BEYOND THE STARS retrospective

How High?
So high that i can touch the sky!

BEYOND THE STARS: LITTLE BIT OF DREAM,
A MUSICAL ESCAPE, A SHARING OF EMOTIONS

I'm pleased to do a retrospective on my album BEYOND THE STARS.

Released in 2020, this three-track opus aims to shine a spotlight on the purest tradition of the Berlin School. It's an invitation to travel into a musical and cosmic space. Come and touch the stars and let yourself be gently rocked to the rhythm of the sequence.

The album is of course available on my Bandcamp page as a digital version and also as a Digipack CD pressing including a poster. Distribution is also via the Patch Work Music website.

BEYOND THE STARS: A little dream, a musical escape, a sharing of emotions.

Three titles in the purest tradition of the Berlin school.

I wish you a pleasant sound immersion,
Laurent Schieber (Sequentia Legenda)

1. EXPERIMENTAL:
THE WAY OF PERSEVERANCE AND HOPE

This long composition demanded a great deal of energy and patience from me. Additional rhythmic elements by Tommy Betzler have been added to the basic percussion. The work was worth it, this title sounds today as it resonated deep inside me at the very beginning, a little more than a year ago.

EXPERIMENTAL

 
2. FLOAT AMONG THE STARS:
A MUSICAL AND MENTAL ELEVATION

The emanations of sequences from the modular Moog open this composition accompanied by the faraway strings of the Solina. The upward journey continues towards a musical and mental elevation. The vaporous atmosphere of the second part is an invitation to float among the stars.

FLOAT AMONG THE STARS

3. BEYOND FROM THE BEYOND:
A MUSICAL AND CONTEMPLATIVE CIRCUMNAVIGATION

The experimentation of a new musical approach for this revisited version of Circumnavigation. A musical and contemplative journey, a navigation around life and eternity – a journey to the beyond.

BEYOND FROM THE BEYOND

A RETROSPECTIVE OF SOME TESTIMONIALS
ABOUT THE MUSIC OF SEQUENTIA LEGENDA

It's still just as important for me to get feedback from my listeners, it's essential.

I'd like to thank all those who follow me and support me on this musical path, I really appreciate it.

TESTIMONIALS

Thanks to Beata Pardela for this photo

YOUR MUSIC IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION

I discovered your music at the end of 2018 on Bandcamp, and the first shot I heard was "MIND LAKE". As I am a great lover of electronic music, as well as the editor of the only Polish internet radio EL-Stacja promoting exclusively electronic music, your music immediately caught my attention. I am fascinated by the genre of the Berlin School and this style of music is the most important for me.
The music created has a gentle sequential structure that allows you to immerse yourself in your dreams, to think and above all to relax with it. For me, the moments spent with this music act as a balm for the soul, carry everyday problems somewhere far away and give great relaxation and the strength to struggle with reality. This music has a great calming and relaxing power and I am happy to listen to it.

Beata Pardela
(Radio Moderator - EL-Stacja - Poland)

🎙️ Beata Pardela asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "I would like to know how your music has influenced you, how it has evolved over the last five years, when you have created so many really great and precious pieces, and how you evaluate your work in five years. What are your ideas and plans for the coming years?"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "My influence goes back to my teenage years when I discovered Mirage Klaus Schulze's album by chance. That was my musical trigger. So it was much later, in 2014 with BLUE DREAM, that I took the plunge and brought my musical work into the open. Those first five years were pure joy as I was able to share my passion with success and recognition. I am proud and honoured. These first five years have been a pure joy in that I have been able to share my passion with success and recognition. My dream has come true and my next projects will be in this line with a constant evolution."

FIVE YEARS WHERE EVERY TIME I'M SURPRISED

For me it's five years where every time I'm surprised that you manage to surprise me The challenges in your personal life perspire on the sweetness of your music. Even in its most intense moments. And this sensitivity that you lay down in music responds freshly to mine.

Sylvain Lupari
(Reviewer - Synth&Sequences)

🎙️ Sylvain Lupari asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "Five years Laurent since BLUE DREAM! Are you satisfied with your evolution? How did you see yourself five years ago? Are you where you wanted to be?"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "Time goes by quickly indeed, too quickly! I am a sensitive and demanding person with myself and I must admit without pretension that I am happy and satisfied with the journey I have made in five years. I have always favoured work, quality, rigour and sincerity. In the end, I am satisfied to find myself five years later in total adequacy with my musical vision of the start! I have made no concessions, I have kept the course I set myself and this is the one that will guide me for the next five years: sharing my sensitivity through my sound universes."

