An Autobiography of Noetra by Jean Lapouge
I started learning guitar in 1966, at age 13. At the time I was fascinated with the Beatles, and British pop in general - as I lived in Normandy I could listen to Radio Caroline... When I reached 15, I formed my first band : a trio, which already included Daniel Renault on drums. We played mainly British blues. My main influences at that point were Cream, John Mayall and Jimi Hendrix.
Soon discovering the 'limitations' of that style of music, I subsequently became interested in the music of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa... basically everything that was happening at the time, keeping myself up-to-date with the help of French rock periodicals like Rock & Folk. But the biggest shock for me during this period was discovering Soft Machine in 1970, around the time of their 'Third' album. Their music was to prove essential to the genesis of my own style.
I started composing then, and later that year played my first concert, still with a trio, performing one long self-penned piece. By 1972 I had given up my studies in order to become a professional musician - a more 'respectable' synonym for playing in a danceband ! But I kept writing, albeit now without an outlet for my compositions. This was when I wrote the original versions of pieces like "Printemps Noir" or "Sens de l'Après-Midi".
In parallel to that I became interested in jazz, thanks to the fusion style championed by Miles Davis (Bitches Brew), John McLaughlin (Extrapolation), Weather Report (I Sing The Body Electric), Gary Burton (Throb), etc. It was only a listening experience though, since at that time I was completely unable to play in that style. I also discovered contemporary classical music and the works of Guillaume de Machaut, in 1973 at a festival in Royan. And I still listened to rock music, most notably King Crimson.
In 1974, I left St.Samson and went to live in Poitiers, for professional reasons - I was still playing in balls then. Feeling more isolated than ever before, I took that opportunity to concentrate on improving my technique and compositional ability. The results of that process were "Agréments Parfaitement Bleus" and "Périodes". After moving once again later that year, this time to Bordeaux, things became even more difficult, with very little musical activity and doubts about my future as an artist. I then wrote "A Prétendre S'En Détacher".
Things changed radically in 1976 after I moved to Creyssensac, near Périgueux, in the countryside. I vaguely felt that, at this stage of my compositional process, the time had come to form my own group. With the help of my old musical accomplice Daniel Renault, who joined me in Périgord, we enlisted the help of two musicians from Normandy and Brittany respectively, Denis Lefranc (bass) and Christian Pab?uf (oboe), who agreed to follow us into this venture. The first months were difficult, but in our 'splendid isolation', we laid the foundations of Noétra.
The pieces "Noétra" and "Qui Est-Il Qui Parle Ainsi?" date from that period. My main influences at the time were Henry Cow (the saga of the socks !), Kohntarkosz-era Magma, early Oregon, Eberhard Weber's The Following Morning and, above all, Stravinsky's La Messe.
I soon felt the need to record our music, with a view to approaching potentially interested record labels. A first demo recording saw the light of day during the winter of 1978/79, with the help of additional musicians. On this occasion I doubled as sound engineer, operating my own Revox A-77 tape recorder. The tracks "Ephémère", "Agréments Parfaitement Bleus III", "Alpha Du Centaure", "Venise" and "Printemps Noir" were retained.
Shortly afterwards I met Klaus Blasquiz at a Magma concert and gave him a copy of the tape. A few months later, he sent me a letter : "You are on the right track. But still too many technical shortcomings". During the autumn of 1979, the band experienced existential problems - not enough gigs. I felt the need to react quickly. So I decided to commit our best pieces to tape, with more powerful arrangements. The result was the Neuf Songes tape, once again recorded on my Revox ("Mésopotamie" was the only composition left out of the same-titled CD).
I contacted Klaus Blasquiz again. His reaction was enthusiastic, but little action followed. Then in February 1980 (shortly after writing "Transparences" and "Tintamarre") I wrote a letter to ECM Records, whose productions - Ralph Towner's Solstice, Jan Garbarek, Terje Rypdal - were among my favourites. To my great surprise, I got a positive reply, requesting more music, with a view to a meeting in Munich with Manfred Eicher, at the ECM headquarters. In preparation for it, more pieces were hastedly recorded in April and May 1980.
