With 13 dates left in his Spring European tour (and more dates in Summer), Chilly Gonzales was interviewed by “Sud Ouest” (South West), which covers news for 50 towns and villages in regional France.
In the interview, Gonzales reveals that, for him, the best way to connect with rappers or electro artists (e.g. Daft Punk and Drake) is through the piano – though lush harmonies that bring a ‘human’ element to the otherwise programmed sound. In some ways, incorporating the ‘voice’ of the piano and Gonzales’ harmonies provides electro-based songs with a ‘soul’. Continue reading
Just imagine you were coeval with Händel or Mozart and wanted to listen to some music. You would only be able to choose from a selection of three possibilities at the most: go to a concert hall, make music yourself or in case you had the privilege of noble birth, enjoy it as part of the courtly cultural life. Fortunately, nowadays music is always available and repeatable. Still, it felt as if storage data devices haven’t been invented yet, when Chilly Gonzales played the Kölner Philharmonie on December 29th. He introduced so many new, yet unfortunately unpublished pieces that it was a real treat and indulgence, but at the same time evanescence and the knowledge of singularity were omnipresent. The Faustian verse “If to the moment I shall ever say: ’Ah, linger on, thou art so fair!’” could have been the epigraph to this final concert in 2012. Or was it a pointer to the future and into the direction of “more orchestra”?