Thanks to Anton Uraletz for this photo

VAST SEAS OF HARMONIC SEQUENCES

My way to Berlin-school electronics was easy but long and took almost 20+ years since I heard it for the first time… there is so much interesting music around, and I explored it step by step, style by style. In the end of December 2015, a friend of mine gave me a tip to «BLUE DREAM» and «AMIRA» – «Man, you’ll like it… I swear». And yeah, I did. That was a sort of enlightenment – vast seas of harmonic sequences that set up a whole Universe of sound… the seas to immerse in, delving neither into psychedelic nor abstruse soundscapes. Straight-forward, simple and even sequencing is the remarkable and one of the most precious advantages of Sequentia Legenda… it forms these breezing soundscapes that carry you upwards and away on its wings of soaring dreams and reveries to the azure faraway distance where the Highmost Welkin meets the Sound of the Sequence. And that’s the way it is.

Anton Uraletz (Russia)

🎙️ Anton Uraletz asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "My question about your last 5 years is simple – how have you fell in love with sequencing? What does it mean to you?"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "I fell in love with the sequences from the very beginning of my discovery of Klaus Schulze's discography with the two sound universes of Mirage. The sequencer is my favourite tool, it is very often by the setting up of the loops that my creative work begins. The sequencer is my machine for weaving the soundtrack. It is important for me to make several loops of notes cohabit and to bring this harmonic and rhythmic ensemble to life.  My vision of sequencing: Loops in perpetual evolution."

Thanks to Oleg Parfentev for this photo

THE ART OF SEQUENTIA LEGENDA

I will start from a distance and tell you how I discovered electronic music and the Berlin school in particular.

...it was somewhere in the 90's, I don't remember exactly. I couldn't sleep at night, so I turned on the radio. There was beautiful, unusual music on the air, not like the music on other radio stations. I stayed on that show and listened to it until morning. Later I found out that it was a program about electronic music called Back to the Universe. Programmed at certain hours of the night, and its permanent host was (and still is) DJ, musician and journalist Martin Landers. Here is his website and information.

This man (his programs) took me into the world of electronic music, which I had never known before, and it was from him that I got to know the Berlin School and other areas of electronic music, Klaus Schulze and many other musicians and bands.

I heard the music of Sequentia Legenda for the first time 3 years ago on https://vk.com/ (it's our Russian analogue Facebook).

Only there you can put music in addition to texts, photos and videos. As a rule, it is pirated, which means that nobody pays for it. I really liked the songs (AU REVOIR, SOLITUDES LUNAIRES, THE APPROACH), and I kept them.

Much later, I decided to search the facebook page of Sequentia Legenda. And I had by chance the release of the new album OVER THERE, which of course I also liked a lot.

And then, Laurent, I recognized your blog, your page on bandcamp.com and all your music. And I also met you and made friends on facebook.

Each of your albums, I discovered it gradually : listen, listen, listen... They are different, but there is definitely a recognizable style, the style of Sequentia Legenda. Each album has a favourite track or even several. I also really like the way your CDs are made: the photo, the design and of course the sound. Thank you very much for your autographs and wishes. It's very expensive! In the age of digital sound, it's very nice to hold a CD (or a vinyl record) in your hands! (At least for me).

What does your music mean to me?
Laurent, for me, what you do on stage is magic. It's magical. I have no idea how it works! Yes, there's an idea, there are means and tools to implement it (synthesizers, computers, instruments). But how it all ends up in this fascinating music - I don't understand! And I don't have to understand it. Magic must contain mystery. But I MUCH like what you get in the end!

At the moment, for various reasons, I am not as actively following news and innovations in the field of music. But when I hear a melody on a radio station, I immediately recognize Sequentia Legenda. How do I feel? If something you like sounds like SOLITUDES LUNAIRES (one of the diamonds in your collection!), I'm delighted. The heart starts beating more often, breathtaking, you fly away... It's not in words!

In conclusion, I would like to thank you, Laurent, for the joy and happiness you bring to us, the listeners, with your magical music. You have always had and will always have a constant and faithful listener who needs you. Keep on creating. I know this is a difficult moment in your life, but let your two suns (Dylan and Valentin), as you once said, light your way and give you strength and confidence. You are a wonderful father, a wonderful musician and, in general, a kind and good person.

I am very happy to have met you and the art of Sequentia Legenda.

I wish you much, much luck and all the best!

