The Multiply Project

26th December 2006 - Official Release of Multiply

2006-12-19T09:57:00.000+01:00

WANT TO LISTEN TO THE ALBUM ?
Come visit my official website where other productions await for you
HTTP://USERS.SKYNET.BE/CARPIGSTROKE/

01 The Call (6:04)
musical poem written by Exo7 (samples, choir)
Domenico Solazzo (arrangements, spoken word)
02 For Derek (3:25)
tribute to Derek Bailey
Ximeng (guitar), Domenico Solazzo (drums)
03 Fishing for Compliments (5:23)
written by Domenico Solazzo (guitar, vocals)
lyrics by Marja Supponen (lead vocals)
Lauri Supponen (cello sounding double bass)
04 Summer Frost (3:00)
on basis of a simple melody line played on toy metalophone
arrangements by Daniel Palomo Vinuesa (soprano saxophone, electronics)
Domenico Solazzo (keyboards, guitar, drums)
05 Fumette (6:16)
improvisation recorded by Constantin Papageorgiadis (bass)
and Domenico Solazzo (drums)
overdubs :
Philippe Jurquet (flute) and D. Solazzo (Hammond organ, shakers)
06 I'll Build Myself A Bridge (4:21)
music and lyrics written by François Vanvinckenroy
arrangements by Domenico Solazzo (keyboards, bass, drums, vocals)
07 La Distension des Parallèles (5:38)
conceived by Éric Lamoureux (keyboards, guitar, bass)
Domenico Solazzo (drums)
08 Pessimism of The Intellect, Optimism of The Will (4:39)
beat by R.E.D.A., co-produced by Domenico Solazzo
spoken word : Noam Chomsky (taken from a BBC interview)
09 Multiply (3:21)
written by Dolorosa (bass, percussions)
and Domenico Solazzo (Fender Rhodes, drums, vocals)
10 Those Were The Days (3:41)
written by Ari Tintikakis (guitar) and D. Solazzo (programming, vocals)

A month to go

2006-11-12T13:01:00.000+01:00

Hi there boys and girls !
If you ever wonder why i remained silent lately, it was for two obvious reasons :

several things in my private and professional life took me away from the project between august and late october
Multiply is almost ready at 75%

Six of the final ten songs selected for the album are actually completed and i don't want to spoil the effect of surprise by giving you right now the link to them. Sorry. A month or so of patience is required and then you'll be able to appreciate the full picture. Trust me, you won't be disappointed !

From that point i will do a massive update on my website, discuss with the artists involved what shape is best suited for the final project, and start thinking about what comes next (touring with Larval, launching the on-stage only Panopticon project and composing for my next solo album, but not only...).

See you then right here next time to enjoy what my friends and i made for you aural pleasure !

Excess Luggage

2006-08-27T11:50:00.000+02:00

Hi ! The blog has found the ideal pace with what has become now a monthly report.

While i'm about to spend a bunch of days on the sunny side of Spain, near the Costa Brava where we find more Germans and Swedish people than any other place in the whole wide world, i thought it was time for me to make some important readjustements required for so long on many titles.

So, more than ever, Multiply is on the right way to its happily conclusion expected for next december...

new vocals to "Those Were The Days"
corrected version to "I've Built Myself A Bridge"
new mix and add ons to "Fumette" as well as onthe title i'm working on with Vincenzo
first promising draft received from Eric Lamoureux
R.E.D.A.'s busy working on the instrumental intended for Rival
new track recorded to be sunged with Rhinestone Lives

That makes just a few song remaining to complete the set.
And i have no doubt we will make it quite easily...

Lately, i've started my second recording session for what should become my next solo release, targeted sometime in 2007, the Panopticon project (while still being some sort of whim) is slowly taking shape as i received positive response from several musicians already involved in Multiply, i'm part of a jazz oriented two drums band and, last but not least, the split EP with Ximeng has been officialy released today !
Songs are listenable on this blog.

See you all next time...

