French multidisciplinary artist Jeanne Briand and Franco-Italian instrumentalist, composer, and producer Romain Azzaro celebrate the release of their second album ‘Gear(s)‘ at MONOM – Berlin’s Center for Spatial Sound on Saturday 25th May.
Released this Friday via Fluxus Temporis, ‘Gear(s)‘ marks Jeanne Briand & Romain Azzaro second collaborative album, which sees the duo inverting their initial approach from their 2016 debut ‘A Gamete Glass Tale‘ – this time, filtering resonant timbres of glass through an array of acoustic instruments and electronic processes, transforming serene sculptures into fragmented, psychedelic textures and experimental soundscapes.
Briand, a celebrated visual artist, and Azzaro, a versatile composer, developed a unique musical language by filtering Briand’s intricate glass creations through various instruments and processes. Originally conceived for Paris’s FTMA Festival, ‘Gear(s)‘ stands as a testament to their two-decade-long friendship and shared vision, fusing art and music into an audacious, multidisciplinary dialogue.
To coincide with the release, we conducted a short Q&A with Romain Azzaro & Jeanne Briand to learn more about the album and their unique collaboration.
Where did the concept of Gear(s) begin? What was the collective thought process behind using glass shards to create music?
Our first LP “A Gamete Glass Tale“ was created in 2016, the initial concept behind it was to create instruments out of Glass, so by hitting them together, putting water in them and blowing air inside, we where able to create a large pallet of glass sounds.
When Jeanne came to work on the album in Berlin, we started to listen to the music we loved when we were teenagers (Alva Noto, Nick Cave, J-Dilla) and it inspired us to use instruments such as Guitar, Voice, and Piano, and filter their sounds through Glass.
Gear(s) is the second album we composed and we decided to invert the concept and channel Glass sound through instruments (Machines) —> so the first album: Instrument thru Glass, second album: Glass Thru instruments.
Gear(s), as the name suggest, is a more mechanical and hardware album.
How and when did your friendship with Jeanne Briand evolve into a musical adventure?
I met Jeanne at a concert in Paris in 2006, and we shared a 10-year love story. During our teenage years, Jeanne was studying glassmaking at the Beaux-Arts, while I was transitioning from my punk band days to exploring electronic music. As we discovered nightclubs and dance music, we dreamed of creating music with glass.
What kind of tools and instruments are used in the process of making music out of glass shards?
The creation of Gear(s) involves multiple layers. We start with studio recordings of Jeanne’s instruments, both new and old Gametes. These recordings are then mastered by my dear friend Louis McGuire. Next, I rework the sounds before calling in my friend, a mad scientist, Cesar Merveille (I call him Dr FeelGood). He has an incredible modular and hardware system. This is where the glass gets deconstructed, destroyed, and recomposed into Gear(s).
How does this come to life in as an immersive performance? What can attendees expect at Monom?
For the preparation of the Monom show, I spent two weeks in my studio breaking glass and followed the same process we used when making the album. I created a new sound library from the original sounds of glass breaking, forming harmonies, melodies, and rhythms. I then composed five songs, which I rehearsed and spatialized in 4D. You can expect work featuring breaking glass sounds, re-broken with machines, re-harmonized, and blended to create poetry, beauty, and experimentation.
What’s next for the duo?
Jeanne and I have been friends for 20 years, and we’ve always enjoyed working together. I believe we will collaborate on a third album when the time is right. We have many unreleased songs created for Monom, as well as some that didn’t quite fit into the album. Additionally, I’d love to travel the world with her instruments and record traditional music from various places, such as Sabar in Senegal, Gamelan in Bali, Samba in Brazil, and more.
‘Gear(s)’ is scheduled for release on 24 May via Fluxus Temporis. Order a copy from Bandcamp.