The latest album Iram was released just under two weeks ago. Along with it, I also published an additional 4-track EP titled A Little Dialectic (though the title is in English). These are four acoustic songs, accompanied by some piano arrangements, serving as a supplementary recording that extends the narrative after the album Ontologia. I plan to use these four tracks to potentially present them in select venues in Paris.
I actually have nine tracks, but I only released four because these four represent a specific evolution and presence that aligns with the current period. Adding the others would have been complicated since I strongly feel they need to be recorded separately, as they will correspond to a later period.
I’ve set aside my study of Sufism for now because I sensed internally that it was time to move forward with something else. Naturally, I’ve turned toward exploring the existential development of The Secret of the Golden Flower. For this, I’ve been using the translated version by Richard Wilhelm in English, with commentary by Carl Jung, as well as a French version translated by Thomas Cleary, which is now almost impossible to find. Both of these translations, which seem complementary to me, are based on the same original text but are now completely unavailable.
Regarding the four tracks, close friends and those who follow my work listened to them fairly quickly, and it’s clear that these are acoustic songs that, in a way, could be considered classics. The piano work took me just two days to complete, which isn’t much. I approached it with the mindset of not overcomplicating my piano playing. However, thanks to having recorded the album Iram, I was able to truly refine the sound of the guitar and balance it with the vocals using various compressors, equalizers, and dynamic tools. These parameters, though constantly evolving and far from perfect, significantly contributed to making this little EP sound more polished than previous small projects I’ve done.
One of the standout tracks, Azimuth, recorded during the pandemic lockdown, is among the top six recordings I’ve ever made, including the two latest releases. We’re currently in a transition period between summer and autumn here in Paris, and the weather is harsh but oddly beautiful. There’s also an unexpected sense of stability, as if this new world has reached level 2 of stage 5 in the reality we’ve been living in since the infamous lockdown, which I’m convinced was the start of a new era.
I’m now reworking the video format for all my modular synthesizer experiments. I’ve tweaked some parameters and rearranged the modules in my rack to access something simpler—using modules that are perhaps less recent but have the unique ability to offer an indefinable, undefined, and infinite sonic palette.
ZI
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