Long-time collaborators include trumpeter Mark Isham; guitarist Lone Kent; cellist and singer Caroline Lavelle; trumpeter Christian Lechevretel, who has appeared on all of Zazou's albums after Sahara Blue; clarinetist and flutist Renaud Pion, who has appeared on all of Zazou's albums since Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses; drummer Bill Rieflin; and Japanese recording artist Ryuichi Sakamoto.
His discography demonstrates his affinity for cross-cultural collaborations, and incorporating modern techniques and sounds in re-recordings of traditional material. He was influenced by Peter Gabriel's album Passion in his fusion of musical polarities (traditional and modern, electronic and acoustic) on his own album Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses.
Zazou regards his work during the 1980s as his time of apprenticeship in the studio. On his 1986 album, Reivax au Bongo, he experimented with fusing classical vocals with an electronic backdrop. On his 1989 album, GΓ©ologies, he combined electronic music with a string quartet.
The albums that he has released under his own name from the 1990s onwards are usually concept albums that draw from literary or folk sources and revolve around a specific theme. The collection of songs on each album assemble contributions from a diverse and global range of pop, folk, world music, avant-garde, and classical recording acts.
Zazou's 1992 offering, Sahara Blue, was based on an idea by Jacques Pasquier. Pasquier suggested Zazou commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of author Arthur Rimbaud by setting music to Rimbaud's poetry. Contributions included spoken word from GΓ©rard Depardieu, and music by Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerard of Dead Can Dance, Tim Simenon, and David Sylvian. He even adapted a traditional Ethiopian song.
In 1994, he released the album Chansons des mers froides (called "Songs from the Cold Seas" for the anglophone market). The album was based on ocean-themed traditional folk songs from northern countries, such as Canada, Finland, Iceland, and Japan. It featured vocals by pop and rock artists such as BjΓΆrk, Suzanne Vega, John Cale, VΓ€rttina, Jane Siberry, and Siouxsie Sioux in addition to recordings of shamanic incantations and lullabies from Ainu, Nanai, Inuit, and Yakut singers. Musicians included Mark Isham, Brendan Perry, and the Balanescu Quartet. A cameraman accompanied Zazou on the project and they shot and recorded in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Japan, Scandinavia, and Siberia. The single "The Long Voyage" was the only song to be an original composition from Zazou. He wrote it in gratitude to his record company Sony who gave him complete artistic liberty.
His 1998 album, Lights in the Dark, showcased ancient Celtic music sung by Irish singers.
Zazou's collaborative 2000 album 12 (Las Vegas is Cursed) with Sandy Dillon was regarded as a financial and critical failure. In the book "Sonora Portraits 2", which accompanies the CD Strong Currents, Zazou says that 12 (Las Vegas is Cursed) was his most elaborate album. He describes it as a work of black humour and regards his instrumental composition "Sombre" on the album as one of his best songs ever.
Strong Currents was released in 2003 and featured an all-female vocal cast which included Laurie Anderson, Melanie Gabriel, Lori Carson, Lisa Germano, Irene Grandi, Jane Birkin, and Caroline Lavelle. Musicians included Ryuichi Sakamoto and Archaea Strings. The album took six years to complete.
In 2004 Zazou released a companion CD of sorts, L'absence, which included instrumentals, many of the same female vocalists that were featured on Strong Currents, and one male vocalist, French singer Edo.
Zazou has recently been a member of the musical collective named Slow Music. The line-up also included Robert Fripp and Peter Buck on guitars, Fred Chalenor on bass, Matt Chamberlain on drums, and Bill Rieflin on keyboards and percussion. He contributed electronics to the group's music, and much of his recent work, including a soundtrack for Carl ThΓ©odor Dreyer's silent film La Passion de Jeanne dβArc and the multimedia collaboration released as a CD in 2006, Quadri+Chromies, has focused on electronic sounds produced on computers.
A number of recent projects are documented on the Music Operator interactive multimedia web site (www.musicoperator.com), which graphically documents his recent collaborations while in the background his recent music plays. In january 2008 Hector Zazou released his newest album, Corps électriques, featuring "one of the original riot grrrls" KatieJane Garside, Bill Rieflin, Lone Kent and fusion jazz trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær.
Hector Zazou died on the 8th of September 2008 at the age of 60 in a hospital in Paris after serious illness.
First Evening
Hector Zazou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Outside, a curious tree
Beat a branch at the window
To see what it could see.
Perched on my enormous easy chair,
Half nude, she clasped her hands.