The meeting lasted three hours, in a very courteous atmosphere. I played the ECM people my new pieces, which disappointingly they felt lacked the 'magic' of the the original tape. In spite of that I was assured the sessions for Neuf Songes would still take place the following October. Alas this was not to happen : a further (live) tape which they found disappointing marked the end of Noétra's relationship with ECM.
Then came the 'dark years'... In August 1981, I managed to get the band to record some new compositions, hoping to resume contact with ECM, but motivation was waning in the band's ranks. Still we decided to carry on, adding Pierre Aubert (the violin player who had guested on Neuf Songes) as fifth member. This proved a positive move, since our concert schedule became more intensive for a while. May 1982 brought yet another studio recording, with "Ephémère" and "Forfanterie" among others. In 1983, we recorded a live tape which marked the culmination of that period. Its centrepiece was a 20-minute piece entitled "Long-Métrage".
Meanwhile, I had embarked on a deeper exploration of guitar playing and harmony. Up to then I was mainly concentrating on composition and arrangements, leaving most of the improvisation to the other instruments. Confronted with a total lack of success and understanding, Noétra eventually broke up in 1985. Christian and I carried on as a duo, under the name Contrejour. We recorded a demo with eight pieces, which remained unreleased, but touring proved easier as a duo, so we played quite a lot of gigs.
After a while we both felt the need to expand the instrumentation with percussion, so we formed a trio with a jazz musician from La Rochelle, Mikko Fontaine. In November 1988, thanks to the help of Patrick Duval's "Musiques de Nuit" association, we got to support Jack DeJohnette in Bordeaux. This proved a decisive step towards making our way into the jazz circuit - although I have never been interested in pre-Miles jazz and find bebop boring. We recorded several tapes with the trio, then as a quartet with two different bass players. In 1992, once again with the help of Patrick Duval, we supported John Surman and Miroslav Vitous.
This is when Muséa entered the picture. The connection started thanks to a progressive rock fan from Paris, Bertrand Dusenter, whose maths teacher was a cousin of mine and had a copy of the first Noétra tape, which he lent to him. Bertrand called me up and put me in touch with Muséa, then totally unknown to me. I had several conversations on the phone with Bernard Gueffier, which led to the release of the first Noétra CD, Neuf Songes, in June 1992.
Having had my own music released for the first time was certainly a decisive factor in my next project. In September 1992, I started conceiving what eventually became my first 'solo' album. Rehearsals started with Christian, Mikko and a new bass player, Jean-François Bercé. We played a few gigs, then entered a studio in La Rochelle, in March 1993. Hauts Plateaux was released on Muséa Parallèle in June 1993. It was followed by a tour, during which personal difficulties arose, and I decided to dissolve the group in early 1994.
In May that year, I got in contact with Kent Carter, whom I'd see play several times near where I live. From our first rehearsal together, the idea of a guitar/bass duo seemed natural. We did a tour of Turkey in November, appeared at the Parthenay Jazz Festival the following year, and toured Eastern France in March 1996. During that period we also recorded a demo CD.
In June 1997, we were booked to do a tour of six gigs in Portugal. The promoter suggested the idea of adding a drummer to our duo. Kent introduced me to another American musician, the drummer Jeff Boudreaux, who turned out to be available. The tour was a success, which led to a return trip in 1998. The Jean Lapouge Trio is now a regular working group; as regular as can be on this scene anyway ! We recorded a further demo, but have yet to make our proper debut on disc.
In February 2000, I had a sudden stroke of nostalgia, and plugged in my old Revox to listen again to my old Noétra tapes, which had laid dormant on a shelf since 1992. That was a major shock for me. I realised my selection of pieces for Neuf Songes was highly arbitrary, and based on my mood and taste of the moment. I rediscovered several tracks, from the period of spring 1979 to spring 1982, which I thought were worthy of release, so I proceeeded to assemble them into a cohesive whole.
Muséa then decided to release the resulting CD...
Jean Lapouge