The Heat, The Health, The Hype

2006-07-27T19:22:00.000+02:00

Don't imagine that the project is interrupted just because there are not so many newsletters as before. The extreme condition of this summer and some private problems put me away from it during a month or so, but the intension is still quite clear.

The more recent evolutions are the following :

Exoseth and i began to record the voice track for his poem. Once we will be satisfied with the degree of emotion it should contain (or not), we will work on the background. In its actual shape, it could be considered as a single long track or could be divided in different parts which will eventually ends up as a kind of guide line to the final Multiply project.
Remember, last time Vincenzo from Dolorosa send me a basic track with bass and percussion. I've added some vintage Fender Rhodes sounds to go with the melody flow. The final section sees me fitting my best Herbie Hancock's incarnation yet. Lately, i've added drums, two different pattern in each channel, to stay true to the electric jazz feeling that came across my mind while doing it. Voice (and maybe guitar) should be added later.
Finally, Eric Lamoureux received sixteen different audio tracks with short drum patterns from 35 seconds to 2 minutes. I've put the drumkick microphone very close to the skin to have a very loud sound. Don't know if he will like it. Don't know if that will inspire him...

That's all folks ! See you next time...

Halfway to Multiply ?

2006-06-14T17:24:00.000+02:00

Ok. Unfortunately, i'm not dead, so i'm going to bug you once again with this little fantasy of mine which hopefully has turned into something quite stimulating for everyone involved into.

As for now, i think we are halfway through the Multiply project's conclusion. Are considered done or almost done :

the collaboration with Ari (Those Were The Days) ... some sort of jungle pop
the collaboration with Constantin (Fumette) ... some sort of psychedelic jam
the collaboration with François (I Built Myself A Bridge) ... some sort of ...well, pop again
the collaboration with Ximeng (For Derek) ... some sort of ridiculous attempt to sound jazz

There were other tracks or people involved (Daniel and Exo7) but those obviously needed more time, so they are not leftovers.

Right now, i'm looking ahead and actually working on :

Daniel's proposal upon my first toy xylophone sketch
Vincenzo's work (for bass, guitar and percussions, i should add... well... who knows ?)
Eric's work which is not defined yet but i think i'm going to submit a rhythm pattern, just curious to see what his disstorded mind can make of it ;o)

Rival and Rhinestone Lives are on stand by for a while. Reda might be part of it (gosh, i did not took the time to contact him lately) and still the Exo7 tune and the Guy Segers' one are on the waiting list, the latest being something i fear i must admit.

So, at best, that will do twelve songs or ten in the worst case, which quite matches with what i was wishing at first.

Sound and Vision

2006-05-28T00:42:00.000+02:00

I'll do it short and quick again. And, yes ; i can do it...

'got Ximeng's approval about the new recorded drum parts for our Derek Bailey tribute. We are now discussing on how we shall proceed for our forthcoming split EP devoted to Gaspard Noé's movie "Seul contre Tous"...
mad hip hop instrumentalists R.E.D.A. might get involved into the Multiply project. We should talk about this later on
former Tuxedomoon drummer Alain Lefebvre and actual founding father of the young Stilll label remembered me an actual old drum duet fantasy we've dreamed about some years ago and there are chances it will finally take place !
as promised, here is the full downloadable version of Constantin's jam with his friend Philippe on overdubbed flute. The track is not completely finished yet but you have the basis. Quite obviously, i called it "Fumette"...
aside from the Multiply project, François Vanvinckenroy came back to the idea of the one shot Carpigstroke Band. If it shall be done, we both think it must be under a completely new formula. I'll keep you informed anyway
finally, i have now my own dedicated MySpace page and you can check it out here

A big thank you to all the people who are actually really reading those quite simple words...
See you next time

May this be june ahead ?

2006-05-23T09:24:00.000+02:00

Umh... I didn't noticed the last update was almost one month ago. But it's the same thing in life. First, we are very excited and then, when things get in place, a sort of habit comes in... Anyway, i'm sure it's better that way since i don't believe anyone of you want to receive newsletter several times a week. So... What happened since last time ?