Oleg Parfentev (Russia)

🎙️ Oleg Parfentev asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "I'm interested in how the composition is born? Where does it begin? The very beginning. How do you put in your head this melody, this rhythm that will later be a success in your album? How does it happen? (I suspect that creating a melody is a long and tedious process (I might be wrong). But it always has a beginning, a starting point (a starting impulse). What does this mean to you? Share it, please, if you can share it :)"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "The creative phase, begins in a subtle and unpredictable way, it's a call, a magnet that will attract me to my keyboards. Inspiration can come from an image, a story, a sound, a walk, a chance too. Then, in front of my machines, the experimental phase begins, often by setting up the first loops, then the first layers. Then begins the real work of composition, which can sometimes be time-consuming, because I am a demanding person - demanding on myself as well. For example, for my first track FLY OVER ME (BLUE DREAM), it took me no less than sixteen months to be satisfied with the result! Music is an achievement and I always want to put quality before quantity, I want to offer the best of myself for my listeners and for the beautiful musical movement that the Berlin School represents."

            

CELESTIAL – Entrance Into New Horizon

“The music is so beautiful and flows quietly without
ever getting tired of it”
Extract from Sylvain Lupari's review

CELESTIAL
To immerse myself in the universe of Sequentia Legenda

I wish you a lot of enjoyment with CELESTIAL.
May your entrance into this new sound horizon be a source of freedom. May your journey through the three musical atmospheres bring you dreams, softness and serenity.

CELESTIAL

THREE ASTRAL ARCHES
Spiritual and Mystical

It is a richly-pigmented sound painting with a spiritual and mystical framework and atmosphere, created with the instrumental palette of analogue synths.

With a total duration of 23:23, the three parts, "Yasna," "Feldi" and "Jerrish," follow one another, each delivering their own atmospheres to dress this sound painting with a mystical patina and reinforcing the resonance of the harmonic tones.

The introduction is rather unusual - I'll leave you with the surprise - it is built mainly with effects from the AKS and ARP Odyssey. The chords of the string instruments and the choirs unfold, gradually giving way to the different sequences that make up the rhythmic framework. Cymbals then reinforce the tempo. Velvety string ensembles from the famous Solina emerge in the distance to distill melodic lines here and there supported by subtle reverberation. The climax is reached with the addition of further drum elements to make way for the ethereal and spiritual finale consisting of choirs, effects, and a lulling of various crystalline sequences.

SYMPHONIC DAWN OF THE STARS
Thousands of twirling fireflies

The atmosphere is in the continuity of the first track.
With a length of 21:29, this composition takes off with several sequential lines, multiplying, subtly changing and supported by the broad string ensemble chords of the PS-3300. The Solina then discreetly mingles with the aerial sweep, sublimating the phrasing of the legato notes with their soft starry tones. I am happy to have been able to add to the middle of this composition a sequence that is new in its technical development. This sequence comes from the AKS, delivering a stereophonic back-and-forth, finalizing the first half of this sonorous and cadenced effluvium, offering a gentle transition to the more spiritual part of this track. I'd like to say, what an exceptional sound machine the AKS is, with extreme sensitivity and richness!

The second part of "Symphonic Dawn of the Stars" is a glissando of choirs and strings, from which loops of crystalline notes emerge like thousands of twirling fireflies. In the last two minutes, there is a little wink to my oldest son Dylan. I won't tell you any more, so you'll be surprised.

VOICES 55 (REVISITED VERSION)
The language of my heart, my soul

My dream is gradually coming true since the beginning of my musical adventure. I thank God for granting me the gift of being an Artist. I am delighted to be able to offer you a part of a dream, an introspection.

In these complicated times, we all need freedom and music.
My music is the language of my heart, my soul. For me, music will always be a vehicle for hope and love.

 

Extract of the first track "Three Astral Arches" from Sequentia Legenda's next musical opus "CELESTIAL".

 

 

            

Ein Rückblick auf ETHEREAL

"Dieses Opus wird eine immersive und emotionale Erlebnis, eine Hommage an den legendären Moog Modular.
ETHEREAL ist ein Album voller Emotionen, die durch die Sequenzen und die klangliche Textur präsent sind.
Der Moog Modular bringt eine besondere Farbe in die Klangpalette dieses neuen Werks. Ich wollte ein Ergebnis erzielen, das mit meiner Vision der Berliner Schule übereinstimmt:
eine Erweiterung dieser musikalischen Bewegung."
Laurent Schieber (Sequentia Legenda)

Tom Schakel mit dem Album ETHEREAL von Sequentia Legenda

ETHEREAL
Der beste Weg, um dem Alltag zu entfliehen

Tom Schakel: "ETHEREAL ist für mich das kompletteste und spannendste aus einer Reihe von hochklassigen Alben von Sequentia Legenda.
Ich höre es nach wie vor sehr oft und kann dabei bestens dem Alltag entfliehen. Immer wieder stoße ich dabei gefühlt auf Feinheiten, die mir vorher nicht aufgefallen sind.

