“Fucking A! Great work. Super great. I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this exceeds anything I could have conceived of. Very, very classy. And very, very well composed! Everything in this work sounds like it could have come from another planet. An extra-terrestrial composition.” Trey Gunn (King Crimson, David Sylvian)

“I’m glad that I live in a world where music and sound art like this are a reality. So much detail, a lifetime of creativity incorporated into an insane long-form opus. This is the musical place where ideas and idealism meet. You all should treat it with respect” Markus Reuter (Stick Men, Tu-Ner, Anchor And Burden)

Tracks

In The Name of…

 … The father [Individuation] 22:53

01 Hallowed be thy Name [Anaerobic awakening] 06:03 02 Thy kingdom come [Feeling unity] 06:34 03 Thy will be done [Conditional cases] 10:16

 … The son [Atomisation] 10:17

04 Our daily bread [Monopolizing spaces] 05:59 05 Our trespasses [Producing symmetries] 04:25

 … The holy spirit [Co-inherence] 14:24

06 But I can forgive [A sound of Now] 01:52 07 The temptation of time [A Mosaic return] 05:35 08 Soul delivered [A lullaby for Uma Devi] 03:54 09 Since I can forgive [Another sound of Now] 02:56

 Amen [Transcendence] 21:23

10 Inner glory [The introspection of Edward Maitland] 12:24 11 So be it, actually [Post-Epiphany] 08:59

The concept album titled “In The Name Of… (A Prayer For Our Times)” features Trey Gunn of King Crimson, Markus Reuter of Stick Men and Frédéric L’Epée of Yang among others.

The overall spirit behind this album is rock ‘n’ roll - keeping a popular access to an uncompromised way of approaching things. However, it also has the ambition of providing something different for adventurous ears.

So the styles of music used are diverse, and influences can be traced from concrete music, minimalism, ambient, electronic, progressive rock, contemporary classical… A few names can be cited as inspirators: Olivier Messiaen, Steve Reich, Arvo Pärt, Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel, John Zorn…

Says JP, “The idea is to create an uncompromising sound, basically something that would not be heard anywhere else – at least as such, since we all only recycle…The form is a musical mandala in 4 pieces, based on the traditional prayer “In the name of the father etc”… The music should really be considered as a single piece, a prayer, a vessel to be embarked in a travel through our modest but also ambitious condition.”

The music was elaborated as a tentative transcription of aural dreams. The process developed over a couple of years, and was only possible through the patient collection of the dreams remnants into a digital audio workstation. Some of the themes needed live performances, and musicians gradually integrated the project. An important step was passed when Markus Reuter joined for the production by the end of 2018.

There is a full length video to support the music. It is not a ‘contemplative’ work in any way, it rather aims at creating a story in parallel with the music. It should add a different and hopefully interesting dimension to the experience. Close to 2 hours of demo work have also been released, some quite advanced, some quite different, including bonus pieces.

Recorded at various locations between 2017 and 2020. The drums were recorded at Khliff’s place, Ollainville (10 September 2018) The strings were recorded at NoJoke Studio, Paris by Dominique Sablier (19 September 2019)



JP. Rossi: Voice, Keys and Electronics Khliff Miziallaoua: Percussion (The father), Acoustic Guitars (The father), Electric Guitar (The son), Bass Voice (Amen) Frédéric L’Epée: Gibson Les Paul Custom & Parker Fly Guitars (The father’s quartet) Cédric Theys: Touch Guitars® AU8 (The father, The son) Samira Brahmia: Voice (The son, The holy spirit, Amen) Trey Gunn: Warr Guitars® (The father, The son, The holy spirit) Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars® AU8 (The holy spirit)
 Karim Ziad: Acoustic Drums (The son) Gauthier Dymon: Voice (The son, Amen) Elea Barta: Soprano Voice (Amen) Raphaël Terreau: Tenor Voice (Amen) Brice Modard: Bass Voice (Amen) Alyssa Ait Hammou: Violin (The father) Caroline Berry: Viola (The father) Christophe Jeannin: Cello (The father) Lukas Carillo: Double Bass (The father)


Groove design on "The son" by Karim Ziad Lullaby improvisation on "The holy spirit" by Markus Reuter Solo improvisation on "The holy spirit" by Trey Gunn

“The father”, “The holy spirit, “Amen” mixed by Markus Reuter “The son” mixed by Benjamin Schäfer

Produced by Markus Reuter for Unquiet Music Ltd
 Mastered by Lee Fletcher

Cover painting by Gérard Rossi Graphic design by Bernhard Wöstheinrich Text review by Dann Chinn