François and i did a little brainstorming about the Bridge track. Clarifications about how the melody should be played on keyboards - i used to place the strong time in the wrong place - general observations about timekeeping and now the track is almost done. We thought about a possible guitar solo in the middle but we gave up the idea
I recorded again the drum part for the Derek Bailey tribute with Ximeng. I await for his commentaries. Chances are we're going to release a split cd
Exoseth and i should begin to record his long poem sometime in june. Things turned out to be pretty difficult to settle and i think the end result will most likely be into the spoken word realm
Marja came at the Goddess Studio to record two songs wich in the end will be included in her Rhinestone Lives songbook. About our duet ? Well, nothing yet
Constantin invited his friend Philippe to record some flute overdub upon one of the two jams we made earlier. Stone music as expected. I should try to add more percussions, maybe keyboards and even some voices. I don't know... Music is all about being at the right place at the right time
And meanwhile, other stuff is standing by ; Ari, Daniel, Guy, Rival and Vincenzo's tracks are on the waiting list, but i hope not for long

Didn't had the time - no kidding - to put samples of some of the songs i talk about above. But i think i will very soon. You'll be informed, i promise !

Lately, i thought about the project that once Multiply will be finished, it should be available and available only through download.

Beyond & Before

2006-04-28T14:15:00.000+02:00

Short blog update (at least i'll try) :

Exoseth has define new mainlines for our future collaboration. Check it here.
Constantin has invited some friends to jam on the two improvisations we've made last week. A guitarist on the funkey one - that we shall maybe record again the three of us, and a flute player for the second one. Rehearsals will begin sometimes at the beginning of next month...
François and i will work on Bridges this sunday. I've just finished to re-record the whole thing, except for the middle part wich we'll deal with together.

Eight Days A Week

2006-04-19T12:09:00.000+02:00

Enough of my babbling, i suggest.
Let's get to the core of this project...

On monday, Constantin and i jammed on the two signposted improvisation that came out last time. A funky and a more spacey one, ranging from three to six minutes. I'm actually wasting more time at readjusting what has been played correctly with that damn old computer which seems delighted to systematically desynchronise what shouldn't ! Audio files will be on line soon.

As you can read it on Exoseth page, chances are that we will be directed on a more open form for the musical direction that should illustrate his poem. Based on pure sounds rather than written melodies. But first we must schedule a brainstorming to see what we really have at this moment.

Didn't received any news from the other collaborators lately, but that's fine with me... I just hope that the slower pace of the past month didn't changed their minds. They are all fair enough to give me the time that i need to work upon those things, so it's logically mutual.

Some kind of relief

2006-04-09T15:18:00.000+02:00

Lately, i've been busy trying to get a job... All opportunities completely failed. But it didn't affect my motivation. Reasons for this sudden such are wrong, i know, but i feel somehow uncomfortable with the idea of being permanently in a depending position.

What's the point with the music then ? There is no point, except perhaps to make this blog a little more consistent with unappropriate thoughts. Anyway...

The latests REAL news regarding the MULTIPLY project are the following :

i did retrieve the six improvisations i've done with Constantin two weeks ago. We played the week of my awful headache - remember ? - and it shows. Besides, recording devices were quite whimsical that day... To resynchronize stuff that was synchronized at first made me almost regret the old and more reliable magnetic tapes. So, nothing fascinating really on the whole but some sparse interesting moments or is it happy coincidences ? I'll wait for Constantin's opinion before considering moving forward.
i don't know what the hell i did with the recorded drum part for the Derek Bailey tribute ! So, i'm unable to change it... Unless i start to record it again.
i've found a melody for the instrumental upon wich Rival is supposed to slam. Again, the choice of notes, the choice of sounds vary from one person to another so i'm expecting to hear Rival's point of view on the present submission

I think it's a good thing for me to compel at one session every week.
I must admit that these last few weeks i got the feeling that the project might be too demanding for me, but most of the musicians involved told me there was no rush at all. Some kind of relief.

