Yann Schwab, a former IMEP student who graduated in 2017, presents his composition work through a series of videos.
This project, which began before the COVID-19 pandemic, was interrupted by the health crisis, but thanks to incredible tenacity and perseverance, Yann managed to bring it to fruition.
About 15 days after the end of L’IMEP, in 2017, I landed at the home of some childhood friends of my older brothers, flute and clarinet teachers at the conservatoire, to launch this project with them and their pianist son. I spent 3 years on the project, and many musicians, each one better than the last, took part in the adventure… And in 2020, I thought I’d finally reached the end of the preparation. We were still looking for a recording date.
Of course, a gripette came along, and a few months later, when it was time to start again, the team had shattered. At first I wanted to carry on as if nothing had happened, to do the same thing again with others, but in the end I had to face the facts: even if this project had been seminal for me, it wasn’t viable, for a whole host of reasons.
As a result, I went back to the drawing board, and it became clear to me that I wanted to move away from the jazz grid format, which was necessary for the fusion I was trying to achieve, and move towards more written music, with a more intricate development.
I also realised that I had to start with very small groups – for both musical and organisational reasons. And that instead of trying to set up a band, I should aim to be able to record tracks to perform on a regular basis.
So I’m delighted to be able to share it with you at last!
