Jean-Philippe Rykiel
Encyclopedia
Jean-Philippe Rykiel is a French composer, arranger & musician, primarily a keyboard player. He has been blind since his birth in 1961, and is the son of fashion designer Sonia Rykiel
.
Rykiel first came to public attention via his synthesizer duets with Tim Blake
as part of the Crystal Machine
audio-visual project in the late 70's, which staged large events involving music and laser-based light shows in France and Japan.
Later he spent much time collaborating with world musicians, notably Mali
singer Salif Keita
, Tibet
an monk Lama Gyurme
and Senegal
ese singer and percussionist Youssou N'Dour
.
In 1992 Rykiel composed and performed music for the soundtrack of Les Pierres bleues du désert, dir:Nabil Ayouch
Rykiel and Blake reunited as Crystal Machine to perform at the Gong
Unconvention Festival in Amsterdam in 2006.
Sonia Rykiel
Sonia Rykiel née Flis is a French fashion designer.Ethnically a Polish-Romanian Jew, Sonia Rykiel was born in Neuilly a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, the eldest of five daughters of a Polish mother and a Romanian father. At the age of 17, she was employed to dress the window...
.
Career
Rykiel exhibited musical precocity as a child, sitting in with jazz greats like Miles Davis With his recognized talent, and strong connections, he could have been a famous child prodigy. He chose to wait, not wanting to be identified as "that blind musician kid".Rykiel first came to public attention via his synthesizer duets with Tim Blake
Tim Blake
Timothy 'Tim' Blake , keyboards, vocalist instrumentalist and composer with both Gong, and Hawkwind. Blake is best known for his Synthesizer and Light performances as Crystal Machine, with the French Light Artist Patrice Warrener...
as part of the Crystal Machine
Crystal Machine
Crystal Machine is a combination studio/live album by Tim Blake, recorded and originally released in 1977.- Track listing :#"Midnight"#"Metro/Logic"#"Last Ride of the Boogie Child"#"Synthese Intemporel"#"Crystal Presence"...
audio-visual project in the late 70's, which staged large events involving music and laser-based light shows in France and Japan.
Later he spent much time collaborating with world musicians, notably Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
singer Salif Keita
Salif Keita
Salif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
, Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an monk Lama Gyurme
Lama Gyurme
Lama Gyurme , or Lama Gyourmé, is a Buddhist Bhutanese monk and musician.He has lived in France since 1974, and he is the director of the Kagyu-Dzong center in Paris and, since 1982, the Vajradhara-Ling center in Normandy....
and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese singer and percussionist Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
.
In 1992 Rykiel composed and performed music for the soundtrack of Les Pierres bleues du désert, dir:Nabil Ayouch
Nabil Ayouch
Nabil Ayouch is a television and movie director, producer and writer of Moroccan origin.-Early life:He was born in Paris, although he spent a large part of his childhood in Sarcelles...
Rykiel and Blake reunited as Crystal Machine to perform at the Gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
Unconvention Festival in Amsterdam in 2006.
Solo
- 1982 Jean-Philippe Rykiel - (Musiza/Ariola)
- 1991 Nunc Musics (Quiet Days In Tokyo) - Takdisc/WMD
- 2003 Under The Tree (Last Call)
Collaborations
- 1994 Songs of awakening / Roads of blessings (The Lama's Chant) (w/Lama Gyourmé) - (Last Call/NaradaNaradaNarada or Narada Muni is a divine sage from the Vaisnava tradition, who plays a prominent role in a number of the Puranic texts, especially in the Bhagavata Purana, and in the Ramayana...
/Takticmusic) - 1996 Souhaits Pour L'Eveil (The Lama's Chant) (w/Lama Gyurme) - (Last Call/SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - 2000 Rain Of Blessings: Vajra Chants (w/Lama Gyurme) - (RealWorld)
Participations
- 1977 Vous Et Nous - Brigitte FontaineBrigitte FontaineBrigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry and world rhythms...