Beaucoup Fish

2006-04-02T01:17:00.000+02:00

This is not April Fool's Day hoax... I'm virtually unable to retrieve files that has been recorded on my computer just because it handles a very old Operating System, under wich modern USB key don't run, and in the meantime i need to keep that old Windows98 of mine - not the safest i confess - just because the sound card i'm using isn't recognized by actual Operating Systems... Need i say more ?

That doesn't put an end to MULTIPLY. Not at all. But it's a serious pause tough. I need to find something to work it out as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, listening to the solo projects that some of my friends did wanted to share with me prior to any official release - i'm talking about Daniel Palomo Vinuesa and Benoît Fournier here - the fantastic precisions of their arrangements and their writing skills suddenly made me realize stronger than ever before that the actual obvious next step for me if i do want to improve my musical craft is to consider the compositional side of music. Lately, i've been too much relying on what could be easily described as "the magic of the moment". I'm not a musician. I just know one or two tricks. But i can't cheat anymore. Nothing to do with shame or whatsoever. It's just a question to be honest with myself.

Recordings and Record

2006-03-25T09:04:00.000+01:00

Five days of bloody headache in a row... That's for the record.

Regarding the recordings, i must confess i don't work as much as i did at first, when the project was so new. It still motivates me - don't be afraid - it's just that we all have to deal with everyday problems and sometimes it doesn't help.

Nonetheless, here are some new stuff :

Ximeng and i discuss about For Derek. There is too much reverb on the drums, i have to change that. And ideally i'll have to work on the other material he submitted to me in order to complete a split cd...
Constantin and i did rehearse yesterday. The dub thing we were looking for did not come up. Instead it was groovy, and sometime chaotic. It was just a first contact. We'll probably meet again sometime in a near future and develop the few good things that has been made. But first i have to retrieve the files on that damn old computer who seems to have a serious problem to record things like they actually happened...
François asked me the basic tracks for I Built Myself A Bridge. I assume he's having fun right now working on it. He incidently suggested me to record the drums again.
Exo7 and i will probably settle the basis for the song in wich we're involved next monday.
Daniel sended to me a second take of the original Mixdown i gave him. Here it is. He asked me to add some percussions and atmosphere in several places. And maybe some voice too...

Time Stretch

2006-03-12T21:17:00.000+01:00

Everyone should know that nothing ever happens the way we want to... Anyway, with more and more people asking me to join the project - more informations to be displayed when future rehearsals or recordings will be made - i can't afford myself to waste too much time anymore.
I woke up this sunday morning determined to work upon the various sketches or the new musical propositions i received. An awful headache did not change my plan but i had to seriously consider my ambition for the day at a lower level...

On friday, i began to work upon Ari's demo. I developped the jungle approach i took further more, shaped the whole riff and some of its variations as a song. I recorded the voice today and added some keyboards. Here is the result ; i've called it Those Were The Days.
I wait for Ari's opinion about it. There is still enough space at the end to add a guitar solo or some electronic noises. We'll see...

Earlier this week, Ximeng sended to me two new musical basis ; a new mix of the track based on the movie Seul contre Tous. And a second take of what should be a tribute song for late Derek Bailey. Even if the two propositions are interesting, it became quite obvious to me that i should concentrate on the second ; people who heard Carpigstroke know that i already did something with the dialogues taken from the same movie...
So, in a faithfull improvised style influenced by Arcana, a project in wich Bailey was involved along with Bill Laswell and Tony Williams, i've recorded my drum part today. It should remain that way. Here it is : For Derek.

Much Addo about Nothing

2006-03-06T00:09:00.000+01:00

No, no, no. I'm not dead. I wish i was. Some are. Some who did not want to. Yes. That's the way it goes. Life... how ironic !

That's maybe a shameless excuse but i must confess i did not work at all on the project lately. And that's why there wasn't any newsletter this time. And i don't think i'll do one for this brief report. Bad news. Very bad news. Low high, deep lows. Feeling tired and incomplete... Usual stuff, you know.

