vendredi 27 septembre 2024

LIVE in EINDHOVEN the essence of the concert

LIVE in EINDHOVEN capture and share these precious moments,
to extend the magic of the concert beyond the stage.



DVD LIVE IN EINDHOVEN Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

THE DVD LIVE IN EINDHOVEN
captures the essence of our concert in the Netherlands

The DVD LIVE in EINDHOVEN captures the essence of our concert in the Netherlands with three tracks: THE RETURN, CRYSTAL OF LIGHT and AU REVOIR.
Each performance immerses the audience in a unique sonic universe:

  • THE RETURN: A powerful opener that immediately transports the audience into a spellbinding atmosphere.
  • CRYSTAL OF LIGHT: A luminous, energetic piece featuring crystalline melodies and captivating harmonies.
  • AU REVOIR: An emotional and introspective conclusion, offering a moment of reflection and serenity.

It also includes a bonus featuring unique moments and fresh perspectives to enhance the experience.

  • Total running time: 65 minutes
  • Video format: PAL
  • Subtitles: occasional English
  • Slim Digipack + 4-page booklet
The DVD LIVE in EINDHOVEN will be available from 9 October 2024 on my bandcamp page via the Patch Work Music website, and from the usual distributors such as Groove Unlimited.
 
DVD LIVE IN EINDHOVEN Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN AN INCREDIBLE ADVENTURE
relive the emotion and energy of this unique concert

Preparation and Planning:
After our concert in the Netherlands, the enthusiasm of our listeners quickly pushed us to plan this DVD project. With seriousness and passion, I threw myself into the task spontaneously. The selection of titles was clear in my mind: present the three main tracks, then add exclusive facets in the form of bonuses.

The main challenge was to recreate the sound and visual atmosphere of the concert. I used video recordings from four cameras, and my warmest thanks go to Enrico Corsano for his high-quality work. For the sound, in addition to the camera recordings, I used the sound recordings from the mixing desk made by Ron Boots, whom I would also like to thank. I reworked the soundtrack individually to highlight certain passages and correct certain frequencies and levels, in order to deliver good listening quality while retaining the typical character of a live performance.

There were a few problems during the concert, particularly during the first track when Tommy's headphones broke down. I didn't want to over-correct these imperfections, because they're part and parcel of playing live and the technical risks involved. For the image, I worked with the ‘multiple camera’ technique, making the most of Enrico's four video sources. Some corrections (sharpness, luminosity) were made to provide an appropriate and pleasant visual experience.

This project has been an incredible adventure, and I hope that the DVD will enable viewers to relive the emotion and energy of this unique concert.




DVD LIVE IN EINDHOVEN Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

THE IDEA FOR THE DVD
the passion and energy I felt at the concert

Video Editing :
The DVD's home page consists of four menus: three for the titles and one for the bonus. The bonus, which is mainly informative, is made up of various video sources, such as cameras and smartphones, from different people. English subtitles have been included for this bonus. As for the format, I opted for the PAL standard.

Context of the concert:
The concert in the Netherlands was a highlight for Tommy and myself. It was an opportunity to share our vision of the Berlin School with an enthusiastic audience of connoisseurs. It was also an opportunity to perform live (something we hadn't done since 2019) and to highlight our presence on the international scene. Ron Boots had been in touch with me on several occasions, and finally things came together at the end of 2023 to culminate in this concert.

Inspiration for the DVD:

The idea for the DVD came from the passion and energy I felt at the concert. The positive feedback from fans and Tommy's encouragement motivated me to immortalise this unique experience and share it with a wider audience. We wanted to give our listeners a tangible memory of this memorable evening, while revealing what goes on behind the scenes of our work.

Choice of tracks:
I selected the three tracks from the concert for this DVD in order to preserve the full ambience of the event. They represent the essence of our musical style on stage. The exclusive bonus adds an extra dimension, allowing fans to discover previously unseen aspects of our music and creative process.

