Author: Jean-Baptiste

I am a composer, post-doctoral researcher and cultural organiser. I work on listening and its relationships with society, technology and musical creation.

Colonne Dijon

2018

Colonne Dijon is born from the my piece The Irrepassable Gate.
I was therefore following the guidelines of my score, Nicolas was improvising while following his own score for the video.
We had the chance to have our music projected by the expert hands and ears of Julien Guillamat, on his very-own Klang acousmonium.

Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Marseille.

Nicolas Canot : Zvex Fuzz Factory, Electro-Harmonix Canyon, Electro-Harmonix Pitch Fork.
Jean-Baptiste Masson : Vermona Retroverb Lancet, Mr Black Supermoon Chrome, Mooer Tender Octaver Pro, Mooer Hustle Drive, radio receiver, VLF receiver, BC Rich Mockingbird, Mackie VLZ1604.

Recorded and mixed by Jean-Baptiste Masson.
La Vapeur, November 10, 2018.

special thanks to Nicolas Thirion, Julien Guillamat and La Vapeur

Colonne LM

2018

Live impro at Le Lieu minuscule, Reims, September 27.
special thanks to Aurore Dudevant and Philippe Zulaica.

Église Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, Marseille.

Nicolas Canot : Waldorf 2-Pole, Zvex Fuzz Factory, Electro-Harmonix Canyon, Electro-Harmonix Pitch-Fork, Max MSP, Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK.
Jean-Baptiste Masson : Vermona Retroverb Lancet, Mr Black Supermoon Chrome, Mooer Tender Octaver Pro, Mooer Hustle Drive, BC Rich Mockingbird, radio receiver, VLF receiver, field-recording, Mackie VLZ1604.

Geranium Drone

2019

Live improvisation in Levallois-Perret, 24 April 2019.

During Winter, ancient Scarborians used to swim in the sea. They welcomed the North Sea by getting naked and for hours they jumped in the waves, floatting and playing around. Their black shiny heads protruded from the foam and they slowly transformed into seals.

Jack, 2017.

Lina Zikra: Novation Mininova
Jean-Baptiste Masson: digital organ, delay and fuzz

Cows and Horses in a Nuclear Field

2018

Live improvisation recorded at Le lieu minuscule, Reims, France, 12 September 2018.
Video shot and edited by Jah Poney.
All images were shot around Vauville, Normandy, a very lovely village bursting with birds and insects (and giant pumpkins), albeit surrounded by the EPR nuclear reactor of Flamanville and the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant of La Hague.

Just as the end of the musical phrase gives birth to a new one, the end of our world introduces a new one.

So sein nun, Seele, deine
Und traue dem alleine,
Der Dich erschaffen hat;
Es gehe, wie es gehe,
Dein Vater in der Höhe
Weiß allen Sachen Rat.

Cheval, Vauville, 2018.

Lina Zikra: Novation Mininova, Teenage Engineering OP-1.
Jean-Baptiste Masson: Vermona Retroverb Lancet, Mr Black Supermoon Chrome, Mooer Hustle Drive, Mooer Tender Octaver Pro, Mackie VLZ1604, portable radio receiver, field-recordings.
Antoine Lombart: EVP.

Drifting in Purple Haze With Ganesh

2018
The first concert of Jah Poney, when the band didn’t even had a name. We were playing with Antoine Lombart, alto saxophone, many thanks to him for the invitation.

Live improvisation at Les Tanneries, Centre d’Art Contemporain, Amilly, 24 March 2018.
This is only an extract of the five hours impro that we did that day.

Lina Zikra : Teenage Engineering OP-1
Antoine Lombart : alto saxphone
Jean-Baptiste Masson : Vermona Retroverb Lancet
Reverb : Mr Black Supermoon Chrome

A Dawn Chorus in Lorraine

2019

2014, May. I spend some days at my grand-father place in Boucq, Lorraine. All is very calm, the surroundings are bursting with insects, frogs, birds and animals. I decide to set up the mics very early, to capture the night and the rising sun. The forest is just by the house, the night is very silent, and the dawn chorus suddenly emerges.

Arbre, Royaumont, Août 2019.

Recorded with a pair of Sennheiser MKH8040 on a Sonosax Minir.

A Bridge Over the Limpopo

2018

Day 9, 4.30 in the morning. We arrive at the Limpopo river just before the cicadas’ chorus. The birds are already here. A bridge is crossing the river, and I set the mics just in the middle, facing North. Some baboons are arguing in the distance.
On the other side lies Botswana, that we were exploring a few days ago. It’s the ninth day in this incredible place. It’s also approximately the number of hours I’ve slept since the beginning of the residency. I go back to the truck for a nap in the rising dawn, surrounded by birds and cicadas.

The Limpopo, Mmabolela, South Africa.

This recording have been made during the first Sonic Mmabolela, a residency / workshop organized by Francisco Lopez and James Webb in Mmabolela, South Africa. Many thanks to them.

A Baobab in the Bush

2014

Night and day under and near a baobab in the South African bush, Limpopo state, Mmabolela reserve.

1 – Night in the open land
Mmabolela reserve, around 1AM. The mics are inside a small group of bushes, in the open land behind the baobab.

2 – Dawn at the water hole
A water hole lies at a hundred meters from the baobab. It’s 5AM and a small group of deers comes to vent their thirst. As the sun appears above the horizon, swarm of birds are flying by. Some make a stop to drink, while cicadas wake up.
I grab the mics at 7AM, the sun is already high and the temperature is increasing.

3 – The baobab
A typical hot and sunny november afternoon under the baobab of Tuli. Groups of birds are playing around the mics, and a probable coqui francolin comes to feed just in front of them. The cicadas chorus resonates and turns all around, before a solitary bird takes over.

A girafe hanging in Mmabolela, Limpopo, South Africa.

These recordings have been made during the first Sonic Mmabolela, a residency / workshop organized by Francisco Lopez and James Webb. Many thanks to them.
Recorded with a pair of Sennheiser MKH8040 on a Sonosax Minir.

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Released in 2015 by Impulsive Habitat (IHab105).

A Night in the Bush

2014

Recorded in an open area in the South African bush, Limpopo state, Mmabolela reserve.

The landscape at midnight, at the beginning of summer while the nights are still fresh. It has been raining for the past three days and the temperature have dropped.
The place is very open. Dead trees with fantastic forms populate the land. The microphones are under one of these.

Mmabolela, Limpopo, South Africa.

This recording was made during the first Sonic Mmabolela, a residency / workshop organized by Francisco Lopez and James Webb. Many thanks to them.

Recorded with a pair of Sennheiser MKH8040 on a Sonosax Minir.

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Released by Very Quiet Records in 2014 (VQRS012).