It is said that it is recommended to update your blog on a daily basis to keep people's interest. Doesn't matter what you have to sell ; it's not what you sell but how you sell it that matters nowadays. We all know that. But this project, and everything i'm involved into, will never do so.

Hopefully, the few people that get back here once in a while have seen that i've put some links on the left menu ; links to other artists' sites and blogs who take part to the MULTIPLY adventure. And friendly sites too. The only thing i did was actually discuss with Rival about the instrumental i made for him. I have rectified the tempo, speeded up a lot like he wanted to. And that's it... Exo7 has made a parent blog to this one (link here). And finally Ximeng made its entry beginning of last week with a disturbing basis taken from a movie that fascinate both of us.

I'll do my best to respect my commitments my fellow friends. But i'm only human. I mean i'm not flawless. Just like anybody.

Hope to bother you very soon.

Zoom Résumé

2006-02-22T15:47:00.000+01:00

Welcome back my friends...

As promised, here you'll find listed and linked all that has been recorded yet for the project...
Just click on the italic names that appear in the five sections below

with Exo7

A first jam i have called lately Mulunde
A sequence of themes played on keyboards that are suggestions for saxophone parts that will maybe take place in the gigantic suite we are working on... Gosh...

with Rival

A possible starting point for the rap instrumental upon wich he will maybe do the mc

with Daniel Palomo Vinuesa

The first draft i shared with him on toy xylophone
What he did so far with it : brouillon

with Ari Tintikakis

The guitar demo he sended to me

with François Vanvinckenroy

The computer generated score he did on Band in A Box : I Built Myself A Bridge
A first fully replayed version on instruments and at a slower pace : Bridgemix
A second version with modified mid section (wich will be again modified later on)

Unfortunately, i found myself not as available i wanted to be at first. But you know what it is ; that's the so called Law of Universal Frustration : when you are down, you don't have a single interest at doing anything, and when you feel fine, things and ideas pile up at the speed of light while you haven't enough time to deal with one only... But, so far, in less than a month, about twenty musicians manifested interest in the project and five tracks are slowly taking shapes. Without judging the quality of the material that has been done, the balance seems fairly positive. Don't you think ?

Addition by Substraction

2006-02-20T00:34:00.000+01:00

Being unemployed doesn't necessarily mean having plenty of time ahead... As anyone here on Earth - or should i say what remains of it - sunday is a pretty good day to do things you usually won't be able to do.

I'm not a cool guy, you know. Not cool because i can't let go. There is always something to do, and the MULTIPLY project, that's for sure, give me enough material to keep me occupied for the next few months. At least, before the World Cup begins.

It might not be a good idea to devote a single day to treat all the works in progress but i think i can manage myself to do so. And i did. I'm a bit tired i must confess, so there will not be audio samples this time. Sorry. Besides i've encountered some problems due to the tiny space wich is allowed for this purpose. But with the help of François, i will certainly do a resumé in the next few days and a clear and complete presentation of all that has been recorded yet.

i found out some interesting samples that might appeal to Rival. A poignant little tarentel as intro and an arabic sounding loop with a fat beat. it sounds more like downtempo or dub actually, but, once again, i'm only searching now...
i've recorded on keyboards some possible themes to be played on alto with Exo7 for our future track wich, in our minds, sounds like something intense, bigger than life, a 15 minute long epic, at least. Meanwhile, he started to recollect audio samples for a common basis.
Ari's track has the potential of the best song The Smashing Pumpkins ever wrote since "Today", but it is so obvious to my ears - the vocal melody still rings inside of me - that i, of course, do not want to go in that direction. Surprisingly, i came up with an unexpecting idea and i'm quite happy with it. I was focused on the main riff, so there is still a lot of work to do upon it (other parts, adding keys and voice) , but let's say that we are now in front of something closer to Apollo440, if you know what i mean...
... and finally, "I Built Myself A Bridge" received a second lifting ; i've increased speed of the middle section, replayed drums, muted the main theme and added vocals. while it is slowly approaching its final shape, we are still far from it with lots of floating points to be resolved

Some More News

2006-02-17T20:08:00.000+01:00

I've met Rival the other day in his brand new shop. We had a chat about his possible involvment into the project. He told me he was more sensitive to sad instrumental so, as you probably know, that's fine with me... The first step will be for me to produce a good sounding instrumental track - i have in mind an idea - we will then check together if there are things to be changed or not, and hopefully, if the result inspires him, he will come up with something cool. I really appreciate you want to do this with me, you got the real hip hop vibe, man. Chill !

