“Pierre has found a blend of style and feel which any contemporary composer would envy. The recurring piano themes are generously sprinkled with tasty bits of masterful guitar. This is a superb recording of fresh ideas. The musicianship is faultless. This C.D. is a must for all lovers of intelligent artwork everywhere”
Harmony Aquarian – NZ
Pierre Volter, whose real birth name is Pierre Wauters, was born in Belgium but later spent 15 years of his life in New Zealand where he produced a few music CDs. His first piano album was released in 2002 and called Nouveau Piano. His second was release in 2003 and called When the Tide Turns.
Between songs and instrumental music, with interlaced French and English lyrics, jazzy, groovy, upbeat at the same time as classical, relaxing and soothing, passionate always, thought provoking and humorous often, different definitely, Pierre’s music resides in that uncrowded land between the ‘mainstream’ and the ‘alternative’. No conventional versus/chorus/bridge structure, no endless repetitions, but rather big long swells of unleashed inspiration. This is music for those gourmets who like BIG portions.
Broadly speaking, the first half of the CD is more modern and upbeat while the second half (except Frequency) is quieter, more classical and makes extensive use of orchestral strings and percussions. The instruments are mainly acoustic and electric pianos, a&e guitars and a&e bass, synthesisers, drums and percussions, with rich layers of lead vocals and harmonies. The music is easy to listen to at the same time as interesting and varied.
Listen to the album on line
Please visit the Nadamasquebuscar web site to listen to the CD HERE
How was it created?
This CD is the culmination of one year of work in the studio. I compose the songs, write the lyrics, create the harmonies and play all the instruments. I am also the sound engineer and I fiddle for long hours with the recording gear. This is of course a bit of a challenge and also takes a lot more time than having other musicians doing all the hard work for me. It gives me more freedom to explore my ideas and fine tune them until I get things right.
I don’t improvise like jazz players. I play and practice every part to death until it is exactly the way I want it to be and that is what you get on the final cut. I usually get my inspiration on the piano, it can be just a few seconds, just an embryo and I think: hmm that’s good. Then I hop on the bass and the drums and I record a few bars of other instruments. I do it all on the computer, so anything can be changed afterwards and shifted back and forth. It may change in the future, but on this CD anyway, the vocals came last. I produced full instrumental tracks first and I added the vocals afterwards. I try to create music which is fun to listen to. That does not mean I won’t go for something really sad like Sweet Anniversary. That’s fun to listen to too. The important thing is to “listen”, not just play in the background. No talking please. Try to stop whatever you’re doing for one hour, sit down and play the CD, or play it in your mp3 while you’re on the run. Each track takes you to a different place and they are all worthwhile visiting.
My absolute favourite is Frequency, the last track. It’s 12 minute long but to me, it feels like 3 minutes and I can’t get tired of it. I would like the groove of the last 3 minutes to go on forever while I bounce on my swiss ball. I don’t use chairs. They’re bad for my back. “Extroduction” means “introduction” but at the end. Everything is a cycle. There is no begin, there is no end. You need to play the CD again, and again, until you understand. While I write these words, I’ve got a nice hot fire going and a glass of red and some great music to keep me warm.
New Zealand Reviews
Pierre Volter – When the Tide Turns (CD Album)
Tags: Piano, Rock, Pop, Progressive Rock, New Zealand