Aurélie Barbé: Terralone

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December 14, 2020

The news of the day for the Camac online shop (and your favourite digital platforms) is Aurélie Barbé‘s first solo album, Terralone. Her tracks range from pop and electro, to more minimalist atmospheres with delicate improvisations. Her themes are often topical (“Resilience”, “Notre-Dame”), and/or of fragile beauty (“Arctic”, “Chrysalis”, or “Zéphyr”). The album is also a musical reflection on the interaction between nature and human beings, beautifully expressed through the interweaving of harp sounds and electronic sound textures. An album entirely produced by Aurélie Barbé and Fabien Saussaye, the harp joins drums, electronic beats, organ and Wurlitzer – in a tour de force for the electric harp.

Long-interested in many kinds of contemporary music, Aurélie turned to the DHC electric harp. Little by little, technology joined her creative processes: first a looper to superimpose different motifs and develop improvisation, followed by effects pedals to broaden and diversify the sounds. Then, she started using Logic Pro X to record the harp, work on sound transformations, add electronic textures, and expand the compositions. “I particularly like the spacial effects of reverb or delay”, says Aurélie, “which add new dimensions and extend the harp’s natural resonance. I also like superimposing all kinds of playing modes, rhythmic and melodic patterns, spinning them around and finding the right groove!” 

Aurélie holds a postgraduate degree in contemporary music and musicology from the Sorbonne. You will find a lot of inspiration online: her electro pop-rock trio Avallon, her show Harpogriffe with Hélène Breschand, the 6 harps, bass and percussion of Naccara, and much more, both on YouTube and SoundCloud. She is also co-author of the must-read book published by Les Signes de l’arc, La harpe aux XXe et XXIe siècles (also available in English: Guide to the Contemporary Harp).

“I play the music I love and feel. The possibilities of the electric harp are endless, which gives me a lot of freedom to compose what I like. Rather cerebral in everyday life, I like to let myself be guided by my instincts when I compose, an intuition that is both sensual and spiritual. I like to feel the sounds, the shapes, the rhythms rather than constructing them intellectually. Of course, these musical intuitions are enriched by my classical, theoretical training, and my experience as a musician on stage.”