About the Rhinestone Lives collaboration, i didn't heard the two melodies yet, but i'm about to, probably next week. Anyway, it is possible she'll do something else, keeping in mind a more "duet" style approach to the song. Hope she won't forget my voice can't compete with hers !

Two other persons might get involved in the MULTIPLY project : Éric Lamoureux, poly instrumentist who has some serious common points with me (King Crimson, Magma, ...) and also Vincenzogrosso from Dolorosa. Nothing scheduled yet really, but it's still cool to see new faces joining in.

On my part, i still have to work upon Exo7, François and Ari's sketches. Not mentionning what will be next. Oh boy, i don't even feel no pain ;o))

Things have come to... shapes !

2006-02-13T18:56:00.000+01:00

What's up front ?

While i'm actually busy on the rough mixes for the forthcoming DeafDialogue album, the MULTIPLY project has grown enough to lead its own life without me ;

A meeting with Rhinestone Lives is scheduled for tomorrow or friday. Maybe we'll record something...

I'm about to see Rival and discuss a possible phat beat instrumental i could do to let him slam all over

François and i have spoken about what occured to his song. The middle part might be replayed at a faster pace and maybe without the main theme. I'll go back to it later on.

And last but not least, Daniel did come up with an extraordinary version of my first untitled track (remember, the one with the toy xylophone ?).
You can listen to it here.

Can i take you to the bridge ?

2006-02-12T18:56:00.000+01:00

A very strange sunday where everything and everyone seems to find the perfect space to fit in.

From now on, everything seems to flow naturally. Even if the project was intended first as a one on one affair, one might wonder what it will be if we cross all the possibilities, thus all the people ? I say : why not ? Once again, the MULTIPLY project is open and YOU decide what to do. If you have plenty of time and if all parts agree, i see no reason why we shouldn't do it.

Anyway, time run out fast inside and outside the studio where i stood from 2:00pm to 6:00pm, working on François' tune. When i emerged from there, i noticed it was snowing. Did i somehow felt something even if i was locked between four walls and wearing headphones ?
Well, i'm not specially proud of the actual end result and most of all i don't know if the one concerned will appreciate the radical treatment. But remember, at this stage, everything we do, everything you listen to, are drafts. Coming back is always possible. But forward is better.
So here comes the Bridge remix ! (obviously, you'll see how Bohren & Der Club of Gore's albums had a strong effect upon me...)

Last saturday night, i did the translation for Exo7's poem, but i had no time left to play with Ari's latest demo. I will. I have to. Anyway, you'll be informed during the forthcoming week of the next moves (a jam session is planned with Constantin and Ximeng might send me some material) !

New additions

2006-02-11T17:45:00.000+01:00

Exo7 and i (but mainly Exo7 actually) were thinking about something bigger. A gigantic piece of music so to speak, with multiple sections going in and out of the structure, following the long poem he wants me to sing... Hey mates ! That would be the first and last time you'll ever hear me singing something positive ! ;o))
I have to do the translation first, to get an idea of what it will sound like ; french and english have their own rhythm and their own colour, i've got to find the one that fits best.

I have to work upon the project François send to me last day. As he told me i can do anything i wanted to with it, so i think i'm about to replay everything and not specially in the right order.
We'll see... if only i'm able to do so. Check back tomorrow for a possible answer.

