French keyboardist Cyrille Verdeaux studied at the Conservatory of Music in Paris (1964-68) and at the Conservatory of Nice (1969-72). In 1973
he formed the band Babylone with guitarist Christian Boule`.
He then assembled a few members of Gong (Steve Hillage, Tim Blake,
Didier Malherbe) and some old friends (Christian Boule`, Gilbert Artman) to
record the Clearlight Symphony (Virgin, end of 1974), released under the moniker
Clearlight. This lush electronic and symphonic work was one of first to
continue the mission of
Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece and
Tonto's Expanding Head Band.
Forever Blowing Bubbles (1975), performed by a broader ensemble,
was a more conventional collection of songs,
heavily influenced by the presence of
King Crimson's
violinist David Cross
and by guitarist and flutist Jean Claude d'Agostini and Zao's bassist
Joel Dugrenot. The instrumentals
(Without Words, Way, Ergotrip,
Et Pendant Ce Temps La) are almost as good as the previous symphony.
Delired Cameleon Family (1975) was the soundtrack for
Pierre Clementi's one and only movie "Visa de Censure n*X",
Les Contes Du Singe Fou (1977), later re-recorded and re-issued as
In Your Hands (Musea, 1994),
is a metaphysical piece that features
Tim Blake, jazz violinist Didier Lockwood,
bassist Joel Dugrenot
and vocalist Ian Bellamy
(the three-part suite Time Skater).
Verdeaux self-produced
Visions (Polydor, 1978), the fourth Clearlight album, which featured a
small orchestra comprising rock (Didier Malherbe, Steve Hillage, Christian Boule), Indian and jazz musicians (violinist Didier Lockwood),
and marked a return to purely instrumental music (with a minor exception).
The four longest suites are also the most significant.
Spirale d'Amour and Messe Caline predate new-age music with their
languid, calm lakes of chords, whereas Full Moon Raga and
Shanti Lotus strike a magic balance between western and eastern classical
music.
At this point Verdeaux abandoned the Clearlight moniker and began recording
under his real name.
At the border between classical and new age music, Verdeaux recorded in California
the electronic chamber music of Offrandes (Fortuna, 1980) and
the Nocturnes Digitales (Fortuna, 1980)
for keyboards, tablas, violin and natural sounds
(Winds Talks, Piano Strings).
Prophecy (Fortuna, 1981) was a collaboration with electronic musician
Bernard Xolotl.
Upon returning from a sojourn in India, Verdeaux released
Moebius (Soundings of the Planet, 1982),
Shambala (Soundings of the Planet, 1982) and
Messenger Of The Son (Catero, 1983).
The latter balances pomp (Overture) and
dynamics (Vibrato),
the religious (Full Sun Raga) and the
ethereal (Astral Journey, The Key Of Enoch).
Kundalini Opera (2004) is an ambitious seven-CD concept album
that began with separate album releases, starting with
Kundalini Opera (Eurock, 1984).
As completed in 2004, it is an ambitious seven-CD concept album, ranging from
the solo piano sonatas of Piano for the Third Ear to the
Tangerine Dream-like "kosmische musik" of
Journey to Tantraland (1984), that
features Dallas Smith on flute and lyricon (and that offers
((Shambala, Journey To The Center Of The Head).
Its seven one-hour chapters,
that aim at reharmonizing the seven chakras,
are:
Ethnicolours,
Journey to Tantraland,
Solar Trancefusion,
Flowers from Heaven,
Rhapsodies Pour la Planete Bleue,
Piano for the Third Ear,
Inner Peace Concerto.
Best of Kundalini Opera is a selection.
After this opera, Verdeaux recorded sparsely:
Rhapsody for the Blue Planet (Emen, 1988), with
Creation Synthetique,
and Symphony II (Mantra, 1990), a timid follow-up to his masterpiece
that belongs more to new-age music than to progressive-rock.
Ethnicolors (Clearlight, 1998) and Tribal Hybrid Concept (Clearlight, 1998)
are collaborations with ethnographer Pascal Menetrey, who adds third-world
rhythms and chants to the former and samples Inuits, Papoos, Tuvas, Ethiopians
and Kurds as well as animals facing extinction on the latter.
Rainbow Music (Clearlight, 1999) is a 6-CD anthology of 25 years of recordings.
Aerobix 99 (Clearlight, 1998) is a soundtrack for aerobic exercise.
Infinite symphony (2003) marked a return of the legendary Clearlight.
Impressionist Musique, whose recording began in 1995, is still unreleased.