Her feet trembled on the floor,
I watched as a ray of pale light,
Trapped in the tree outside,
Danced from her mouth
To her breast, like a fly on a flower.
I kissed her delicate ankles.
She had a soft, brusque laugh
That broke into shining crystals -
A pretty little laugh.
Her feet ducked under her chemise;
'Will you please stop it!β¦'
But I laughed at her cries -
I knew she really liked it.
Her eye trembled beneath my lips;
They closed at my touch.
Her head went back; she cried:
'Oh, really! That's too much!
'My dear, I'm warning youβ¦'
I stopped her protest with a kiss
And she laughed, low -
A laugh that wanted more than thisβ¦
Her clothes were almost off;
Outside, a curious tree
Beat a branch at the window
To see what it could see.
The song "First Evening" by Hector Zazou is a sensual and romantic description of a couple's intimate moment. The woman is described as being nearly undressed, perched on an enormous easy chair, with trembling feet and a soft laugh. The singer's attention is drawn to a tree outside the window that beats a branch against the glass to get a better look at the couple. The imagery of the dancing light from the tree creating a path from the woman's mouth to her breast is a metaphor for the desire and passion between them. The singer kisses her delicate ankles, and the woman protests, but she is amused by his affection.
The woman's laughter is described as breaking into shining crystals, which suggests that her laughter is a beautiful and precious thing. She tries to protest again, warning him, but he silences her with a kiss. The final lines of the song repeat the opening lines to suggest that the moment is frozen in time, with the couple almost undressed and the curious tree still watching outside.
Overall, "First Evening" is a romantic and sensual song that captures the intensity and beauty of a couple's intimate moment. The lyrics use vivid descriptive language to create a vivid image of the scene, while also hinting at the deeper emotions and desires that drive the couple's passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Her clothes were almost off;
She was undressing.
Outside, a curious tree
Beat a branch at the window
To see what it could see.
A tree outside was beating its branch against the window in order to look inside.
Perched on my enormous easy chair,
Half nude, she clasped her hands.
Her feet trembled on the floor,
As soft as they could be.
She sat on a large comfortable chair with only partly covering clothes, holding her hands while her feet shook with fear and expectation.
I watched as a ray of pale light,
Trapped in the tree outside,
Danced from her mouth
To her breast, like a fly on a flower.
A sunbeam created shadows on her body bounded by the window frame, just like a fly buzzing around a flower, attracted by its beauty.
I kissed her delicate ankles.
He kissed her softly on her delicate ankles.
She had a soft, brusque laugh
That broke into shining crystals -
A pretty little laugh.
She laughed lightly and brightly, like diamonds sparkling.
Her feet ducked under her chemise;
'Will you please stop it!β¦'
But I laughed at her cries -
I knew she really liked it.
She pulled her chemise over her feet and begged him to stop his advances, but he knew that she secretly enjoyed it and laughed anyway.
Her eye trembled beneath my lips;
They closed at my touch.
Her head went back; she cried:
'Oh, really! That's too much!
Her eye quivered as he kissed her, and as he continued, she closed her eyes and let her head fall back while crying out in pleasure.
'My dear, I'm warning youβ¦'
I stopped her protest with a kiss
And she laughed, low -
A laugh that wanted more than thisβ¦
As she protested with words, he silenced her with a kiss, and she then giggled softly, implying that she actually wanted more.
Her clothes were almost off;
Outside, a curious tree
Beat a branch at the window
To see what it could see.
As she was almost undressed, the curious tree outside continued to tap its branch on the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the couple's actions.
Contributed by John L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jonas Govenius
Hector Zazou, David Sylvian and John Cale in a wonderful piece of music. We need more of this - for the soul.JG
tomgirl double
Beautiful ππ»π€π
David Roberts
Wow. . . 3 outstanding musicians putting one of my favourite Rimbaud poems to music! Win Γ 4! ;)
rory mckeag
Beautiful. The concept of these guys...wow. !st I've heard this and I've got to close my eyes. Thank you whoever.
Johan Troch
The atmospheric soundscapes are from David Sylvian. That's the contribution to this track.
TheBritomart
Is this one of the most evocative, erotic sonic offerings, ever? RIP, Hector-
MEGATRON
Stunning. Mesmerizing. So Beautiful.
Levan Sandino Tsulukidze
love it
MisAnnThorpe
Thanks, Hector Zazou i new to me. Think I may have to investigate further. What was Sylvian's contribution to this? Was he breathing in an artistic manner or something?! Actually sounds quite similar to the instrumental stuff on Gone to Earth LP.
Vasoula Tsiminaki
love, love, love .