- 1978 New Jerusalem - Tim BlakeTim BlakeTimothy 'Tim' Blake , keyboards, vocalist instrumentalist and composer with both Gong, and Hawkwind. Blake is best known for his Synthesizer and Light performances as Crystal Machine, with the French Light Artist Patrice Warrener...
- 1979 Open - Steve HillageSteve HillageSteve Hillage is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s...
- (VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 1981 Friends Of Mr. Cairo - Jon & Vangelis - (Polydor)
- 1983 Catherine Lara - Catherine LaraCatherine LaraCatherine Lara is a French violinist, composer and singer.-Music career:As a child, Lara studied violin and received the first prize of chamber music at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1966....
- (TremaTremaTrema is a genus of about 15 species of evergreen trees closely related to the hackberries , occurring in subtropical and tropical regions of southern Asia, northern Australasia, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of North America...
) - 1984 En Concert - Catherine LaraCatherine LaraCatherine Lara is a French violinist, composer and singer.-Music career:As a child, Lara studied violin and received the first prize of chamber music at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1966....
- (TremaTremaTrema is a genus of about 15 species of evergreen trees closely related to the hackberries , occurring in subtropical and tropical regions of southern Asia, northern Australasia, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of North America...
) - 1985 Apartheid - XalamXalamXalam, also spelled khalam, is the Wolof name for a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa. The xalam is thought to have originated from modern-day Mali, but some believe that, in antiquity, the instrument may have originated from ancient Egypt...
- (MelodieMelodie"Melodie" is a hip-hop ballad by German rapper Kool Savas. It features Senna Guemmour, member of pop group Monrose, and R&B singer Moe Mitchell. The single released on April 18, 2008.- Music video :...
) - 1985 Nelson Mandela - Youssou N'DourYoussou N'DourYoussou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
- (EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
) - 1986 Power SpotPower SpotPower Spot is an album by American trumpet player and composer Jon Hassell recorded in 1983 and 1984 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
- Jon HassellJon HassellJon Hassell is an American trumpet player and composer. He is known for his influence in the world music scene and his unusual electronic manipulation of the trumpet sound.-Life and career:...
- (ECMECM (record label)ECM is a record label founded in Munich, Germany, in 1969 by Manfred Eicher. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a wide variety of recordings, and ECM's artists often refuse to acknowledge boundaries between genres...
) - 1987 Faton-Bloom - F.Cahen/D.Malherbe - (Cryonic)
- 1987 Soro - Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
- (EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
) - 1987 Xarit - XalamXalamXalam, also spelled khalam, is the Wolof name for a traditional stringed musical instrument from West Africa. The xalam is thought to have originated from modern-day Mali, but some believe that, in antiquity, the instrument may have originated from ancient Egypt...
- (BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
) - 1988 I'm Your Man - Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
- (SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - 1988 Surgeon Of The Nightsky - Jon HassellJon HassellJon Hassell is an American trumpet player and composer. He is known for his influence in the world music scene and his unusual electronic manipulation of the trumpet sound.-Life and career:...
- (Intutition) - 1989 Domba - Ousemane Kouyaté - (Sterns)
- 1989 Fetish - Didier MalherbeDidier MalherbeDidier Antonin Malherbe is a saxophonist and flautist. He was one of the founders of the Canterbury sound band Gong....
- (MantraMantraA mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
) - 1990 French Corazon - Brigitte FontaineBrigitte FontaineBrigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry and world rhythms...
- (EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
) - 1992 Eyes Open - Youssou N'DourYoussou N'DourYoussou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
- (SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - 1993 Les Romantiques - Catherine LaraCatherine LaraCatherine Lara is a French violinist, composer and singer.-Music career:As a child, Lara studied violin and received the first prize of chamber music at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1966....
- (TremaTremaTrema is a genus of about 15 species of evergreen trees closely related to the hackberries , occurring in subtropical and tropical regions of southern Asia, northern Australasia, Africa, South and Central America, and parts of North America...