Während mich die ersten beiden Tracks mit ihrer Leichtigkeit und ihren hypnotischen Drums langsam aber sicher hinfort ziehen, ist der dritte Track für mich das pure Schweben im Raum. „Elevation“ klingt ein wenig anders, aber gerade das macht dieses Album für mich so außergewöhnlich.

Die knapp 70 Minuten Spielzeit von Ethereal sind für mich eine komplette Reise und halten einem Vergleich mit der Alten Berliner Schule locker stand.  5 Sterne *****"

Etwas mehr über Tom Schakel :
"Begonnen hat mein Interesse für die alte Berliner Schule gegen 2007, als ich bei einem Freund war und er Timewind von Klaus Schulze auflegte. Ich war sofort gefangen und bin in dieser Form vorher noch nie so „weggezogen“ worden. Da ich musikalisch sehr offen bin und neben klassischer Musik auch Jazz, Blues, Independent, Heavy Metal, Kraut und Psychedellicrock höre, habe ich mich daraufhin auch mit elektronischer Musik befasst und auseinandergesetzt. Ich bin bis heute ein großer Fan von diesem Sound und höre sie fast ausschließlich am Abend zum Entspannen oder beim Einschlafen, da dieser Sound für mich fast schon meditativ ist."

ETHEREAL unter den Top 10 bei den Schallwelle Awards

 

ETHEREAL
Meine Hommage an Robert Moog, an den Moog Modular

Tom Schakel: "Welchen Platz nimmt ETHEREAL für Dich in Deiner Discography ein?"
Sequentia Legenda: "Dieses Album ist letztlich meine Hommage an Robert Moog, genauer gesagt an seine imposante Klangmaschine : Der berühmte Moog Modular. Dieses Instrument nimmt einen strategischen Platz im Herzen der Atmosphäre von ETHEREAL ein und spielt eine wesentliche Rolle: die des Rückgrats des globalen Soundtracks. Es hat mir großen Spaß gemacht, die enormen Möglichkeiten der Arturia-Emulation auszuschöpfen, um das warme und satte Klangkorn des Moogs zu extrahieren. Die subtilen harmonischen Variationen, die einigen Effekten hinzugefügt werden, verleihen der einzigartigen Klangfarbe des Modulars Leben. Der Sequenzer mit seinen bemerkenswerten Möglichkeiten erlaubte mir, Linien von Noten zu formen, die sich mit Präzision und Reichtum zum Ganzen überlagern. Wie ich gerne sage, ist der Sequenzer nach wie vor mein Lieblingswerkzeug, und mit dem Moog Modular ist es ein wahrer Genuss!

Dies ist auch eine neue Zusammenarbeit mit dem Schlagzeuger Tommy Betzler. Im zweiten Track "Around the Second Moon" konnte Tommy seinen ganzen Schwung und Impuls für ein Ergebnis einbringen, das ich als "Kosmisch Rock" bezeichnen möchte. Tommy und ich waren bei der Preisverleihung der Schallwelle Awards in der Rhur dabei. Am Ende schaffte es ETHEREAL in die Top 10 der besten Alben neben solchen Größen wie Tangerine Dream, Johannes Schmoelling und Mike Oldfield. Es war eine große Leistung."

Tom Schakel: "Du hast mir einmal geschrieben, dass der dritte Track auf ETHEREAL von den anderen beiden Tracks abweicht und für Dich eine Art Experiment war. Was hat Dich dazu bewogen, diesen Schritt zu gehen?"
Sequentia Legenda: "Mit diesem dritten Track "Elevation" wollte ich eine neue Erfahrung machen, indem ich mir eine noch kosmischere Atmosphäre als sonst vorstellte. Ich habe mich am Klangraum orientiert, um eine möglichst breite, dichte Wiedergabe zu erhalten. Der mystische und sich entwickelnde Verlauf wird mit einem Mix aus atmosphärischen Schichten realisiert, die flüchtigen Klänge kommen aus den beiden Sequenzern mit einem Duo von modularen Moog, das Ganze wird durch einen sehr langen Hall transportiert. In diesem sich ständig verändernden Klangbild laden ätherische Pads und Chöre, unterstützt von sonischer Perkussion, den Zuhörer zu einem Aufstieg zu den Sternen ein."

Tom Schakel: "Wie gehst Du an Deine Aufnahmen heran, Hast Du den Track das Konzept eines Albums von Beginn an im Kopf, oder entwickelt sich das Ganze beim Komponieren und Produzieren?"
Sequentia Legenda: "Ich habe zwischen zwei Alben einige Zeit verstreichen lassen. Ich warte auf Inspiration, die mich zu den Tastaturen führt. Es ist ein besonderer Moment, ein neuer Start für ein neues musikalisches Abenteuer. Ich habe ein paar Ideen, ein paar Inspirationen, die sich während der Entstehungsphase nach und nach aufbauen. Das Ganze wird sich weiterentwickeln, wird verfeinert, um einem neuen Titel Leben einzuhauchen, dann einem neuen Opus. Ich lade Sie ein, einen weiteren Artikel zum Thema Inspiration hier zu lesen." 

