Philippe Eidel (Antananarivo, Madagascar, 22 December 1956 – 6 September 20… Read Full Bio ↴Philippe Eidel (Antananarivo, Madagascar, 22 December 1956 – 6 September 2018) was a French music producer, writer and film music composer.
It’s not so much for the sake of chronology that I’ll begin by saying that I was born in Madagascar, of a father from Marseille and a Creole mother, rather, it’s because this diversity, this mixing of races has really influenced my music, and my life too. In truth, it was only well after my return to France that I first become aware of this racial mixing, and this awareness only really came about quite late on, if I can even say that it’s fully taken place.
At the very least I can say that I didn’t grow up in the love of music, as this was something with which my parents were completely unacquainted. So it’s by self-study that I discovered it, again quite late on. I proceeded as many others did, by learning to play the guitar, then joining small passing bands, after which I gave up my studies and left to join Club Med for a few months to earn a mere pittance.
It was on my return to Paris that I met someone who was a great synthesizer enthusiast, but not a musician. He let me use his instruments day and night, instruments that would leave anyone dreaming today (Moogs, Oberheim, Arp, Korg, etc…), so much so that I quickly became very familiar with a type of music that was only in its infancy, listening to the leading bands of the time for hours on end (Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze…).
A producer called Maxime Schmitt heard about me and invited me to his studio to play the synthesizer arrangements and do the programming for a band that was recording its first single. His idea was to create the very first French Techno-Rock band. This group was called “Taxi Girl” and this work gave birth to “Man’kin”, “Chercher le garcon” and many others. At last, I had the exciting feeling of taking part in something really new.
A short time later, my work with Taxi Girl caused another band to contact me for similar reasons and this partnership lasted even longer. The band was Indochine, and following a first single (and album) “L’aventurier”, I was a bit like the fifth member of the band for ten years, right up to the album “Le baiser”.
In spite of all this I didn’t want to remain stereotyped as a synthesizer specialist; something elsewhere was tempting me and fate took care of the rest.
Without really believing it, I offered to create the logo for an up-and-coming television channel, Canal+. I didn’t think it would come to anything, because I had never worked for either the film or television industries before. I was interested in them, though and was a big fan of Brian Eno, of his “Music for airports” and his very design approach to “Ambient Music”. Having composed something that broke absolutely every rule that applied to television at the time (and often still applies even now), I was extremely surprised when Pierre Lescure not only chose my composition but also even asked me to create the whole design of the channel. I went even further than him by choosing to do so with artists renowned at the time for their ‘no compromise’ attitude towards the media: Gainsbourg, Jonasz, Charlélie Couture, Mc Laughlin and others….
The media bug was well and truly caught. This design lasted almost 20 years. The design of Channels 7 and M6 followed.
I shared my first experience with Cinema with someone else who was experiencing it for the first time himself, Enki Bilal for “Bunker Palace Hotel”. Even more than the film and its music, it was my few weeks spent in the decadent communist surroundings of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, amidst the rising hatred between ethnic groups, which were decisive for me. It was there that I realized what it really meant to meet foreign artists on their home ground and what this implied in terms of respect and humility. It was there that I also learnt how to become inquisitive and no longer merely a spectator.
It was then that my slow awakening to other music, traditions and instruments from elsewhere began, thanks in particular to my collaboration on “Manhabharata” by Peter Brook. Thus began my desire to mingle with them and invite them into my compositions.
This idea permeated personal projects (like “Mammas”), as well as involvement with other artists for whom I produced their albums (like “Khaled”). At this time, I was lucky enough to be able to continue composing sound tracks for this sort of French “New Wave” (Klapisch, Harel, Salvadori) and even for what symbolized the former New Wave: Eric Rohmer.
Nowadays, it’s with pleasure that I pursue this mixing of genres, which makes me quite complex in the opinion of some, but which I know now that I could never do without.
• Creole music ?
Like others, I always find it difficult to define my music when asked. Probably, because it’s constantly taking diversions, while our contemporaries like to know exactly what they’re dealing with.
After much thought, I’d quite simply call my music “Creole”. It exists here but was born elsewhere and continues to develop from this fusion.
I prefer “Creole” to “diversity”, as it implies an uprooting which is an intimate part of my life story.
I always think of my compositions as an unlikely Orchestra. I have familiarized myself with, and become greatly attached to instruments like accordions (chromatic and diatonic), various members of the guitar family (bouzouki, charango, cuatro, mandolute…), which are now my daily companions. I compose freely building on this variety. If I have always taken an interest in “traditional” instruments, it’s because they contribute to diversifying the sound palette. I enjoy the freedom of taking them out of their usual context to use them as I please.
• Language and Voice
I have written a lot of compositions for singers expressing themselves in their native tongues (Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Tuareg, Bulgarian, Hebrew…). Primarily because the voice is such a fascinating raw material, whatever its origin. There’s also something magical in finding yourself in a kind of Tower of Babel, in which you have to learn to coexist, while languages themselves (or actually their meaning) seem to separate us.
