PATRICK GAUTHIER

Sur Les Flots Verticaux (Seventh A XI)

Patrick was born in Paris on the 27th February 1953. After studying philosophy at the faculty of Nanterre, under the tutelage of thinkers like Gilles Deleuze and Jean François Lyotard, he decided to dedicate himself to music. Inline with his piano apprenticeship and the discovery of the baroque masters and the early impressionists, he studied orchestration and classical harmony with the composer Roland Creuse. His first contact with the electro-­acoustic world came with the beginnings of analogue to digital converters, synthesisers and then the computer music which he generally uses today (Macintosh programming).

On stage, he participated in the Magma adventure; today he is still at Christian Vander's side, where he can be found in the LES VOIX DE MAGMA formation. He also worked in ALIEN, the formation with three pianos that reunited Benoît Widemann, Jean-Pierre Fouquey, Dominique Bertram (on bass) and Christian Vander. As well as that he had the pleasure of playing with Aldo Romano.  He was also very close to Richard Pinhas, since the beginning of his group HELDON, and again today he participates in various different musical experiences with Pinhas. Gauthier has composed for, and recorded with, Jacques Higelin, even accompanying him on stage. In 1981, his first album 'Bébé Godzilla' benefited from a warm reception. In 1976 he played with Bernard Paganotti in WEIDORJE. And now he has recorded (with Bernard's son, Antoine Paganotti) his new album: 'Sur les flots verticaux'.

This is an absolute masterpiece of joyous celebration! Not since I first heard Michael Rother's 'Flammende Herzen' have I played an album continuously, delving ever deeper into the complexities of marvellous harmonies and exquisite melodies. At first, I was a little shocked by the overt commerciality of this one, equating it immediately to mid-70's Weather Report (The final cut is a tribute to Joe Zawinul featuring Stella Vander). But I soon got totally hooked by it's Zeuhl spirit, truly a work of Love and Harmony.

Could Patrick's study of the mysterious Martenot waveforms have some bearing on it? It's a fascinating CD, and one of the first things I wanted to do as soon as I read the accompanying booklet with all the lyrics, was to decode 'Eleutheren', wondering if it would hark back to Patrick's college days?

Now I know that the next page will not make a lot of sense, but if you listen to this track, it's clear that the lyrics, as presented below, are what the three vocalists are actually singing. The "translation" was done simply to make the Greek letters pronounceable, using computer jiggery-pokery. So, pop down to Tower Records, buy the album, put on some red shoes, and explore....

ELEUTHEREN

Patrick Gauthier

Eleuqeren, ajiknete  To on, to meon    qeoV en ti
En to daimon         en to jusiV       qeoV en ti
peri te jusiV                            en panta rei
                     NomoV ton jusiV   basileoV
En to dendron        en to einai
LiqoV on ti          isoVestin         peri te jusiV
                     en to jusiV       en to einai
En qalassan          Ouden estin       ouden estin
ouranon ti           Ouden estin
en panta reV                           DaimonoV
qeoV en ti           To paradoVoV      qeoV en ti
Daimon estin         Alon tou logoV    en jusiV
  
PolutropoV           Dunamin           to on esti
QeoV en ti           enantia           ouden esti
ajiketoV             arkuoV
en panta reV         iokuoV            Ouden to On esti