995

Hector Zazou & Harold Budd – Glyph – Crammed Discs 1995

Hector Zazou & Barbra Gogan – Made On Earth  – Crammed Discs 1997

Lights In The Dark (Katie MacMahon, Breda Mayock, Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola)– Erato/Warner 1998

12 Las Vegas Is Cursed (Sandy Dillon) – Crammed Discs  2001

Strongs Currents (CD/Book edition/Sonora Portrait#2) – Taktic Music/Materiali Sonori 2003

Strongs Currents (digipack edition) – Taktic Music 2003

L’Absence – Taktic Music/Warner 2004

Quadri+Chromies  CD/DVD (Bernard Caillaud) – Taktic Music/Materiali Sonori 2006

Corps Electriques (Katie Jane Garside) – Signature/Harmonia Mundi  2008

In The House Of Mirrors – Crammed Dics 2008

The Arch  (Eva Quartet) – Ellen Music 2012

Productions

Sainkho , « Out Of Tuva »    – Crammed 1994  (2 tracks)

Penta Leslie Swanson, « Sorrow And Solitude » – Erdenklang 1994

Wolfram Huschke, « Alien’s Diary » – BMG Classics 1998

Mimi Goese, « Soak » – Luaka Bop/Warner Brothers 1998 (5 tracks)

Yungchen Lhamo « Coming Home »  – Real World Records  1999

Carlos Nuñez « Os Amores Libros » – BMG 1999 (1 track)

Anne Grete Preux « Alfabet » – Warner Norway 2001 (2 tracks)

PGR « PGR » – Universal Italy 2002

Sevara Nazarkhan – « Yol Bolsin » – Real World Records 2003

https://www.takticmusic.com/artistes/zazou/zazou_frames.html