) - 1993 Zef - Didier MalherbeDidier MalherbeDidier Antonin Malherbe is a saxophonist and flautist. He was one of the founders of the Canterbury sound band Gong....
- (TangramTangramThe tangram is a dissection puzzle consisting of seven flat shapes, called tans, which are put together to form shapes. The objective of the puzzle is to form a specific shape using all seven pieces, which may not overlap...
) - 1994 Soro - - Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
- (IslandIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
) - 1994 Wommat - Youssou N'DourYoussou N'DourYoussou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
- (SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - 1995 Emotion - Papa WembaPapa WembaPapa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in 1949 in Lubefu . He is a Congolese rumba musician, one of Africa's most popular musicians, and prominent in World music.-Zaiko Langa Langa:...
- (Real WorldReal World RecordsReal World Records is a record label started in 1989 by Peter Gabriel to record and produce world music.-Overview:The label grew up alongside the success of the WOMAD festivals and Peter Gabriel's exploration of music from other cultures, and helped push world music into the general public's...
) - 1995 Folon - Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
- (IslandIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
) - 1996 Kaoutal - Kaoutal - (SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - 1996 Mansa - Super Rail Band - (Label Bleu)
- 1996 Vago - Marcel Loeffler - (Tam Tam)
- 1996 Wapi Yo - - Lokua KanzaLokua KanzaLokua Kanza is a singer, songwriter, and composer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is known for his soulful, folksy sound, which is atypical of the dancefloor friendly soukous music that is common in the Congo.-Biography:...
- (BMGBMGBertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
) - 1997 Contes D'Afrique De L'Ouest - Mamadou DialloMamadou DialloMamadou Diallo , also known as Big Mama, is a former Senegalese football striker.-European career:Diallo has played all over the world: United States, Senegal, Morocco, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, South Africa, Mali, Germany, Turkey, Sweden and Norway...
- (CKT) - 1998 Castlesmadeofsand - Alexkid - (F-Communications)
- 1998 Paradis Païen - Jacques HigelinJacques HigelinJacques Joseph Victor Higelin is a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early in his career, many of Higelin's songs were effectively blacklisted from French radio because of his controversial left wing political beliefs, and his association with socialist groups...
(Tôt ou TardTôt ou tardTôt ou tard is a French record label, founded in 1996 as a break-off from Warner Music Group, which has been independent since 2002. It can be translated as "Early or late," or more figuratively "Sooner or later," in French...
/WarnerWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
) - 1999 Papa - Salif KeitaSalif KeitaSalif Keïta is an internationally recognized afro-pop singer-songwriter from Mali. He is unique not only because of his reputation as the Golden Voice of Africa, but because he has albinism and is a direct descendant of the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita...
- (IslandIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
) - 2000 Joko - Youssou N'DourYoussou N'DourYoussou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
- (SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - 2001 Bienvenida - Alexkid (F-Communications)
- 2001 Kekeland - Brigitte FontaineBrigitte FontaineBrigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. During the course of her career she has employed numerous unusual musical styles, melding rock and roll, folk, jazz, electronica, spoken word poetry and world rhythms...
(VirginVirgin RecordsVirgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
) - 2001 WhatIdidOnMyHolidays - Alexkid (F-Communications)
- 2002 Nothing's In Vain - Youssou N'DourYoussou N'DourYoussou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
(NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
/WarnerWarner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
) - 2002 Samba Alla - Diogal (CelluloidCelluloidCelluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1862 and as Xylonite in 1869, before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is...
/MélodieMélodieMélodie refers to French art songs of the mid-19th century to the present; it is the French equivalent of the German Lied. It is distinguished from a chanson, which is a folk or popular song.-Nature of the mélodie:...
) - 2002 Wati - Amadou & MariamAmadou & MariamAmadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia . The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music...
(Universal Music Jazz) - 2003 Mint - Alexkid - (F-Communications)
External links
- Last Call Records Under The Tree (audio samples) (RealplayerRealPlayerRealPlayer is a cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, and multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.-History:...
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