Graphic design:
As well as the music and video, I was also responsible for the graphic design of the project. I designed the Digipack cover and the 4-page booklet myself. This allowed me to ensure that the visual aesthetic perfectly reflected the spirit of the concert.



DVD LIVE IN EINDHOVEN Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

ENJOY THE SHOW
let yourself be swept away by the magic of this concert

Thanks:
Many thanks to Ron Boots and his team for the perfect organization and the warm welcome we received at this beautiful E-Day 2024 festival, alongside other artists such as Matsumi (Katrin Manz), Perge (Matthews Stringer), Gert Emmens & Ron Boots, and Kellerkind Berlin (Christian Gorsky). Thanks to Enrico Corsano for his shots. Thanks to Daniela Grau, Anke Betzler, Marc van Oers, Jan Buddenberg, AstroGeert Fotografie, Andre Stooker, Alfred Arnold, and Alex Wijffels for kindly sharing the various videos/photos included in the bonus. Thanks to Nicolas Picciotto for his attention. Special thanks to my 💗💗 two sons for their kindness and goodwill. Thanks, of course, to my stage mate Tommy BetzlerđŸ„

Conclusion:
This DVD project has been an incredible adventure, full of technical challenges and memorable moments. Every stage, from the selection of titles to post-production and graphic design, has been carried out with passion and dedication. I am deeply grateful to Enrico Corsano and Ron Boots for their expertise and invaluable support.

By watching this DVD, I hope you can feel the energy and emotion that marked this concert. The imponderables and spontaneous moments captured add an authenticity that I hope will transport you to the heart of this unique live experience.

For me, this project is much more than just a recording; it's a testament to our musical journey and the special connection we share with the audience. Thank you to everyone who has made this project possible and to you, our listeners, for your continued support.

Enjoy the show and let yourself be swept away by the magic of this concert!

Overviews:
Trailer LIVE in EINDHOVEN
LIVE in EINDHOVEN - DVD BONUS preview
E-Day 2024 Sequentia Legenda LIVE in Eindhoven








 

 


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samedi 24 août 2024

Hidden facets of GALACTIC CRYSTALS seen by Clavius Reticulus

"After the magical album ALCYONE,
which took us to the Pleiades, I invite you to continue
the journey and let yourself be carried away by the galactic crystals to discover Plenitude and crystalline Light,
where all is Love and Unity.
"
Clavius Reticulus



GALACTIC CRYSTALS Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

LAURENT SCHIEBER EXPERIENCES
THESE COSMIC VIBRATIONS
and plunges us into it to open the portal of perceptions

The stars twinkle in the galactic quadrant, where adamantine crystals float. Laurent Schieber experiences these cosmic vibrations and plunges us into them to open the gateway to hitherto unsuspected perceptions. Perception of the Absolute, the Infinite. An album of universal timelessness.


 
GALACTIC CRYSTALS Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

THE SONGS OF ORION
magically transcended into divine harmony

THE SONGS OF ORION evokes a summer when birdsong blends with the psithurism of flora lulled into a Zephyrian languor. Orion, one of the most beautiful constellations and nebulae in our sky, is magically transcended into divine harmony.

Laurent: "For this very special title I had to show as much courage as for the central title. While at the beginning it went surprisingly smoothly, the second part of the work was much more complex. From a technical point of view, something significant happened: voices literally emerged from the soundtrack. You can make them out as early as minute 2:33, with a subtle and increasing evolution to finally occupy all their place. These murmurs, these songs, these choirs, they were born from the Minimoog! An incredible alchemy. In fact, there's a module in the VST (virtual synth) version of Arturia called Vocal Filter, consisting of a formant filter and an LFO (inaudible low-frequency oscillator used to modulate the signal). It was here that I created these subtly-tuned voices from Orion (with the resonances playing their secret role), to remind us how important freedom is and how crystalline the Light is. Then, in the final third of this composition, the voices from the Minimoog fade away, giving way to the choirs of the Mellotron".




