Unpublished article - Jonas Follonier
On Friday evening, Neuchâtel artist Morgoran presented his new EP In those few seconds in the form of a concert-vernissage at Case à Chocs. Songwriter of all his songs, the young man steeped in folk and French chanson performed his six new tracks and rearranged versions of his older songs, accompanied by excellent musicians. A look back at an evening with an ambience halfway between the living room and the bar. saloon.
The Case à Chocs concert hall, well known to fans of contemporary music, has been completely refurbished. Audiences, mainly from Neuchâtel, will discover a room where armchairs, small coffee tables, standing areas and a bar make up a space that complies with current sanitary regulations. The atmosphere is hushed and intimate. Not so at the Salon du Bleu Café, whose charm is determined by rich furnishings and kitsch decorations. La Case à Chocs shares a popular character with this establishment, but is currently focusing on sobriety. This is cosy, as everyone is quick to comment. The maximum capacity of one hundred people is almost reached.
A rediscovery of his repertoire
And if the layout of the concert hall has been totally revised for the needs of the times - and to keep on offering concerts, heaven forbid! - Morgoran, the man of the evening, has also taken care to revise many of the arrangements in his repertoire. Even though the five musicians who accompany him - his sister Amarande Léchot on bass, Michel Bertarionne on guitar, Raphaël Weber on guitar and mandolin, Mélody Génadinos on violin and Marius Rivier on drums - are the same ones you'll hear on the CD. Clever artist. Morgoran, whose real name is Morgan Léchot, is well aware that it is more interesting for the public to have access to unpublished and tailor-made music than to a reproduction of what is already known.
Read also | Morgoran, the Bob Dylan of French-speaking Switzerland
This is how we won't recognize Where I'm going the sky is gray and Lunar Airs, including songs from his debut EP Sketch (2017), than when the first words resound in the room, so skilfully has the musical intro been decorated with a new touch. This is much less the case with the magnificent Wind without borders, which opens the recital by appealing to our memories as listeners. A surprise effect is guaranteed for the rest of the concert. The musical experience is a rich one for the audience, as it is for the musicians. Guitarist Michel Bertarionne, to whom we owe the delightful little Dobro notes sprinkled over the work of his much younger musician friend, explains to me after the concert that during the four or five rehearsals for this vernissage, each member of the group was free to contribute his or her own ideas.
New titles
And then, of course, the new songs. A little gem, this second EP In those few seconds released yesterday! The six tracks on the new album maintain the balance between calmer songs and more rhythmic tracks. As in the first opus, too, melancholy and nature are not present, they're present. ubiquitous. But what makes In those few seconds - and leave us wanting more - it's definitely the dimension of the country than ever before. One track, unquestionably one of the best if not the best, brings together nature, melancholy and country: I killed the spirit. A superb title, and what a musical materialization of Western cinema!
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The melodies and lyrics are particularly well crafted, and carry us away. The single I'm not coming, is a fine example of this. Also noteworthy is this line, somewhere in the EP: «Tu soignes le silence.» (You care for silence). A definition of music? And this one: «Tonight, the air is filled with our melancholy.» Here again, we can see the tunes music of Morgoran. You can also hear Cabrel without a south-western accent on The south of your body, performed yesterday as a duet with violinist Mélody Génadinos.
In short, I'm sure you'll agree: it's nice to come across a concert you really like. And that's basically what happened for me and many others, and what motivated me to write this article. Because let's forget about the silly cliché «I'm interested in everything», which we all sometimes try to persuade ourselves of. What really interests us are guys like Morgoran. Those who dare to sublimate Dylan at the end of a concert. Long live these artists!
Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com
Morgoran
In those few seconds
Self-production
2020
6 titles
Header image: © Bernard Léchot
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