October 24th, 2024
Sticking to my mandatory hobby bounce from illustration to music then illustration, this one is about… music. My last song is called Steps which is ideal for a step by step creative process of making something out of… a few things.
October 5th, 2023
Another year, another post, another song. A short story of how I came up with Lanes.
As often I caught the seed of the idea during a little impromptu breakfast family jam:
After writing some very French lyrics, recording during some very late night sessions, and fiddling with a very fiddly production, I threw a very secret living room performance:
I pretty much liked it, pretty much released it, and then I very much scrapped it.
The song was mostly ready, but I got bored of how it turned out. It felt sad and a bit boring, so I decided to move on and start again.
Getting back to the root of the song enabled me to let go of the previous approach, explore different and more upbeat ideas for the guitar, the drums, the singing, and eventually, let it swim away:
Of course there was a “lanes illustration” that took priority over the song, but that didn’t make it to the final artwork. I’m so sorry illustration! The art of loving ideas, scrapping them and starting again. Nice and healthy.
October 6th, 2022
Keeping up with my 2018’s born tradition, I followed up the birth of my second little girl by writing a song, recording a tune and drawing my baby in her mummy’s arms.
Pretty keen on my new creative project, I started writing the first lines two weeks in and quickly realised I needed to pause, and let moments and leaps happen to go beyond writing an entire song about a newborn.
The first draft acoustic recording a little less than a month in:
Followed up by the final production released exactly 5 months in:
I like drawing hair.
I really do like drawing hair.
It’s random, it’s focus, and it’s satisfying to a point that it wouldn’t be good to not draw a lot of them every, single, time.
The hair ou “les cheveux”?
I don’t know where it starts.
I don’t know where it ends.
Hair can be anything you want it to be.
So be it.
Be hair.
April 4th, 2022
Kicking off the year with a fresh take by deconstructing my “comfort zone” illustration style and freeing it up from lines once again. Here is to the multiple paths one can take, inspired by those who tried it before.
February 10th, 2022
This first EP is the result of a couple of years experimenting with sounds, vocals, styles, while growing my skills as an enthusiastic music producer.
After flirting with music production for years without really committing I decided to push that interest so I could understand the essentials of producing and mixing. In March 2020 I started writing a new song – Simplicity – as a way to learn the foundation of music production while getting familiar with Logic Pro. I named that new musical experiment Emlo, a blend of Emile, my middle name, and Emilio a variation I like for some unresolved reasons.
Those songs talk about growing up through adulthood, from the thrill of making things, the challenges of handling anxiety, to the importance of focusing on what really matters and letting go of what holds you back.
I like and listen to many genres so I couldn’t really categorise what I’ve made there, other than something pretty personal, and hopefully relatable to some. My creative process naturally developed into mixing up organic sounds like guitar, piano, with hip-hop inspired digital beats, then building up a tight but relaxed vocal delivery on top. A tricky balance I’m definitely still working on.
Thanks for reading, hope you’ll enjoy listening.
July 25th, 2021
Illustration has been the most consistent thing I’ve done for the past 13 years. Meditation has been the other most consistent thing I’ve done for the past 8 years.
Both practice helped me so much to discover, define and shape who I am today, what I do, and how I do it. Even so, I see myself as a beginner most of the time.
Continue reading Lifetime Journey of a Beginner: Sit, Meditate, Draw, and Repeat…
July 16th, 2021
A spontaneous collection of ducks is all it took to (re)trigger my obsession with illustration, again.
Duck A was born pretty small, like a cute little ball, with some sort of towel on the head like she just had a bath in the pond next door. She usually has.
Duck B was initially named Bird A, but I had some doubts about this, and I don’t do birds that much (yet). On top of being great at pretending being a bird, he usually wear a multi-layered jumper made of his personal collection of feather, accumulated over the years. Duck B is not afraid of cold ponds.
Duck C is very advanced for a duck, and can easily walk long distances between ponds thanks to her highly resistant boots.
Introducing Emlo, my latest music project, and my 2020’s lockdown induced attempt at learning music production, while experimenting with sound, genre and voice delivery.
Here are the first three tunes: Simplicity, Walk, and Focus. Continue reading for a take away on what I learned in the process.
Continue reading Genuine chill-hop tracks with an authentic French flavour…
September 15th, 2019
Coming back here feels like a trip to the past. It has been that long. But I want to post at least once this year so here it is!
While real priorities required me to focus elsewhere – daddyyy! – I haven’t lost my hunger for making stuff, in less time. And so here is the latest thing I made, continuing my tradition of a song + an illustration. I’ll focus on the song.