GALACTIC CRYSTALS Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

CRYSTAL OF LIGHT
is once again close to the galaxy of the great Klaus

CRYSTAL OF LIGHT is once again close to the galaxy of the great Klaus, Laurent's master thinker. The man who started it all. Veils of synth float over hypnotic sequences, gradually bewitching us, freeing our minds from material and physical constraints and allowing us to slide little by little into the depths of the multiverse. Suddenly we take off towards the great Light and, surrounded by Akashic entities, we embark on a journey that is both inner and cosmic.

Laurent continues: "The creation of the album required a considerable investment of energy, particularly for the centrepiece, CRYSTAL OF LIGHT, which benefited from the collaboration of Tommy Betzler on percussion! After many exchanges, I had to adjust certain fundamental aspects to achieve perfect harmony and best express the richness of this composition, which is both sonorous and full of emotion. The piece exudes an abundance of cosmic, crystalline vibrations."



GALACTIC CRYSTALS Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

RETURN TO MESHALEA
a journey to the end of the dream and to the very edge
of the ultimate Truth

RETURN TO MESHALEA is without doubt my favourite track on the album. Already for its mystical side. Meshalea is the name given by the Andromedians to the spiral galaxy they inhabit. They believe in Unity. The synthetic moires are once again synonymous with astral vibrations; celestial choirs can be heard mingling with the backwash of the space-time ocean of the cosmos. A journey through a vortex where everything is splendour, majesty and pure light. Laurent's sublime compositions translate the language of the Aeons, which can only be understood by those who align themselves with these frequencies and take off with him on a journey to the end of the dream and to the very edge of the ultimate Truth. 

 

GALACTIC CRYSTALS Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

 

LET YOURSELF BE CARRIED AWAY
BY THE GALACTIC CRYSTALS

to discover Plenitude and crystalline Light

 

After the magical album ALCYONE, which took us to the Pleiades, I invite you to continue the journey and let yourself be carried away by the GALACTIC CRYSTALS to discover Plenitude and crystalline Light, where all is Love and Unity. 
 
As essential as each new Sequentia Legenda opus! 5/5

El Jice
(Clavius Reticulus by Prog censor : https://www.facebook.com/progcensor)
 
Jean-Claude Leroy (Clavius Reticulus) is a Belgian music reviewer.
His branch is electronic music. He has also composed four albums to date under the pseudonyms El Jice and Avian (eljiceavian.bandcamp.com). A fan of science fiction, he has created illustrations on the theme and wrote a novel in the early 2000s. He has worked for the Mellow Records label and for synthesist Andy Pickford.
His work can be found on facebook.com/zeta2reticuli/
and on his Youtube channel El Jice Arghones.


GALACTIC CRYSTALS






 

 


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jeudi 8 août 2024

Crystalline conversation with Michel Newsouljazz and Sequentia Legenda

I enjoyed answering Michel's questions as an enlightened listener. Our discussions were enriched by a few personal questions that I had the pleasure of asking him



GALACTIC CRYSTALS Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda

MY MUSICAL VISION FOLLOWS A PATH
THAT RISES SPIRITUALLY
musical and vibratory sharing that stems
from my emotion and intuitions

Michel: Hello Laurent, let's start by talking about the recent release of your new album GALACTIC CRYSTALS. Can't we say that, like the name SEQUENTIA LEGENDA, this album is also inspired by a certain mysticism?

Laurent: Hello Michel, we can indeed talk about that.
My musical vision follows a path that rises spiritually, ever higher. Creating this album required a lot of emotional resources and courage. In a way, GALACTIC CRYSTALS represents the continuity of ALCYONE. Above all, it's a musical and vibratory sharing that stems from my emotions and intuitions. Despite the constraints, this opus was released just as I wanted, on 2 July, my late Mum's birthday. I'm deeply grateful 🙏

Mysticism and spirituality are, in my opinion, treasures of beautiful and luminous truths. It's a connection to something greater, a dimension of transcendence. In this spiritual quest, we discover profound answers and meanings that nourish our soul.