 

Sequentia Legenda in Arbeit

ETHEREAL
Aus Sicht der Rezensenten

Sylvain Lupari: "A true lover of Klaus Schulze music, Sequentia Legenda goes beyond in his quest to reproduce the essence of retro Berlin School with this exquisite Ethereal. A must!"
Sylvain Lupari (August 10th, 2017)
Read the review

Richard Gürtler: "70 minutes long "ETHEREAL" is another highly accomplished album by Sequentia Legenda and especially its third chapter showcases the more distinguishing approach in carving profoundly enigmatic, yet insistently sequencer-driven vintage-futuristic electronica. Laurent, keep on excelling!!"
Richard Gürtler (Dec 29, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)
Read the review

Drew Fisher: "Laurent Schieber has done it again! Just when you think the Berlin School sound has been played out, Laurent releases something new that just keeps upping the ante! The second of these three epics of progressive electronic music may be my favorite Berlin School song ever made!  "
Drew Fisher (Progarchives) Jan 23, 2018
Read the review

ETHEREAL von Sequentia Legenda - Übersicht Teaser 3 Titel 70 min Musik der reinsten Berliner Schule

Dieses Opus wird ein immersives und emotionales Erlebnis sein, eine Hommage an den legendären Moog Modular, drei Titel werden für eine Gesamtdauer von 70 Minuten zu hören sein.

 

 

            

A return to ETHEREAL

"This opus will be an immersive and emotional experience, a tribute to the legendary Moog modular.
ETHEREAL is an album full of emotions, which are present through the sequences and the sonic texture.
The Moog Modular brings a particular color to the sound palette of this new opus. I wanted to achieve a result in harmony with my vision of the Berlin school:
an extension of this musical movement."
Laurent Schieber (Sequentia Legenda)

Tom Schakel with the album ETHEREAL by Sequentia Legenda

ETHEREAL
Best way to escape from everyday life

Tom Schakel: "ETHEREAL is for me the most complete and exciting of a series of high class albums by Sequentia Legenda. I still listen to it very often and it is the best way to escape from everyday life. Again and again I come across subtleties that I hadn't noticed before.

While the first two tracks slowly but surely draw me away with their lightness and hypnotic drums, the third track is pure floating in space for me. "Elevation" sounds a little different, but that's what makes this album so exceptional for me.

The almost 70 minutes of playing time of ETHEREAL are a complete journey for me and easily stand up to a comparison with the Old Berlin School. 5 stars *****"

A little more about Tom Schakel :
"My interest in the old Berlin School started around 2007 when I was at a friend's house and he put on Timewind by Klaus Schulze. I was immediately caught and have never been so "drawn away" in this way before. Since I am musically very open-minded and listen to jazz, blues, independent, heavy metal, kraut and psychedelic rock as well as classical music, I then also got involved with electronic music and got to grips with it. I am still a big fan of this sound and listen to it almost exclusively in the evening to relax or when falling asleep, as this sound is almost meditative for me."

ETHEREAL in the Top 10 at the Schallwelle Awards

 

ETHEREAL
My tribute to Robert Moog, to the Moog Modular

Tom Schakel: "What place does ETHEREAL hold for you in your discography?"
Sequentia Legenda: "This album is ultimately my tribute to Robert Moog, more precisely to his imposing sound machine: The famous Moog Modular. This instrument occupies a strategic place in the very heart of ETHEREAL's atmosphere, playing an essential role: that of the backbone of the overall soundtrack. I was delighted to exploit the vast possibilities of the Arturia emulation in order to extract the warm and ample grain of the Moog. The subtle harmonic variations added to some effects give life to the unique timbre of the modular. The sequencer with its remarkable possibilities allowed me to sculpt lines of notes that were superimposed with precision and richness on the whole. As I like to say, the sequencer remains my favourite tool and with the Moog Modular, it's a real treat!

This is also a new collaboration with drummer Tommy Betzler. In the second track "Around the Second Moon" Tommy was able to add all his verve and impulse for a result that I would like to call "Planing Rock". Tommy and I were present at the award ceremony of the Schallwelle Awards in the Rhur. In the end, ETHEREAL made it into the Top 10 of the best albums alongside such greats as Tangerine Dream, Johannes Schmoelling and Mike Oldfield. It was a great achievement."

