Willie Gibson - Saint-Ex

Reach for the stars. A synth-driven tribute to aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Out now on CD and 10” vinyl. 

We hear a lot of talk these days about society “dumbing down”. I'm not sure if that's truly the case – all the young people I meet these days seem impressively well-informed and give me much to be optimistic about. And while recent events have highlighted the dangerous combination of low-information voters and lower-information politicians, it's reassuring to find that the musicians the planet over continue to embrace the cerebral. One recent release that educates as well as entertains is this here disc from Willie Gibson. It's inspired by Wind Sand And Stars, a book by aviator and author Antoine de Saint Exupéry, who's perhaps best known for writing children's book The Little Prince.

Saint-Ex is a self-penned eighteen minute instrumental journey broken down in five distinct sections. As on Gibson's previous work, Vivaldi:Seasons Change, modular-synths are used throughout though there are additional live drums and the occasional vocal lines from Deerful's Emma Winston. The overall effect is meditative and calming with the modular synths lending a mid '70s feel – think Tangerine Dream, Kraftwerk's Autobahn or side two of David Bowie's Low. It's fair to say however that these artists would not be at the forefront of Gibson's mind when composing or recording these works, this being a tribute to Saint-Exupéry.

Each of the five distinct sections is a musical representation of an aspect of Saint-Exupéry's life or work. There's the propulsive opening section titled 'Wind, Sand And Stars' where one man's conquering of the elements is rendered in musical form, followed by more tranquil sections recalling childhood memories and joy-filled flights. Sadly Saint-Exupéry went missing over the Mediterranean on a routine reconnaissance flight in July 1944, with neither the aircraft or his body ever recovered. The final section 'July '44' closes the album in a suitably climactic way, filled with both drama and celebration.

I have to admit to not being very familiar with the life of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, my knowledge extends only to having watched the recent film version of The Little Prince. Thankfully there are musicians and composers around like Willie Gibson who continue to broaden our horizons where others would have them shut down.

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Willie Gibson - Vivaldi: Seasons Change

Synths! Baroque Classical music! Futurist-retro mix-up! Droogs with Moogs!

Synthesisers are fascinating things aren't they. A confession here - my preference has always been for guitars, mainly because during my teenage years I hated all those keyboard bands on Top Of The Pops. It also became apparent to me that technology was moving so quickly that if you bought a keyboard it would soon be out of date. It was a musical arms race in the '80s. Whereas, buy a decent guitar and it would age and sound better in 20 years time. That was my theory then anyway...

Oh how young, innocent and stupid I was. Some of those keyboards are probably worth more than my house now. And the sounds have a pleasing dated but unique and quirky appeal that makes a Fender Telecaster look pretty limited by comparison. That's the thing with synths isn't it. At the time of release they sound so far ahead of themselves but then become quickly associated with the era of their production after technology and tastes moves on. If you're a fan of all things retro though, these pieces of outdated kit can end up having a holy grail-like aura.

I mention all this after listening to an album that's coming out on Gare du Nord Records next week. Willie Gibson's take on Vivaldi's Opus 8, Il Quattro Stagioni, fitting re-titled Seasons Change, has been created using a Eurorack format modular synthesiser. Having not kept up with the afore-mentioned arms race I'm not entirely sure what a Eurorack format modular synthesiser is, but what I can tell you is that it sounds not unlike the beginning of The Who's Baba O'Reilly, or the soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange.

There's a commonly-held but false belief that synth music is an easy option, that it's made simply at the push of a button. Not so. Season's Change took a year to make with Gibson painstakingly creating the music layer by layer, one part at a time. It's worth mentioning here that Willie Gibson is not the artist's real name, it's a pseudonym for George Barker, a successful music producer and publisher whose career dates back to the late '60s/early '70s when he started out as a trumpet player for the likes of J Jackson, Tony Orlando, Dawn and Arthur Conley.

Season's Change is an immensely likable piece of work, a true curio and quite unlike anything else out there at the moment. It appeals to futurists, retro-heads and especially fans of baroque classical music. How's that for a coming together of the tribes!

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