It’s not so much for the sake of chronology that I’ll begin by saying that I was born in Madagascar, of a father from Marseille and a Creole mother, rather, it’s because this diversity, this mixing of races has really influenced my music, and my life too. In truth, it was only well after my return to France that I first become aware of this racial mixing, and this awareness only really came about quite late on, if I can even say that it’s fully taken place.
At the very least I can say that I didn’t grow up in the love of music, as this was something with which my parents were completely unacquainted. So it’s by self-study that I discovered it, again quite late on. I proceeded as many others did, by learning to play the guitar, then joining small passing bands, after which I gave up my studies and left to join Club Med for a few months to earn a mere pittance.
It was on my return to Paris that I met someone who was a great synthesizer enthusiast, but not a musician. He let me use his instruments day and night, instruments that would leave anyone dreaming today (Moogs, Oberheim, Arp, Korg, etc…), so much so that I quickly became very familiar with a type of music that was only in its infancy, listening to the leading bands of the time for hours on end (Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze…).
A producer called Maxime Schmitt heard about me and invited me to his studio to play the synthesizer arrangements and do the programming for a band that was recording its first single. His idea was to create the very first French Techno-Rock band. This group was called “Taxi Girl” and this work gave birth to “Man’kin”, “Chercher le garcon” and many others. At last, I had the exciting feeling of taking part in something really new.
A short time later, my work with Taxi Girl caused another band to contact me for similar reasons and this partnership lasted even longer. The band was Indochine, and following a first single (and album) “L’aventurier”, I was a bit like the fifth member of the band for ten years, right up to the album “Le baiser”.
In spite of all this I didn’t want to remain stereotyped as a synthesizer specialist; something elsewhere was tempting me and fate took care of the rest.
Without really believing it, I offered to create the logo for an up-and-coming television channel, Canal+. I didn’t think it would come to anything, because I had never worked for either the film or television industries before. I was interested in them, though and was a big fan of Brian Eno, of his “Music for airports” and his very design approach to “Ambient Music”. Having composed something that broke absolutely every rule that applied to television at the time (and often still applies even now), I was extremely surprised when Pierre Lescure not only chose my composition but also even asked me to create the whole design of the channel. I went even further than him by choosing to do so with artists renowned at the time for their ‘no compromise’ attitude towards the media: Gainsbourg, Jonasz, Charlélie Couture, Mc Laughlin and others….
The media bug was well and truly caught. This design lasted almost 20 years. The design of Channels 7 and M6 followed.
I shared my first experience with Cinema with someone else who was experiencing it for the first time himself, Enki Bilal for “Bunker Palace Hotel”. Even more than the film and its music, it was my few weeks spent in the decadent communist surroundings of Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, amidst the rising hatred between ethnic groups, which were decisive for me. It was there that I realized what it really meant to meet foreign artists on their home ground and what this implied in terms of respect and humility. It was there that I also learnt how to become inquisitive and no longer merely a spectator.
It was then that my slow awakening to other music, traditions and instruments from elsewhere began, thanks in particular to my collaboration on “Manhabharata” by Peter Brook. Thus began my desire to mingle with them and invite them into my compositions.
This idea permeated personal projects (like “Mammas”), as well as involvement with other artists for whom I produced their albums (like “Khaled”). At this time, I was lucky enough to be able to continue composing sound tracks for this sort of French “New Wave” (Klapisch, Harel, Salvadori) and even for what symbolized the former New Wave: Eric Rohmer.
Nowadays, it’s with pleasure that I pursue this mixing of genres, which makes me quite complex in the opinion of some, but which I know now that I could never do without.
• Creole music ?
Like others, I always find it difficult to define my music when asked. Probably, because it’s constantly taking diversions, while our contemporaries like to know exactly what they’re dealing with.
After much thought, I’d quite simply call my music “Creole”. It exists here but was born elsewhere and continues to develop from this fusion.
I prefer “Creole” to “diversity”, as it implies an uprooting which is an intimate part of my life story.
I always think of my compositions as an unlikely Orchestra. I have familiarized myself with, and become greatly attached to instruments like accordions (chromatic and diatonic), various members of the guitar family (bouzouki, charango, cuatro, mandolute…), which are now my daily companions. I compose freely building on this variety. If I have always taken an interest in “traditional” instruments, it’s because they contribute to diversifying the sound palette. I enjoy the freedom of taking them out of their usual context to use them as I please.
• Language and Voice
I have written a lot of compositions for singers expressing themselves in their native tongues (Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Tuareg, Bulgarian, Hebrew…). Primarily because the voice is such a fascinating raw material, whatever its origin. There’s also something magical in finding yourself in a kind of Tower of Babel, in which you have to learn to coexist, while languages themselves (or actually their meaning) seem to separate us.
