The picture used for the album cover is what inspired me to do this album but also the mood of the time. Earlier in the year I had a health scare. You think about your own mortality. This past year was challenging, in the middle of a pandemic, working from home. They say the only thing that does not change is change. The sun passing through the clouds, the right imagery for Passages. The world will be different after covid-19. We are also on a path of self ecological destruction. It is a passage for humanity. I poured this mood, these emotions into this music.
From the Press
"Listeners have been placed into a very unique soundscape that one could classify as truly weird or even consider it a movie soundtrack. Regardless of how one classifies Passages, it goes far beyond the realm that we live in, creating an aural journey unlike any other listeners have probably heard." - Wesley Derbyshire - Hi-Res Edition
"Franck Martin’s latest release “Passages” immediately reminds me of the sound design from the first 10 minutes of the 1985 cult film and animated cinematic masterpiece “Night On the Galactic Railroad.” Similarly metaphysical in nature, in sound and in feel, to me, Franck Martin’s album is the distorted sister of Haroumi Hosono’s haunting soundtrack. " - Elise Mills - Fault Radio
"The production and audio effects are well done, carefully placed, and presented with clever nuance. The careful use of panning, ping-pong effects, and surround sound elements allow the listener to get pulled into the three-dimensional musical landscape. Not only is the darkness envisioned, but it is felt on a more visceral level. " - Rob Benny - On The Fringes of Sound
Release and Links
It is in quadraphonic, processed to be a Dolby Atmos release and bounced to binaural for Bandcamp and other Stereo only services.
- Friday July 16 2021: First Master exclusive to Bandcamp Subscribers
- Become a Bandcamp subscriber to support my work
- Friday Feb 4 2022: Pre-order on selected stores
- Friday March 4 2022: Public release on all stores and streaming services.
- Dolby Atmos (quadraphonic) on Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music
- 5.1 and Dolby Atmos Movie on Surroundmusic.one
- Binaural on all other stores
It has been the evolution of a patch I have been using, for shows like Modular World, NPR Tiny Desk Contest,..
This patch was mentioned on NPR:
"Franck Martin has entered the Tiny Desk Contest multiple times, but I still remember his 2019 entry: a mobile, modular synth unit filmed near the Golden Gate bridge with a 360-degree camera! This one's no less scenic, but stable, as Martin's mix of Buchla and Moog synths soundtrack the mountainous Pacifica skyline with headphone-panning dark ambient." - Lars Gotrich - NPR
So it is a bit the culmination of testing this music with many people. During this journey I have learned a lot, got new modules, shaped the sound differently.
Part 8 Lyrics:
Passages
Passages
Passages
Tout n’est que passages
On se bouscule
On recule
On avance
On avance
Passages
Tout n’est que passages
On se bouscule
On recule
On avance
On repense
On avance
On repense
On se bouscule
On recule
On avance
On repense
Passages
Tout n’est que passages
On se bouscule
On recule
On avance
On repense
Instruments:
Moog Subharmonicon
Moog Spectravox
Moog DFAM
Buchla 208c
Eurorack: Shakmat, Makenoise, Mutable Instruments, Pittsburgh, New Systems Instruments, Intellijel, Sputnik, Verbos, Hexinverter