In a way, this is what I want to share with my listeners: a musical journey, an inner exploration that allows us to grow and evolve.

Mysticism and spirituality are, in my view, treasures of beautiful and luminous truths.

Michel: When you listen to the first track, THE SONGS OF ORION, you'd be forgiven for thinking that your music is cosmic and universal! But does this title refer to the giant hunter of Greek mythology, or rather to the constellation Orion?

Laurent: The title THE SONGS OF ORION is particularly evocative and linked to the constellation Orion. In this composition, the spiritual and emotional aspect plays an essential role. During the creation of this work, I had a number of significant experiences that left a deep impression on me. I have established a link between these experiences and everything that surrounds Orion: its history, its influence on our beautiful planet Terra. I'd like to express my gratitude to my Guidance, which has supported me throughout this creative process.

From a technical point of view, a surprising phenomenon occurred during the recording: Voices emerged not from the Mellotron, as you might expect, but from the Minimoog! From minute 2:33 onwards, murmurs, chants and choruses subtly evolve to take up their full place in the composition. These voices, born of the Minimoog, create an incredible alchemy. I used Arturia's Vocal Filter module (VST) to adjust these voices from Orion, subtly adjusting the resonances.

In short, THE SONGS OF ORION is my tribute to all those who have shown themselves to be valiant and magnificent, bearers of Light and Love. It's also a way of transcending time and space, of connecting with something greater than ourselves. These choirs, these voices, these songs and Orion murmurs from the Minimoog carry within them echoes of wars and periods of peace, and so become messengers of this deep connection, inviting us to reflect on our place in the universe and our quest for Light and Freedom.


Watch the GALACTIC CRYSTALS trailer
 
Tommy Betzler and Sequentia Legenda Berlin School music

TOMMY HAS A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE
on stage we communicate in symbiosis

Michel: The second track, CRYSTAL OF LIGHT, features Tommy Betzler, who played with Klaus Schulze. Did this collaboration, which has been going on for several years now, influence the way you composed this track? (In particular, here, which might remind you of Cristal Lake from the album "Mirage", of which I know you are an admirer).

Laurent: After the release of my second album, I contacted Tommy via Messenger to ask him if he'd be interested in playing drums on my music. He responded enthusiastically and we soon collaborated on two tracks on the double album EXTENDED in 2016. Our collaboration continued in 2017 for the album ETHEREAL, where Tommy played on the central track. Since then, we've shared the stage in Nantes during Synthfest, in TĂŒbingen and Soligen in Germany, and in Chexbres in Switzerland. More recently, we played together in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Tommy also contributed the central track to my latest album, GALACTIC CRYSTALS.

Tommy has a wealth of experience, having played with Klaus Schulze on tour in the 80s. Our collaboration is fluid and instinctive, and on stage we communicate in symbiosis, without needing to talk to each other too much.

And to answer your question more precisely, as far as my composition method is concerned, I don't plan anything too precise in advance. I leave room for intuition and let myself be guided. Then I arrange certain parts to give Tommy enough space to express himself. I still sometimes give him ideas based on my own feelings and my own vision, but I always leave him some room for manoeuvre. Then I work on inserting the rhythmic elements and mixing. This is a technical stage where I make sure that each instrument is well balanced and that the composition sounds harmonious.
 

Michel: You compose, record, mix, play and even do the artwork for your albums. Do you think you'll ever be able to share all that, or do you prefer to keep control of everything?

Laurent: I'd like to point out that I also do the mastering 😉 More seriously, I have to admit that I'm pretty demanding, I have a global vision of everything that revolves around my music and the release of a new album. As I work in marketing as a computer graphics designer, this experience helps me enormously when it comes to managing my music. However, I don't rule out delegating certain tasks from time to time. For example, Nicolas Picciotto remixed and mastered two tracks on my double album The 432 Hz Berlin School Box.

I like to invest myself fully in my music, even if it takes time. It's my passion!

