What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter — a soothing, calming influence on the mind.
— Henri Matisse
 
And then the ‘note bleue’ resonates and there we are, in the azure of the transparent night.
— George Sand

 

It’s so hard for me to talk, especially about myself. Also… “When words fail, music speaks.” Yet here I am trying to find a few words.

I play the piano, I play synthesizers, which I don’t program that much, I prefer direct live takes. Each performance has its unique spontaneous sound, energy, and emotion.

An acoustic piano allows so much expressiveness. Pianists interact with its thousands of moving parts. Each key they touch directly vibrates sound waves through the air and their body, without computer latency. Sometimes an unexpected yet natural squeak happens, like the sound of crackling wood from a fireplace. Close mics capture it all for listeners, as well as the pianists’ breathing, their fingers jumping to keys or their feet activating the pedals. While with synths, their electronic sensors, their invisible electrical connections, their programming, musicians can paint immersive, evocative ambiences and get showered in sound, with perhaps less connection to the intimacy of nature and the human touch.

I record music by my grandmasters – Vangelis, Chopin, Mozart,… I hope my performances feel like the originals (which is an interesting thought regarding Chopin and Mozart) while sounding personal, always honoring the beauty of the score and my instruments, touching hearts with my fingers touching the keys. I try to find my sound and get you lost into it.

Thank you for reading this. Maybe these words resonate with you, may you find something more in what I say through music.

Olivier Lebra
INSTRUMENTS

Klavins Una Corda acoustic piano No. 021 ♥︎
Dexibell VIVO S9 master keyboard

Expressive E Touché 3D controller
Haken ContinuuMini fingerboard No. 001079
with EaganMatrix modular digital synth
Bela Gliss touch sensor

Waldorf Blofeld wavetable synth
Roland JU-06A virtual-analog synth
ARP 2600 M semi-modular analog synth ♥︎
Behringer Solina String Ensemble analog synth
PhonicBloom Gecho synth + sensors No. 1192
Yamaha reface CP mini electric piano
KORG volca drum digital percussion synth
Teenage Engineering PO-33 micro sampler

+ EFFECTS

Strymon NightSky reverberator
Strymon Volante magnetic echo machine ♥︎
Fairfield Circuitry ring modulator No. 3193
Make Noise Mimeophon repeater No. 9879
Elektron Heat +FX distortion sound processor

ROUTING

Blokas Midihub MIDI processor ♥︎
Lehle Dual Expression pedale ♥︎
Yamaha FC7 volume foot controller
Moog EP-3 expression pedal
Dunlop DVP4 mini volume pedal
Arturia KeyStep sequencer
Boss FS-1-WL footswitch
SSL SiX compact analogue console
BASTL Bestie mixer + saturator

RECORDING

Extinct Audio BM9 ribbon mics No. 149 & 150
Warm Audio WA-84 mics ♥︎
MOTU 828es audio interface ♥︎
La Voix du Luthier Onde resonator No. 325

PRODUCTION

Apple MacBook Pro M1 computer
Apple Logic Pro music production software

SCORES

Barber • Beethoven • Chopin ♥︎ • C.P.E. Bach • Craig Armstrong • David Arnold • Ennio Morricone • Erik Satie • Handel • Harry Gregson-Williams • John Ottman • John Powell • John Williams • J.S. Bach • Kanye West • Leonard Cohen • Ludovico Einaudi • Max Richter • Michael Nyman • Michael Price • Michel Polnareff • Mike Oldfield (I did the website) • John Ottman • Mozart ♥︎ • Nils Frahm • Nino Rota • Paul de Senneville • Philip Glass • Paul Mauriat • Pink Floyd • Rachmaninoff • Ravel • Ryuichi Sakamoto • Serge Gainsbourg • Vangelis ♥︎ • Vladimir Cosma • Yann Tiersen

crafted with ♡ in vienna

O l i V i E R