Florent Ghys - Ritornelli and mosaics in electroacoustic splendor

Intrigued by his synthesis of electroacoustic music, chamber music and post-minimalism, which reached a particularly high level a few months ago with the release of the double set “Ritournelles”/“Mosaïques”, works that together form “a wide-ranging piece in two parts”, we decided to hand the floor to French double bassist and composer Florent Ghys, who kindly and thoroughly answered our many questions.

So, Florent, I think it makes sense to start with your musical training... Tell us a bit about how you got into music and why you chose the double bass as your main instrument.

I started out playing classical guitar at the age of five. Tired of playing classical music, and listening to techno and hard rock at the time, I switched to electric guitar when I was twelve. In high school I played in a rock band and had to show our terrible bassist how to play the bass lines. That's how I started falling in love with the feeling of playing a lower-register instrument, to the point that I eventually took up electric bass myself, enjoying not only its low register but also its role as a foundational, background instrument. It was only when I went to study musicology at the University of Bordeaux, at eighteen, that I began to focus on double bass, studying at the conservatory with the fantastic Jean-Paul Macé. Ever since, double bass has been my main instrument.

Were there any composers, whether in rock or classical music, who particularly inspired you?

Well, there are quite a few! I've always been a big fan of Indian sarangi player Pandit Ram Narayan and Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi. In the “rock field”, I've listened to, and still listen to, bands like Sonic Youth, Tortoise, Battles and Silver Mount Zion. In terms of Western classical music: Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich, Meredith Monk and the Bang on a Can composers, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon and David Lang. But I also listen to a lot of hip-hop, trap, rap, electronic music, ambient, dancehall, dub, techno and grime!

In the bio on your official website you write that you make “music with double basses, computers, images, weather reports and other artifacts” that you're drawn to. Very intriguing. Can you tell us more about your passion for “weather reports and other artifacts”?

I've always loved the idea of creating with material that isn't meant to be used in a work of art. Something fascinating happens when you take something functional, like a weather report, and put it at the center of a piece of art. There's a new kind of dichotomy between what we expect to find in art and this manifestation of mundaneness. There's also the contrast between a “serious” piece, made with great care, and the absurdity of these banal materials I use. I love it when I see an audience that wants to laugh but isn't sure whether they should or not.

Your goal is to “create works that aim to be both experimental and accessible”. Is yours, perhaps, also a kind of protest against a certain strand of cold, detached and vaguely incomprehensible musical avant-garde?

It's not a reaction against any kind of art. If artists want to make super weird stuff, that's great. My intent is more about making my music accessible to people, because most of my family and old friends aren't musicians. I want people to be able to enjoy my music without having to read an instruction manual. What I'm after is a comment like: “it's a bit weird, but I like it!”.

I also find this other statement of yours very interesting: “My music is often situated at the crossroads of humor and seriousness”...

Yes, I mentioned that point in an earlier question. I love the contradiction between very sad music and videos of cute meowing cats, or the one between some silly YouTuber video explaining how to improve our music and an intricate rhythmic counterpoint. I guess all this could be read as a reaction against composers who take themselves too seriously.

You've also worked on “audiovisual pieces”. Where does this passion of yours for the audiovisual medium come from? By the way, one of your records is titled “Télévision” (2014)...

I was an Mtv kid. I grew up spending hours watching music videos on that TV channel. My favorite directors were Michel Gondry and Chris Cunningham. As soon as personal computers made digital video accessible to pretty much everyone, I had fun making my own stuff too. I've always loved super-synchronized videos and images, so that's what I keep doing to this day!

Let's talk about your latest two works, “Ritournelles” and “Mosaïques”. Should we think of them as two separate records, or as a double album? Or something else entirely?

They really are two sides of the same album. These two parts were definitely part of the same creative gesture. It's just that they manifest in two distinct ways: one without words and without video, while the other uses words, voices and video.

In these last two works, your music seems to have shifted towards a more pronounced electronic-digital research. Am I wrong?

No, you're not wrong. I've always made pieces that could be labeled as "electronic music". But I'm not interested in synthesis, whether audio or video. Instead, I own instruments with a beautiful sound – double basses, guitars, cellos and other string instruments – and I want to make electronic music with these acoustic sounds. Actually, one of the main goals of these two new works was to trace a subtle link between acoustic and electronic and to confuse the listener about what is real and what isn't.

I also really liked the use of voices. How do you relate to what is the most "intimate" and, ultimately, most important instrument of the human being... the voice, precisely? Do you have any particular references in this field?

Most of the voices on this album are sampled. I recorded a few friends, note by note, and used them like any other material. So, to answer your question: no, I don't necessarily relate to the voice. I'm a terrible singer, I don't know how to write songs, I just like the timbre of a human voice. Some references here could be “To Cure A Weakling Child” by Aphex Twin and “Mortuos Plango Vivos Voco” by Jonathan Harvey.

How much did the lockdown period caused by the Covid-19 pandemic affect your perception of the world and of music?

A lot. It's hard to know where to start. I think it affected all of us in many ways, and I'm really glad we're almost out of it. Frankly, I'd rather not talk about those dark times.

Between "Ritournelles" and "Mosaïques", my favorite is the latter, which I find more accomplished and experimental. Of course, you'll say you love them both...

Of course, I like them both! It's like having twins and having to choose one: impossible! That said, "Ritournelles" is more in line with the music I've made in the past. It's an easy album to listen to, one my parents enjoy playing in their living room while chatting. "Mosaïques" requires a different level of attention, where you need to watch the videos to fully understand what's going on. It's an album that tries out new ideas and is a bit more experimental.

You're essentially a double bassist. How much is there still to explore with this instrument in terms of its interaction with electronic music?

There's still a lot to explore. For instance, I just discovered a pedal that greatly improves the sound of my double bass's pickup. And now I play concerts with a five-string double bass that has a low C string, opening up the register to very low frequencies. Also, computers keep improving every year, and it's now becoming possible to play with fairly intensive interactive audio programs, which can generate video in real time.

How has your music evolved over time? I mean, if you look back at your early works, what has changed and what, on the other hand, always stays fixed in the background?

We always think we're changing, but there's always a part of us that remains, right? When I listen to my models from the rock band I played in during high school, I still recognize myself, even though I've evolved enormously since then.

Over the years, you've also worked on music for films...

Yes. Usually, the best situation is one where the directors already know and appreciate my music. I wouldn't be a good film composer for something like John Williams' work.

What characteristics should a musical composition have to be effective "within" the cinematic medium?

I'm not one of those people who says what artists should and shouldn't do. That's the beauty of creation: there are no rules. As long as it sounds good and feels right, it works for me.

Lastly, what are your plans for the near future?

I've started expanding the sample library of my instruments, adding a lot of guitars, electric guitars, other double bass techniques, electric bass and other stringed instruments. I'm buying an Indian dilruba and I want to learn how to play it. I'm also expanding my library of video samples with washing machines and various noisy appliances, videos I shot on planes, footage of a terribly out-of-tune old piano, famous pop singers and random people found on YouTube. I've also recorded enough material to release at least two new albums, so I'll probably be putting those out in the near future.

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