Tom Schakel: "You once wrote me that the third track on ETHEREAL was different from the other two tracks and was a kind of experiment for you. What made you take this step?"
Sequentia Legenda: "With this third track "Elevation", I wanted to try a new experience by imagining an atmosphere even more cosmic than usual. I oriented my research on the sound space, in order to obtain a wide, dense rendering, a result which is the most spatial possible. The mystical and evolving progression is realized with a mixture of atmospheric pads, the fleeting sounds are issued from the two sequencers with a duo of modular Moog, the whole transported by a very long reverberation. In this ever-changing sonic canvas, ethereal pads and choirs, supported by sonic percussion, invite the listener to an ascent to the stars."

Tom Schakel: "How do you approach your recordings, do you have the track the concept of an album in mind from the beginning, or does it all develop during composing and producing?"
Sequentia Legenda: "I let some time pass between two albums. I wait for the inspiration to guide me to the keyboards. It is a particular moment, a new start for a new musical adventure. I have some ideas, some tracks of inspirations, which are built little by little during the phase of creation. The whole will evolve, will be refined to give life to a new title, then to a new opus. I invite you to read another article related to inspiration here." 

 

Sequentia Legenda being composed

ETHEREAL
As seen by the reviewers

Sylvain Lupari: "A true lover of Klaus Schulze music, Sequentia Legenda goes beyond in his quest to reproduce the essence of retro Berlin School with this exquisite Ethereal. A must!"
Sylvain Lupari (August 10th, 2017)
Read the review

Richard Gürtler: "70 minutes long "ETHEREAL" is another highly accomplished album by Sequentia Legenda and especially its third chapter showcases the more distinguishing approach in carving profoundly enigmatic, yet insistently sequencer-driven vintage-futuristic electronica. Laurent, keep on excelling!!"
Richard Gürtler (Dec 29, 2017, Bratislava, Slovakia)
Read the review

Drew Fisher: "Laurent Schieber has done it again! Just when you think the Berlin School sound has been played out, Laurent releases something new that just keeps upping the ante! The second of these three epics of progressive electronic music may be my favorite Berlin School song ever made!  "
Drew Fisher (Progarchives) Jan 23, 2018
Read the review

ETHEREAL by Sequentia Legenda - Overview Teaser 3 Titles 70 min of pure Berlin School music

This opus will be an immersive and emotional experience, a tribute to the legendary Moog modular, three titles will be present for a total duration of 70 minutes.

 

 

            

FIVE - THE STORY - Five years Berlin School

Five first years on the Berlin School's stage

Thanks to Frank Heller for this photo

FIVE THE STORY

Dear Fellow listeners, Dear Fellow listeners,

The album "FIVE" celebrates my first five years on the Berlin School stage. During this time I have been fortunate to be able to share my own musical vision with passion and sincerity and to live my dream. This anniversary, it is with you, that I wish to share it here.

Take care of yourself and those around you, long live music, long live Love,
Laurent Schieber (Sequentia Legenda)
🎹😘🎹

Thanks to Alan Busby for this photo

BLUE DREAM BEGINNING OF MY MUSICAL ADVENTURE

The album "BLUE DREAM" released in December 2014 was the beginning of my musical adventure, other opus followed. Some albums were nominated for the Schallwelle Awards and I am proud and very happy about that. There was also the release of the double album "EXTENDED".

I had the privilege of meeting and dialoguing with musicians such as Thorsten Quaeschning, Bernd Kistenmacher, Harald Grosskopf, Bertrand Loreau, Olivier Briand to name but a few, and of collaborating with Tommy Betzler, Jean-Luc Briançon (Kurzt Mindfields), Michael Brückner (Live Session).

BLUE DREAM

MY SOUND UNIVERSES ON THE AIRWAVES

Radio moderators have not been outdone in broadcasting my sound worlds on the airwaves. I keep in memory some of the shows, for example "BLUE DREAM Trilogy" on SineFM with Simon Thomas, the moments in Jos verboven's show "Electronic Fusion", the memorable "Murmure du son" with the duo Sylvain Lupari and Robert Hamel, the appearances with Ecki Stieg in the unavoidable "Grenzwellen", without forgetting the programming in one of the most podcast radio shows in the world : "La Planète Bleue" by Yves Blanc. The show "Le Bunker" with for the occasion a two-hour "Special Sequentia Legenda" organized by Guy Devilla will also remain a superb moment of emotion for me.

I had the chance to express myself and share my passion during interviews, for example with Jean-Claude El Jice for an interview in the Belgian magazine "Le Progressiste". I remember my first interview in German and live via Skype in the "New Age" show with Rainer Tyson Schramke.

REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS

DIRECT AND PRIVILEGED CONTACT WITH THE LISTENERS

The stage performances in Germany, Switzerland and France were each time beautiful and rich experiences allowing me to have a direct and privileged contact with the listeners.

