Fabrice

Riyas (@riyas.photokw) Photo credits:

"There's a rainbow within every soul, we all need to find it."

Meet the French Caribbean musician who has produced two full music albums during the lockdown.

We had a fantastic day out with Fabrice this month to talk and learn more from him and bring this exclusive interview for our readers.

Jacket designed by: Mr. Fari (@xxmrfarixx)

Hi, we last interviewed you in 2017. What all has happened since then? I have released 3 albums: 971 Boulevard de L'amour, Absurd Abstracks and Distant lovers, I did a lot of gigs, especially in Bahrain and my son has grown up:-)

How was the lockdown for you? It was terrible because I need to exercise outside. I am not the type of guy who goes to the gym to look fit. I am the type who needs to spend energy, to feel that my body is alive and that I breathe deeply. So it was quite difficult. In a positive way it allowed me to work more in my home studio and my imagination was flowing like a river. I have composed the best album of my career "Distant lovers". It was difficult for my son too who likes to be with me outside but I guess for some other people in the world it was really worse.

Wow! You released 2 albums during the pandemic? What did you name the albums and why? Yes, "Distant Lovers" and "Absurd Abstracks". "Distant Lovers" because a friend of mine was separated from his wife for 6 months. It inspired me for some songs. When it's a choice it's different but they didn't have the choice, they were waiting for the airport to open. "Absurd Abstrack" comes from the desire to tell something different in French. To go back to spoken word and poetry, the kind of music I used to do when I was listening more hip hop, years ago. It's a very strange UFO ("Absurd") but a lot of my friend think it's brilliant and elegant.

How do you think your album will uplift listeners during the pandemic? I really don't know if my goal is to do that. So I'am not sure it will uplift people. The music has to pleased me first so that I can show this love on stage. I just have visions all the time and I record them. The tempos are between 70 and 100bpm which means it's quite slow and groovy. It's the perfect record for a long drive or a night by a bonfire. Of course if listeners feel uplifted, I would be delighted.

What were some of the challenges you faced in producing your music and recording your albums during the lockdown? How did you overcome them? I do almost everything for my music. Every voice, lead and background vocals, except on one song. I play every single instruments on it, except the horns, which were recording in South France by a famous Jazzman named Franck Nicolas. I send the song, he records then he send me back the tracks and I mix it.

Which is your favourite song from the album? I am not sure, maybe “Distant Lovers”. The situation I describe must have been experienced by a lot of people and I love the melody.

Have you done any collaborations in Kuwait or are you planning soon? I have worked on the song "Lonely" with Hashim Al Nasser. We did string arrangements together and he played some slide guitars parts on it. He is talented, wise, funny and clever. I always like what he plays. I have invited also Sana, a friend of mine who lives in Kuwait, for the chorus of one song ("Freedom fighter"). She is easy to work with and she just loves music as much as I do. Moreover, I am currently working and brainstorming with Mr. Fari. As halfies, evolving between mixed cultures we share the same vibes. We want to mix different style of music. I am opened to everything, every style of music, every kind of food. It is diversity that triggers creativity and my personality polishes it. I think we also want to make new stuff, different kind of vibes. Being well emerged in different types of music cultures allows us to do that. We feel honest because it's still us. We will probably produce something together next year.

Has the pandemic situation affected your music in any way? Yes of course because I have had no shows since March till now. I have started realizing that it was going to be huge when I flew back from France in January. I have first rearrange my home studio, bought new speakers (Eve SC207) and created a more intimistic place with plants, paintings and pictures from my family. I knew I would spend more time there so I wanted a more comfortable and personal space. The energy of the room is very important. In terms of music I was able to mix a better recording because I had more time to listen. Also the inspiration was different, I wanted to go deep inside of the soul of different people, talk about what they feel. Some lyrics went deeper than ever into relationship, ecology, family engagement, lust, and love. I don't know why but people open their heart to me, I mean I go quickly in deep conversation with people I have never seen. The song “Lonely” came from a conversation I had with a businessman at Istanbul Airport. The song” Ring the alarm” came from a woman that I met at a University while I was waiting for an appointment with a teacher.

What lessons have you learnt from the pandemic situation? The silence. Do you remember the silence in the streets? I have put more silences in my music, less notes, less words. Miles Davis use to say that notes are only a frame for the silence. I totally agree. I have learned that civilization is noisy LOL. Otherwise, I don't have many profound things to say at the end of this very heartbreaking year both personally and globally But, I am coming out of it more human, maybe more spiritual too. It was a gift to be able to focus again on the present.

Your message for us at CP magazine. Thanks a lot for your support. Merci beaucoup.

Can we expect any video clips soon from your new songs? I have a secret project with someone who works in this magazine. You might know him :-). As I am an independent artist and I am very bad for business and promotion I am not promoting my music. It's not my job to do that. But if any promoters or managers want to help, I am open to every propositions. We can talk.

What do you miss the most about the prepandemic life? Being able to travel with my family and of course perform live. But as I say in the song "Distant lovers" - there's a rainbow, within every soul, we all need to find it.

Your plans for 2021? Time will tell would say Bob Marley. Covid too :-)

How do you stay connected to your fans these days? It's hard for me to stay connected with my fans as I did only two shows in 2020 while I was performing a lot in 2019. I am not comfortable with Social Medias as I am eager to protect my intimacy. I am quite a secret person even if am very social which might sounds strange. During this pandemic I have erased my Facebook account, my Linkeldin account, my twitter account and I have only kept my Instagram account @fabriceroots because I like photography. And my website : Fa7production.com. I made it for your beloved readers.

Do you have plans to release more new music soon? Are you consistently writing new songs? No plans for the moment but I could have one tomorrow. Depends on the inspiration I used to write songs every day to increase my skill when I was younger. Now I wait for visions, I just wait for them to come to me. Because when I have those visions I always love what I record and it goes smoothly just like a deep river. Think I need to have new experiences. I don't want to repeat. If I want to be creative in terms of arrangements and compositions I need to feel what might be in the air soon I have a very strong creative personality. I always do what I feel. So I will collaborate with others artists like Sana and Mr. Fari next year, it is very inspiring to produce something else and to see how it is to work with people you respect.

What does a typical day look like for you now? How have you adjusted to these times? How are you staying busy? A typical day when I don't teach is making my sun salutation. Read the news with a cup of green tea and a glass of lemon juice early morning. Dream and enjoy the silence while my family is still asleep, then ride my bike or fish on my kayak. When I come back home, I'll take a 20 minutes break where I sleep deeply and even dream. After that I'll go out with my son and my wife, all together to enjoy, laugh, share our love. In the evening if I am not making music, I would read or watch movies with my wife.

Your New Year's message for your fans and our readers? Check it out: FABRICE "Distant lovers" on any streaming platform and listen. LOL. Take care of your family, take care of your country, take care of the earth. We need to protect the planet because whatever your country is, we all belong to the same earth.