Laurent Voulzy

Biography

Despite a slim documented output — roughly one LP per decade typically — Laurent Voulzy surfaced among the most successful and acclaimed composers in contemporary French pop; frequently employed in tandem with longtime collaborator Alain Souchon, his obsessive focus on studio room details was instrumental in shaping the advanced melodies and wealthy arrangements which are the signatures of his function. Delivered in Paris on Dec 18, 1945, Voulzy spent a lot of his years as a child in Nogent-sur-Marne, as a kid befriending fellow music devotee Christian Vander, afterwards the frontman from the French prog rock and roll group Magma. Voulzy shaped his first music group at 14, quickly abandoning the drums and only electric guitar. Beatlemania exerted a deep impact on his musical advancement, along with a 1965 a vacation to Britain proved bit more when compared to a record-shopping trip where he acquired a collection of produces documenting the very best from the United kingdom Invasion era. With time, Voulzy started composing his very own music, and in 1967 he earned an area songwriting competition with a genuine entitled “Timide.” Armed forces program interrupted his fledgling profession, nevertheless, and upon coming back from responsibility he signed up for law school. Rules did not persuade his preference, and in 1969 Voulzy set up Le Poing, a Paris-based rock and roll group that toured thoroughly but never documented; their two-year lifespan even so honed his songwriting abilities and in 1971 he documented a demo tape that discovered its method to RCA. The label expanded a contract give and a season later he released his debut one, “L’Amour Est un Oiseau” — the record had not been a hit, nevertheless, and a likewise grim destiny befell its follow-up, 1973’s “La Maison ? Croquer.” In later 1973 Voulzy started dealing with Souchon, a likewise frustrated vocalist/songwriter whose presents being a lyricist properly complemented his brand-new partner’s skills being a composer. A season afterwards Souchon and Voulzy released their debut LP, J’ai 10 Ans, rating their breakthrough strike with the name cut. A yr later on, Bidon cemented their fresh star status, making widespread essential acclaim aswell. While Souchon was the general public encounter of the duo, mounting extended travels and co-starring in feature movies, Voulzy was portrayed being a recluse and perfectionist locked within the studio room for weeks at the same time. Souchon’s solo profession flourished, but just in 1977 do Voulzy job application his single pursuits using the one “Rockcollection,” an exuberant tribute towards the pop music of his youngsters. The one topped the French pop graphs, and its own 1978 follow-up, “Bubble Superstar,” also demonstrated a graph blockbuster. After a few months of fine-tuning, his debut single LP, Le Coeur Grenadine, finally strike retail in 1979, credit scoring a set of number one strikes in “Karin Redinger” as well as the name cut. Regardless of the album’s achievement, Voulzy steadfastly refused to support even a short tour, although in 1980 he became a member of Souchon through the latter’s residency at Paris’ renowned Olympia. He shut out the entire year with another chart-topping one, the Beach Children homage “Surfin’ Jack port,” along with a calendar year later strike paydirt once again with “Identificationéal Simplifié.” Voulzy’s sophomore single LP, Bopper en Larmes, implemented in past due 1981, an uncharacteristically short four years following its forerunner. In 1983, he actually headlined a uncommon live day in his parents’ indigenous French Western Indies. But Voulzy spent the rest from the 10 years within the studio room, teaming in 1984 with celebrity Véronique Jeannot for the smash duet “Belle-Ile-en-Mer,” a modern classic named Greatest French Song from the 1980s inside a 1990 poll of music market professionals. A yr later on, he resumed his cooperation with Souchon, decamping to some telephone-free home in Brittany to create the recording C’Est Comme Vous Voulez. With 1986’s “Les Nuits Sans Kim Wilde,” Voulzy came back to the very best from the French pop graphs, repeating the secret two years later on via “Le Soleil Donne.” He finally put together his myriad singles in 1989 as Belle-Ile-en-Mer, although no fresh materials was forthcoming until middle-1992’s Caché Derrière, which appeared greater than a 10 years after his prior studio room LP, Bopper en Larmes. Buoyed with the strike singles “Carib Islander,” “Le Rêve du Pêcheur,” and “Le Pouvoir des Fleurs,” the record was honored the SACEM’s Grand Prix de la Chanson Française, also declaring Album of the entire year honors on the annual Victoire de la Musique honours. The acclaim prompted Voulzy to finally headline his very own Paris live schedules, so when a three-week residency on the Modern casino de Paris quickly sold-out, he decided to a Dec 1993 time at the bigger Le Zénith aswell. (The Modern casino de Paris displays afterwards yielded a live record, Voulzy Tour, highlighted by an 18-minute rendition of “Rockcollection.”) Voulzy after that receded through the limelight just as before, spending another 2 yrs fine-tuning his fresh home studio room on the banking institutions from the River Marne. After briefly resurfacing via Souchon’s Au Ras des Pâquerettes, Voulzy resumed focus on his following solo work, Avril, finally released in past due 2001 after 3 years of obsessive tinkering — a melancholy, deeply personal task, its first solitary, “Une Heroine,” demonstrated another major strike, although most striking was the 13-minute finale, “I’D LIKE You,” a sprawling Beatles tribute documented like a duet with Souchon. Avril gained the 57-year-old Voulzy another Victoire de la Musique award for Recording of the entire year and yielded his longest & most far-ranging tour up to now. In 2005 he released his 1st greatest-hits compilation, the two-disc Saisons, highlighted by way of a brand new melody, “L? Où Je Vais.” Voulzy also decided to a cooperation with up-and-coming pop chanteuse Nolwenn Leroy, and finished up composing approximately 1 / 2 of her LP Histoires Naturelles. He came back in the summertime of 2006 with La Septième Vague, a assortment of addresses offering personal favorites like the Doorways’ “Light My Fireplace,” Etienne Daho’s “Duel au Soleil,” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The 59th Road Bridge Melody (Feelin’ Groovy),” the last mentioned a duet with Souchon. 2 yrs after La Septième Vague, Voulzy came back with 2008’s Recollection, a mish-mash of previous music, party re-written, and re-recorded using up-to-date creation techniques. 2011 noticed the discharge of Lys & Like, Voulzy initial brand-new materials since 2001’s Avril. A assortment of middle ages pop tracks, the record was motivated by his fascination with the annals of the center Ages.

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