Here is the teaser produced by Guillaume Diard for Synthfest 2019:

UNEXPECTED PROJECTS WERE BORN

Unexpected projects were born, such as the participation in the book to read and listen to "La Lune, pourquoi on a décroché ?" by Lydia Mirdjanian in which my title "Solitudes Lunaires" was used as a soundtrack. I also think back to the Edgar Froese memorial project organized by Rebekkah Hilgraves. Surprises too, such as the presence of my track "AU REVOIR" in the La Planète Bleue volume 9 compilation, more information about it here.

There were also unfortunately some disappearances, I would come back here only on the premature departure of my friend Philipppe Vallin with whom I had a rich and warm contact. Phil had his own way of writing, an enlightened musical culture, a sensitivity that resembled me. One of Philippe Vallin's articles about me.


There have also been projects that could not be completed for various reasons, sometimes due to lack of time. The collaboration with Ron Charron (Kuutana Serenity) is still going on.

Some projects are in progress: the collaboration with the talented Hélène Vogelsinger, a concert project in a planetarium, a festival in Switzerland, my next album "BEYOND THE STARS".

And finally, to conclude this retrospective: During these five years, I have had the great pleasure to be able to benefit from the warm and unconditional support of the listeners whom I salute here. Thanks to all those who believed in my musical vision.


Laurent Schieber (Sequentia Legenda)
🎹😘🎹

TESTIMONIALS

Thanks to Beata Pardela for this photo

YOUR MUSIC IMMEDIATELY CAUGHT MY ATTENTION

I discovered your music at the end of 2018 on Bandcamp, and the first shot I heard was "MIND LAKE". As I am a great lover of electronic music, as well as the editor of the only Polish internet radio EL-Stacja promoting exclusively electronic music, your music immediately caught my attention. I am fascinated by the genre of the Berlin School and this style of music is the most important for me.
The music created has a gentle sequential structure that allows you to immerse yourself in your dreams, to think and above all to relax with it. For me, the moments spent with this music act as a balm for the soul, carry everyday problems somewhere far away and give great relaxation and the strength to struggle with reality. This music has a great calming and relaxing power and I am happy to listen to it.

Beata Pardela
(Radio Moderator - EL-Stacja - Poland)

🎙️ Beata Pardela asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "I would like to know how your music has influenced you, how it has evolved over the last five years, when you have created so many really great and precious pieces, and how you evaluate your work in five years. What are your ideas and plans for the coming years?"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "My influence goes back to my teenage years when I discovered Mirage Klaus Schulze's album by chance. That was my musical trigger. So it was much later, in 2014 with BLUE DREAM, that I took the plunge and brought my musical work into the open. Those first five years were pure joy as I was able to share my passion with success and recognition. I am proud and honoured. These first five years have been a pure joy in that I have been able to share my passion with success and recognition. My dream has come true and my next projects will be in this line with a constant evolution."

FIVE YEARS WHERE EVERY TIME I'M SURPRISED

For me it's five years where every time I'm surprised that you manage to surprise me. The challenges in your personal life perspire on the sweetness of your music. Even in its most intense moments. And this sensitivity that you lay down in music responds freshly to mine.

Sylvain Lupari
(Reviewer - Synth&Sequences)

🎙️ Sylvain Lupari asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "Five years Laurent since BLUE DREAM! Are you satisfied with your evolution? How did you see yourself five years ago? Are you where you wanted to be?"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "Time goes by quickly indeed, too quickly! I am a sensitive and demanding person with myself and I must admit without pretension that I am happy and satisfied with the journey I have made in five years. I have always favoured work, quality, rigour and sincerity. In the end, I am satisfied to find myself five years later in total adequacy with my musical vision of the start! I have made no concessions, I have kept the course I set myself and this is the one that will guide me for the next five years: sharing my sensitivity through my sound universes."

Thanks to Anton Uraletz for this photo

VAST SEAS OF HARMONIC SEQUENCES

My way to Berlin-school electronics was easy but long and took almost 20+ years since I heard it for the first time… there is so much interesting music around, and I explored it step by step, style by style. In the end of December 2015, a friend of mine gave me a tip to «BLUE DREAM» and «AMIRA» – «Man, you’ll like it… I swear». And yeah, I did. That was a sort of enlightenment – vast seas of harmonic sequences that set up a whole Universe of sound… the seas to immerse in, delving neither into psychedelic nor abstruse soundscapes. Straight-forward, simple and even sequencing is the remarkable and one of the most precious advantages of Sequentia Legenda… it forms these breezing soundscapes that carry you upwards and away on its wings of soaring dreams and reveries to the azure faraway distance where the Highmost Welkin meets the Sound of the Sequence. And that’s the way it is.

