A lyrical and musical journey (1)

Lyrics set the tone in my creative space. Having something to say and wanting to share this with the world enhances my musical ventures.

Music came to me early in life when I was growing up in Montreal. As a toddler, classical music was ever present in the house. I was fascinated with Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and Ravel. In my teens, I avidly listened to bands of the 'British Invasion' belting their hits on the radio waves. The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Who defined my way of expressing myself musically. Later on, progressive rock bands like Genesis, and American groups like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and Chicago added to this. Then came singers like Gino Vannelli, Jim Morrison and Seal to open my mind even more. Classical music and popular music have since coexisted side by side in my collection of recordings.

Music defined my world and fueled my imagination.

Being a singer, lyrics came first when it came to my own musical expression. I started writing poems. They questioned our existence through a series of themes I still remember to this day: emotions, movement, philosophical takes, and modernity. Take this excerpt of 'City Life', for example:

Yellow, red, deep blue green/Adjust the picture on your screen

Sense the modulations, the waves of pleasure

Submit to pressure/Enjoy the the leisure of your sleeping unit, Carbon unit

Romance them with your touch/Make them love under the couch

Into lands of oblivion, into realms of perdition

Get the best out of city life

I was and remain interested in theme songs.

More poetry than lyrics, you would say. I totally agree. I knew that even back then. I was and remain interested in theme songs, in lyrics that carry a meaning that can resonate in all of us. But I was ever searching for more melodious overtones.

I honed my style when I met a guitarist who became a partner in those formative years. We started composing material together and had a blast turning them into songs our band would perform, with me as lead singer. My favorite from that time in the 1980s remains a fast-paced song called 'Ephemeral'. Here's the intro:

I am a mythological beast marching on the plains of the Nile

I am a story, history revealed in the rough palms of your hand

I am a dying castaway whom nobody ever found

I'm a photographic gesture, a speeding car off to burn

A circling hungry vulture hovering over what is left to learn

Ephemeral, ephemeris

In my mind, these words had a groove and meaning. In short: they were lyrics. I have written close to seventy lyrics over the past decades. Many were discarded, but many more ended up being used to write songs. It's the case for 'Go', which kicks off my album Sundial:

Make a move out and about

Work that magic, set the groove

Build a road on the turf of your dreams

Raise your eyes, you've got nothing to lose

Go, just go

Hear the call, jump over the wall

Cross the white line, take the lead

Ride the wave on the ocean of life

Plan the course, you've got nothing to prove

Go, just go

Songwriting is not a pastry recipe.

These opening lyrics set the tone and the atmosphere for my piano and keyboard-driven music. They spearheaded the style and structure of the song.

So my mantra goes for many songs: Words first, music comes after. I say many, but it's not always the case. For songs like 'Along The Way' and 'Bring The Light', music was the primeval element.

Plus, nothing is set in stone at the outset. Words are adjusted, erased and replaced as the song progresses and the melody takes precedence. The music blends in and often enough shapes the defining moments. Songwriting is definitely not a pastry recipe.

My next blog will deal with how music carves my songs.

Stay tuned.

Zar