Finally, the arts have always been part of my life: painting, drawing, writing, photography and of course music. It's important for me to find the visual, the words that will highlight the spirit of the album, of my music.



RETURN TO MESHALEA Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda

RETURN TO MESHALEA
dedicated to the constellation of Andromeda

Michel: Returning to your last album, the third and final track RETURN TO MESHALEA refers to Andromeda, a galaxy inhabited by magnificent beings who see life through a lens of love! As on your last album, you make a lot of references to the celestial, human and interplanetary aspects of music. How does this influence your composition?

Laurent: First of all, I'd like to congratulate you on your personal research into MESHALEA.

The origins of MESHALEA go back to a walk in the forest, or more precisely to a channelling experience I was offered. While I was in a clearing, I felt a powerful energy in and around me, and I perceived the name "Andromeda" and the association with the Andromedans. From that moment on, it was clear to me that the musical composition I had just begun should be dedicated to the constellation of Andromeda, or MESHALEA. Everyone is free to follow their intuitions or not, and personally, ever since I was young, I've always listened to my heart and my intuitions. It's a state of mind that I cultivate.

In the end, it's this state of mind that I believe allows me to receive, rather like a receiver, a set of emotions that reach me and which I then share from heart to heart.
I need to feel this call, this excitement that guides me forcefully towards my keyboards, like a magnet. It's a spontaneous state of grace, a very special and magical moment. In any case, this is how my heart can really express itself and release all my energy, all my sensitivity, all my deepest emotions.

Music is a sacred vibration that transcends words. It is the universal language of the soul. Music is vibration, vibration is life.


Michel Newsouljazz and Herbie Hancock

DESCRIBE SEQUENTIA LEGENDA'S MUSICAL
STYLE IN A FEW WORDS
Universal music and therapeutic music

Laurent: How did you discover Sequentia Legenda's music? Can you tell us about your first impressions?

Michel: About 9 years ago, I was searching YouTube for something new in the so-called Berlin School. And I discovered a video entitled 'Au Revoir', a tribute to Edgar Froese. The musician's name: SEQUENTIA LEGENDA. Immediately won over by what I heard, I went to the web and the FaceBook page to discover an artist bursting with talent and composing music that comes straight from the heart. Since then, I've been eagerly following the release of his albums.

Laurent: How do you feel about GALACTIC CRYSTALS? And more generally, what emotions do you feel when you listen to my music?

Michel: You mention emotions, and that's exactly the first thing that comes to mind. The music on this new album, and in general on all SEQUENTIA LEGENDA's albums, is very much about the emotional, but also the inner journey, giving a certain sense of peace, in short, leaving you with a free and benevolent spirit. And above all, this impressive mastery of the various keyboards and the legacy of the Berlin school, while renewing the genre.

Laurent: How do you see the musical evolution of Sequentia Legenda?

Michel: The collaboration with a percussionist (Tommy Betzler in particular) is a plus and I think it brings a new dimension to your music. Working with a percussionist on a regular basis is a really fruitful next step.

Laurent: If you had to describe Sequentia Legenda's musical style in a few words, what would they be?

Michel: "Universal music" is the first thing that comes to mind. I'd add "therapeutic music" because it's so good for the spirit.

Universal music: while we try to confine all kinds of music, SEQUENTIA LEGENDA's music is whole, complete, global, even celestial. It's for anyone who accepts it and opens their heart. As soon as you confide in this universe, you feel good.

Therapeutic music: like many people, I have my ups and downs, but listening to SEQUENTIA LEGENDA's albums immediately calms me down, leaving me relaxed and charmed by the often surprising melodic lines.

Laurent: What does the Berlin School mean to you?

Michel: I discovered the Berlin School with Tangerine Dream's Rubycon, which for me remains one of the peaks of the genre (along with Moondawn by Klaus Schulze). It's hard to describe what I felt the first time, but this music literally transported me, I was going to say out of my mind! It's music that conveys feelings that are hard to describe: melancholy, well-being, nostalgia - in short, a bit of everything. Once again, this is emotional music.