Anton Uraletz (Russia)

🎙️ Anton Uraletz asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "My question about your last 5 years is simple – how have you fell in love with sequencing? What does it mean to you?"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "I fell in love with the sequences from the very beginning of my discovery of Klaus Schulze's discography with the two sound universes of Mirage. The sequencer is my favourite tool, it is very often by the setting up of the loops that my creative work begins. The sequencer is my machine for weaving the soundtrack. It is important for me to make several loops of notes cohabit and to bring this harmonic and rhythmic ensemble to life.  My vision of sequencing: Loops in perpetual evolution."

Thanks to Oleg Parfentev for this photo

THE ART OF SEQUENTIA LEGENDA

I will start from a distance and tell you how I discovered electronic music and the Berlin school in particular.

...it was somewhere in the 90's, I don't remember exactly. I couldn't sleep at night, so I turned on the radio. There was beautiful, unusual music on the air, not like the music on other radio stations. I stayed on that show and listened to it until morning. Later I found out that it was a program about electronic music called Back to the Universe. Programmed at certain hours of the night, and its permanent host was (and still is) DJ, musician and journalist Martin Landers. Here is his website and information.

This man (his programs) took me into the world of electronic music, which I had never known before, and it was from him that I got to know the Berlin School and other areas of electronic music, Klaus Schulze and many other musicians and bands.

I heard the music of Sequentia Legenda for the first time 3 years ago on https://vk.com/ (it's our Russian analogue Facebook).

Only there you can put music in addition to texts, photos and videos. As a rule, it is pirated, which means that nobody pays for it. I really liked the songs (AU REVOIR, SOLITUDES LUNAIRES, THE APPROACH), and I kept them.

Much later, I decided to search the facebook page of Sequentia Legenda. And I had by chance the release of the new album OVER THERE, which of course I also liked a lot.

And then, Laurent, I recognized your blog, your page on bandcamp.com and all your music. And I also met you and made friends on facebook.

Each of your albums, I discovered it gradually : listen, listen, listen... They are different, but there is definitely a recognizable style, the style of Sequentia Legenda. Each album has a favourite track or even several. I also really like the way your CDs are made: the photo, the design and of course the sound. Thank you very much for your autographs and wishes. It's very expensive! In the age of digital sound, it's very nice to hold a CD (or a vinyl record) in your hands! (At least for me).

What does your music mean to me?
Laurent, for me, what you do on stage is magic. It's magical. I have no idea how it works! Yes, there's an idea, there are means and tools to implement it (synthesizers, computers, instruments). But how it all ends up in this fascinating music - I don't understand! And I don't have to understand it. Magic must contain mystery. But I MUCH like what you get in the end!

At the moment, for various reasons, I am not as actively following news and innovations in the field of music. But when I hear a melody on a radio station, I immediately recognize Sequentia Legenda. How do I feel? If something you like sounds like SOLITUDES LUNAIRES (one of the diamonds in your collection!), I'm delighted. The heart starts beating more often, breathtaking, you fly away... It's not in words!

In conclusion, I would like to thank you, Laurent, for the joy and happiness you bring to us, the listeners, with your magical music. You have always had and will always have a constant and faithful listener who needs you. Keep on creating. I know this is a difficult moment in your life, but let your two suns (Dylan and Valentin), as you once said, light your way and give you strength and confidence. You are a wonderful father, a wonderful musician and, in general, a kind and good person.

I am very happy to have met you and the art of Sequentia Legenda.

I wish you much, much luck and all the best!

Oleg Parfentev (Russia)

🎙️ Oleg Parfentev asked a question to Sequentia Legenda: "I'm interested in how the composition is born? Where does it begin? The very beginning. How do you put in your head this melody, this rhythm that will later be a success in your album? How does it happen? (I suspect that creating a melody is a long and tedious process (I might be wrong). But it always has a beginning, a starting point (a starting impulse). What does this mean to you? Share it, please, if you can share it :)"

🎙️ Sequentia Legenda: "The creative phase, begins in a subtle and unpredictable way, it's a call, a magnet that will attract me to my keyboards. Inspiration can come from an image, a story, a sound, a walk, a chance too. Then, in front of my machines, the experimental phase begins, often by setting up the first loops, then the first layers. Then begins the real work of composition, which can sometimes be time-consuming, because I am a demanding person - demanding on myself as well. For example, for my first track FLY OVER ME (BLUE DREAM), it took me no less than sixteen months to be satisfied with the result! Music is an achievement and I always want to put quality before quantity, I want to offer the best of myself for my listeners and for the beautiful musical movement that the Berlin School represents."