Sins & Repentance

In Japan, French music was successful in the 60's. As a matter of fact, French artists are always compared to that glorious period and it is pretty difficult to convey a modern image of French music in Japan. On the contrary, English is always seen as modern. I then took the challenge of composing in English. As it is not my mother tongue, I felt less free than in French and it took me more time to express myself properly. I had a lot fun though and this project means a lot to me. Discover "Sins & Repentance" whose first title was "12 Sins".

1. THE GARDENER (July'07)

"The Gardener" is an uptempo and positive track. There is only one beat and a few layers. The rest is human beatboxed. Some friends told me that it sounds a bit like MJackson or JustinT: I take it as a compliment! ;)

2. FACING REALITY (Aug'07)

I think "Facing Reality"'s lyrics are the strongest of the album. I mention the way everybody tries to escape from their reality, to avoid their problems. It can be alcohol or drugs, it can art, it can be any kind of extreme expressions. A very dark song.

3. TAKE IT ALL BACK (Sept'07)

Everything is a bit "crazy" on this track. The melody is dramatic, the music is based on a simple guitar riff, and the structure shows the impossibility of two people to have a understand each other. "Take It All Back" is a dialogue between two people whose views are opposite: who is to blame? I guess nobody.

4. REPENTANCE (Sept'07)

Sometime you can compose a song in a few hours and you feel that you "touched" something. This is very inspired song, very "soulful". Everything is human-beatboxed on Repentance. It is a cry from my heart. A simple video is on YouTube for this song.

5. INNOCENT EVIL (Oct'07)

I have always wanted to write about the human evilness, and its very nature that you can find even in children. It is impulsive, unconscious. Without rules or ethics, the responsibility of an act cannot be understood. That is what this song is about. It is about a child who did something "wrong" according to his parents and to the police, but he just does not understand what is wrong.

6. MUTE COMMUNICATION (Oct'07)

"Talk, talk, to me"... I love this track. It only has one single goal: make us dance, dance, dance! even though the lyrics are quite sad because it deals with the lack of communication between 2 people.

7. LOVE - The Scarecrow's Song (Nov'07)

In concert, Japanese love this song! very pop, with its universal message of courage, "LOVE" has a ultra simple chorus that will stay in your head for long: be careful! I recorded a Japanese version too.

8. SIN (Dec'07)

"Sin" is about forbidden love, about the others' judgement, about courage. It is a very theatrical theme - ie. Romeo and Juliet, Pokahontas, Carmen... I recorded a version with my friend Jessica from Shinsen.

9. 23 = 32 (Feb'08)

This song is one of my favorites. It talks about the complementarity of two beings and about irrational emotions. These two numbers are really part of me, they have been in my life since the begining, I really do not know why... A strange song. To be read.

10. PEACE (Feb'08)

"Sins & Repentance" alternates black and white songs. To finish the album on a positive note, the very Asian instrumentation of "Peace" eases the listener to relax. The verses are pretty punchy but the general feeling is calm and... peaceful. Gandhi's speech is the conclusion.

11. THANK YOU / outro (April'08)

"Thank you" is based on another version of "Peace". When I make a song, different choruses can come to my mind. For "Peace", I hesitated between 2 (actually 3!), so I tool the 2nd as the outro of the "Sins & Repentance" project.

12. THE MORE... (May'08)

"The More" is the introduction of "Take it all Back" and covers its chorus. The lyrics are spoken and reflect an introspective interogation about how to please the other.

13. AVERAGE JOE (June'08)

"Avergae Joe" is different in terms of musicality from the rest of the album. It is very melancolic with an accoustic guitar. It is far from the electro-pop sound of the other songs. The lyrics are about a person who believes that he does not deserve his lovers' love.

14. RELAX / FLOWERS (July '08)

i composed a few intros to achieve the album. I did not keep them all of the final tracklist. "Relax" is just a reprise of "the Gardener"'s instrumental chorus. This chorus is what I call "the language of Flowers". The only word in this intro is "relax", simply whispered in the end.