Presentation: Hi! My name is Michel Newsouljazz (Verreckt Maurice Michel). Born in the Namur region (in Belgium), I studied to become a paper technician and an industrial engineer. I worked in the printing industry as a quality manager and then in the food industry, always in quality. I was also managing director of a non-profit organisation building schools in South Kivu (Democratic Republic of Congo).

For over twenty years, my hobby (outside music) was photographing jazz musicians (mainly).

I was immersed in music from a very early age, and it has never left me. I was lucky enough to see some extraordinary musicians in concert: Miles Davis, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Klaus Schulze, Genesis, John Mc Laughlin, Weather Report, Porcupine Tree, Santana, Keith Jarrett and a few hundred others... but not yet Sequentia Legenda!

Now that I'm retired, I'm taking the opportunity to listen to my 2000+ CDs.
My musical tastes: jazz, jazz-rock, Berlin school, progressive rock, Brazilian, African and Cuban music, as well as classical.





 





 


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vendredi 21 juin 2024

Interview with Steven Leak and Sequentia Legenda

I was delighted to be able to illustrate my forthcoming
album GALACTIC CRYSTALS
with the magnificent photos of Steven Leak.



GALACTIC CRYSTALS Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda

MY ENCOUNTER WITH STEVEN LEAK
I invite you to discover our exchange through this interview

I'm delighted to share with you my encounter with Steven Leak, a sensitive person with a big heart, an artist to the core. I had the pleasure and privilege of using Steven's superb images to illustrate my forthcoming album GALACTIC CRYSTALS.

I invite you to discover our exchange through this interview.


Musical greetings,
Sequentia Legenda (Laurent Schieber)
🙏💎
🙏


Watch the GALACTIC CRYSTALS trailer
 
GALACTIC CRYSTALS Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda

DISCOVERY OF BERLIN SCHOOL MUSIC
my Mother who played an indirect but important role

Steven: When did music first „find“ you or „speak“ to you?
Describe that moment/experience.

Laurent: Music has always been part of my life, bringing me serenity, happiness and dreams. I can still clearly remember a snow globe with a traditional wind-up musical mechanism, with this pretty little ballerina dancing to the rhythm of the gentle melody. I was probably between 5 and 6 years old, so that was the first real musical experience I can remember. To my mother's credit, she enrolled me in various activities. Between the ages of 8 and 9, I had taken a few accordion lessons, but the weight and size of the instrument had been a hindrance. As for music theory, I was totally put off by it.

As far as the discovery of Berlin School music was concerned, it was once again my Mother who played an indirect but important role. I was between 15 and 16 at the time, and as I was browsing through my parents' vinyl collection, I was immediately intrigued by a particular-looking cover. It was the timeless album "Mirage" by Klaus Schulze. I fell in love with it and it triggered my musical imagination. It was literally a revelation! I had to discover these fabulous and enigmatic sound machines called synthesizers and explore this new musical universe that had just revealed itself to me.
 
Steven: How do you prepare yourself for creating music?

Laurent: To tell the truth, there's no real preparation; it's more like a call to creation that comes without really warning and draws me like a magnet to my keyboards. When this creative invitation comes to me, I savour this privileged moment and let myself go, guided towards the first experiments and improvisations. The ideas then emanate, highlighting the overall atmosphere, and the soundtrack is woven together little by little. This process is simply divine, allowing me to connect with the fertile ground of creativity, for an exploration that annihilates all proportions and time constraints. It's a real journey, allowing me to surpass myself and regenerate.

Ultimately, there are several artistic and informative ingredients, elements of a spiritual nature that support this creative phase (texts, images, sounds, the imagination, nature, the cosmos, vibrations, emotions...). With hindsight, I can say that for me, it's truly a benevolent guidance, helping and supporting me during the creative process, throughout my musical journey, in my mission to share, in my freedom of expression. Added to this is the fact that I'm a 'sensitive' and 'receptive' person. My late mother used to say to me: "If only you weren't so sensitive". Without this sensitivity, I don't think I would have been able to share my musical vision with such sincerity.