Daniel didn't had much time to spend last week on my first Untitled Track. Nonetheless, he found the blog idea a good one, saying "'s a good way to put everyone under pressure"... :o))

Today, i received a demo from Ari Tintikakis, who plays guitar in DeafDialogue. I admire the kind of easiness he has to draw a simple song just right away. This tune is very open and, at first listen, it seems there's hundred possibilities. So that's it, another working site has just appeared. Now i seriously need to organize myself...

Besides, Ximeng told me he wants to work on several tracks together (a possible Derek Bailey tribute, a cinematic song based on a movie we are both fond of, and many more), the man behind the Path through the Mist project reminded me it was up for it at 400%, and finally there's Guy Segers who's waiting for a first draft from me to maybe start the things off !

Yes. Pressure indeed.

First Insights

2006-02-09T15:53:00.000+01:00

To make things clearer about what to expect of the project so far, here is a quick summary of what has been made yet.

... people i dared to ask (but i didn't give up yet) ...

... people who might be interested ...

Dominique Lawalrée
Rival
Guy Segers
Philippe Wauquaire

... people whith whom future recordings are planned ...

Mourning Dawn
Constantin Papageorgiadis
Path Through The Mist
Sex Circus
Ximeng
Pierre-Michel Zaleski

... people who already work on something ...

Exo7

We let the music flow and we improvised something on last sunday 5th february at Goddess Studio. I sat on the drums, giving my kit new sound perspectives with the addition of african percussions (djembé, tama, and so on). Then i added bass and Exo7 played the didgeridoo part.
In two hours, it was done ! More overdubs could have been made (more percussions, some guitar, even voice), but it is only a sketch, a basis.

Well. If it sounds promising, that's not what i thought at first as a fairly balanced collaboration, Exo7's part being very symbolic on this one. So, we keep it, but we are already thinking of doing other recordings, starting of with one of his poem we'll have to musicaly illustrate.

Daniel Palomo Vinuesa

Daniel was the first to positively respond to my request and showed a real enthusiasm to take part to this project. Somehow, i feel that our respective musical universe quite match with each other. So as he requested that i give him something to begin with, i've decided to work on a simple melody line that would have undoubtly my personal imprint. I took my toy xylophone, doubled the lines with a richer harmony and send it to him right away.

Now, i'm just curious to hear what kind of bad treatment Daniel will inflict to this first draft...

Rhinestone Lives

Marja seemed to be delighted to share a song with me. She had already written two songs (Give Me Something, I Can't Breathe), showed me the lyrics but i'll wait to hear the melody prior to record it in a real Rhinestone Lives fashion way !

François Vanvinckenroy

To tell you the truth, since the end of the Carpigstroke Band, François never gave up the idea of a real collaboration between us two. Somehow, the MULTIPLY project could be used on this peculiar occasion like some sort of springboard for what will come next...
I just received a first sketch of a song generated by his computer after he encoded the actual score. The song is called I Built Myself a Bridge.

The Multiply Project has begun

2006-02-06T08:50:00.000+01:00

In order to stay musically active and because i was approached by a subsequent quantity of people who seemed to be interested by some of my past works, i've decided to go on with a multi collaborative project.

Basically, i've asked all the musicians i know - pros, semi pros and amateurs - if they wanted to share the bill with me to finalize a project wich can be thought, at first, as a ten songs cd, with, say, ten duets, ranging from jazz to hip hop, to abstract electronica to folk song, or even death metal !

As for now, i have already received many positive responses. In fact, much more than i expected at first. And at least two are already running on. The project was an exciting bet and yet it holds all its promises. Because it is intended to present multiple perspectives, i've called it MULTIPLY.

I'm neither a geek nor fond of the so-called blog mania but i found interesting the idea to create one only on this purpose to share with everyone involved, and everyone interested into, the creative process of this adventure...

I don't know where it will lead us. I'm sure they don't know either.
The whole thing is to discover it together.

Next time i'll talk about the content of the two pieces we are working on - and why not ? give you some audio samples - and i'll do also a short presentation of the guys involved so far.

And for those of you who still wonders who the fuck i am : http://users.skynet.be/carpigstroke