KIOSQUE D ORPHEE UNE EPOPEE DE L'AUTOPRODUCTION EN FRANC

Description

For a long time, I came across these records without really being able to understand what connected them, apart from a sticker and that famous logo designed by René Dessirier. Then, while digging a little deeper, I discovered this link of 'self-production.' For choirs, schools, folk singers, young pop bands, community centers, and even great composers who recorded unique copies of certain recording sessions... - - The French counterpart of the English 'Derby Service,' the Kiosque d'Orphée, formerly located at 7 Rue Grégoire de Tours in the 6th arrondissement, was taken over by Georges Batard in 1967 and moved to 20 Rue des Tournelles in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The adventure lasted until 1991. Georges Batard was a sound engineer who had a tube Neumann lathe to cut the acetates from the tapes he received, before producing the precious vinyl records in the pressing plants of the time, where he had the ability to make very small runs, between 50 and 500 copies. - - There were obviously other structures that allowed for record releases, such as Voxigrave or later FLVM, but none had as many records in their catalog. The Kiosque d'Orphée was neither a label nor a publisher, but a structure that allowed you to press your own vinyl records, at a time when it was quite an adventure to release your first 45 RPM or 33 RPM album! - - Georges Batard was described as someone passionate and very conscientious. Regarding him, his son, bassist Didier Batard, wrote: - - 'Georges was passionate about recording and stereo sound reproduction, his great passion being music. He paid great attention to distortion levels, signal-to-noise ratios, response curves, rise times, and other damping factors of audio equipment. He sought the exact reproduction of concert hall sound in his living room (at the same volume level, if possible...). In the late 50s/early 60s, he found other sound enthusiasts within the AFDERS (French Association for the Development of Recording and Sound Reproduction). He became its honorary president. Every Saturday afternoon, its members gathered to test audio equipment. Their opinions were published in the monthly magazine la Revue du Son.' - - You just had to send your tapes and choose the number of copies of records you would take home, to finally share your creations and, in a way, exist. You could opt for a generic cover, available in several colors, directly customizable with your name and credits, or you could design your dream cover yourself in your living room or at a printer's. - - This Temple of 'Do It Yourself' gave birth to beautiful covers. Created with stencils, handwritten, illustrated with paintings, drawings, illustrations from friends or girlfriends of the time, hastily glued photo prints in the middle of a blank white cover, on which the marks of time would leave their traces so that collectors and other curious individuals would come to buy them decades later, with the promise of a musical discovery, unfortunately not always fulfilled... - - The common thread of most of these records is the youth of their author-composers, whether they went on to have a career or not. Stories of friends, resourcefulness, and dreams of glory made up this catalog. It was often amateur production, both in the level of musicians and in the quality of recording, done on a two-track or, the ultimate luxury, on a four-track in a teenager's bedroom or in the parents' living room. - - It was the beginning of the home studio, thanks to the advent of the portable Revox tape recorder. A bit of makeshift work, but, in return, the luxury of not setting any limits: entire side tracks, no external censorship, no artistic director, no manager, no Barclay or EMI/Pathé Marconi logos... - - When you finally had your own record, you could then give it away or sell it to friends, family, or after concerts. You could also drop it off at the nearest record store, with undisguised pride. - - It was also a business card that you could send to radio stations or music labels, hoping to launch your career... - - Many of the protagonists in this story tried to sign with labels, but at the time, the bridges were not so easy to find between their provincial town, or even their village, and the major or more niche label that could have released these records. At that time, the advertisements published in the press by the Kiosque d'Orphée opened up possibilities for provincial composers. It was now possible to make your record without having to pass the test of signing with a label. - - Some of the composers who went on to have careers used this route to release their first record or parallel projects (Claude Engel, Dominique A, Andy Emler, Michel Deneuve, Claude Mairet, Mick Piellard, Tristan Murail...) and sometimes even working or promotional copies in unique or very limited pressings (Bernard Parmegiani, Jef Gilson...). - - This album is the conclusion of a long investigation that began six years ago. A long-term effort to track down the records, scattered everywhere, among collectors and sometimes with the musicians themselves, then to listen to them, sometimes painfully, to uncover those moments of grace. - - From this work, 23 tracks remain, but there are dozens of others that could have been included; choices had to be made, and the selection had to be as universal as possible. This selection is obviously not objective, but I hope you will enjoy it. - - Today, what remains is raw, touching, and powerful music.