GALACTIC CRYSTALS Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda

MUSIC IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF MY LIFE
it's a form of expression, a balance, a freedom of expression

Steven: What role/place does music hold/play in your life?

Laurent: Music is an essential part of my life, and has been for a long time. In fact, it's probably been salutary. It has the power to help and support me, to take me on a journey, to make me happy and free, with no time constraints. And that's what I want to share with my listeners: music that helps, regenerates and stimulates. For me, it's a form of expression, a balance, a freedom of expression. Music is a divine opportunity that I savour with great gratitude 🙏


GALACTIC CRYSTALS Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda

WORKING AND PLAYING WITH ICE
and share it with others what a joy

Laurent: Can you explain your "working and playing with ice" approach?

Steven: For a few years I was painting highly detailed mandalas and mandorlas that took 100 - 150 hours each to complete. It was super satisfying work but it took so much time and I felt after a while as if I was creating iterations of something that looked somewhat similar to work I had already done.

At the same time, I had been experimenting a little bit taking pictures of ice impregnated with things like aluminum foil, food colouring, flowers etc. and the light source was candles and old flashlights.

One day I noticed that at a certain time of day, the sun would pass through a piece of stained glass that I have hanging near my front door and cast a prism across the floor. I decided to see what would happen when that colourful prism passed through a piece of ice.

I’ve been working and playing with that approach for two and a half years now. Because there are variables that I can’t control - the intensity of the light, the ice melting or breaking (I take all of my ice pictures indoors - year ‘round when light is available!), and my camera’s decisionmaking which is sometimes contrary to what I think I see, I take as many images as I can while the conditions are “right”. It is such literally “in-the-moment” art because everything changes moment-by-moment. I like that. If I can be there for that moment . . . before it is gone . . . never to return. Then share it with others . . . what a joy!!!


GALACTIC CRYSTALS Berlin School music by Sequentia Legenda


YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ART AND CREATIVITY
refine my availability to the creative force

 
Laurent: What is your relationship with art and creativity?

Steven: The notion of “working and playing” with creative projects has its roots in a phrase I came across years ago suggesting that “creative work is hard play”. When I am painting, creating ice art, photographing my part of the world, or creating music, I feel a focussed playfulness and then also I’m aware that as much as possible, I need to get out of the way and let whatever is happening happen, in a similar way to children’s play which is often fuelled by their imaginations. Also, art and creativity are strategies that assist me in welcoming whatever it is that needs to find me in order for it to make its way into this world and help me refine my availability to the creative force.
 
Laurent: A lot of musicians request your photographic work. I'm delighted to be able to benefit from your creative talent too. Could you perhaps explain to listeners how you feel about this new collaboration and how you feel about the music of Sequentia Legenda?

Steven: I’ve been blessed to provide artwork for musicians in many different countries. Musicians who each bring their own unique voice into this world. It’s always a real honour to be asked to provide artwork to accompany or act as a visual portal for the music. Being asked by Laurent (Sequential Legenda) to provide cover art for his latest release is a joy as I greatly admire his music.

Carefully crafted, transformative, beautiful, emotionally rich, are thoughts I have when I listen to his music. His music often brings me to remember the first time I heard Klaus Schulze’s album “Moondawn” when it first came out in 1976. I had heard nothing like it and I was simultaneously ecstatic and transformed by it. Sequentia Legenda’s music has a very similar effect on me.



Presentation: Hi! My name is Steven Leak. I am a Canadian musician, artist and photographer. I love working and playing with the creative force that flows through me. I like to find ways in which to allow that energy to find its way to this place. I experiment with sound and vision. I like those experiments to be as analogue as possible, while also being grateful for the digital technology that allows me to not only work and play with those experiments but to share them with people as well.


 





 


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