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Canal+
Philippe Eidel Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
Lefresquel
L'âge d'or de Canal + qui à l'époque a bousculé la télé Française qui n'évolué pas.
Canal + fut la première chaîne en 1984 à prendre l'antenne de 7h à plus 3 h, alors que les chaînes publiques s'étaient de 11h à 23h.
Cela fait moins de 35 ans que les chaînes diffusent 24h/24, c'est pas si vieux.
La musique de Canal +, les jingles ont été composés par Michel Jonas si je ne me trompe pas et de souvenir.
Maintenant, Canal + est désossée, ce n'est plus l'ombre que d'elle même. Ou est est passé l'innovation, le ton impertinent. La chaîne est devenue aussi lisse que les autres.
Canal + avait trouvé une façon de faire de télé nouvelle, mais elle n'a pas su évoluer avec le temps. Elle a vécu sur ses lauriers.
C'est vrai qu'il y a un bouleversement dans la consommation des produits audio-visuels, elle s'est faite complétement dépassée !!!
J'ai été un fidèle abonné de 1985 à 2003, j'ai même été parmi les premiers à prendre Canal + et Canal Satellite en analogique puis en numérique. J'ai tout abandonné car beaucoup cher avec des programmes qui passaient en boucle sur Canal Sat et Canal + qui commençait à être envahit par les sponsors, les films gâchés par des bandeaux etc... L'impossibilité de les enregistrer car Canal + avait et a toujours peur des vilains pirates !!!
C'est vraiment dommage que les dirigeants notamment Vincent Bolloré est flingué en outil appareil car Canal + aurait pu créer un Netflix à la Française d'une envergure internationale ou du moins Européen... Aujourd'hui Canal + courre après les nouvelles technologies en s'associant aux plateformes de streaming, Canal n'est plus qu'une coquille vide.
Clauen Saxon
This is quite a surprise for me.
To be honest, I never expect any TV and movie ident to have a soundtrack album, much less a "long" version of it officially released.
This is actually nice to listen to.
Panos Egglezos
It's not the only case though. Britains' Channel Four ident music from 1982 called "Fourscore" by David Dundas not only was released as a single back in the day, but it contained a B-side of the track, which was also used during commercial bumpers, etc. I happen to love both C+ and C4's idents and music from back then because even to this day they feel so elegant and original, nothing like today's precalculated efforts...
jim lyon
Honnêtement, ce morceau sonne vraiment bien même 35 ans après, et je pense qu'il a grandement contribué à la renommée de C+ (avec son ellipse)
Je regrette cette époque où c'est vrai que quand on regardait CANAL on ne regardait pas la télé.
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@jim lyon t’as raison mais canal+ était un projet secret que personne ne savait avant que André Rousselet inspecte l’équipe du développement de la HAVAS qui l’ont fait découvrir et de base sans se dossier on n’aurait pas tous cela aujourd’hui . Après aujourd’hui on peut faire une chaîne de télé , il faut juste trouver un opérateur qui peut louer un canal sur leurs offres TV , un dossier avec les programmes tous ça , bien évidemment l’autorisation du csa pour diffuser sans problème pendant 5 ans ou 10 ans . Et le budget qui va avec. Mais souvent à la présentation c’est clean avec des bon programme après au début c’est bien et à la fin c’est de la merde comme numéro 23 tellement ils ont fait retirer quelques années après le droit de diffusion.
jim lyon
@Ad Ad Ils ont eu le temps de construire cette base. Plus de 2 ans entre le moment où ils savaient qu'ils avait la fréquence et le début du 4 novembre 1984. Ils ont le temps de réfléchir au concept, de faire de beaux génériques avec de la belle musique, de bonnes émissions.
Maintenant entre la décision de faire une chaine et le début il se passe 2 mois max. Forcément c'est pas le même résultat. C'est C8, c'est TMC(air TF1), c'est W9, c'est pas terrible quoi.
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Et dire que tous cela a été créé grâce à l’équipe du développement de la HAVAS qui était critiqué comme des idiots mais ils ont créé un empire médiatique qui de base n’aurait pas pu existé sans eux , l’info qu’ils ont entendu de la part des techniciens de TDF et du passage de TF1 au départ en noir et blanc et en couleur a l’époque qui ont abandonné le 819 ligne ( la ligne noir et blanc de TF1 à l’époque) pour diffuser qu’en couleur.
Tony Stanley
@Landyn Junior Yup, been using instaflixxer for months myself =)
Landyn Junior
Dunno if anyone cares but if you guys are stoned like me during the covid times you can stream pretty much all of the new movies on Instaflixxer. Have been streaming with my brother for the last weeks =)
Rafael Santos
L'un des plus grands génériques T.V. de tous les temps...
Nico Là en 25
Je suis né en 1986 donc j'ai pas connu le tout début de Canal+ mais ce générique je l'ai beaucoup entendu. Et le réentendre en haute qualité en plus ça c'est vraiment chouette 😊 Merci Kalisphere 😀💜