Yvalain[/caption]Carol Forsloff — Music transcends borders and as Shakespeare once said, it is the fruit of love. It is also the vehicle for understanding and communication that can bring people together from many parts of the world, as is done by Yve Alain Debodinance, known as Yvalain by his friends and fans. Yvalain is one of many thousands of musicians on a site called Fandalism, sharing his music, most of which is original, with people around the world. I asked him a number of questions in order to highlight for others what he has done to elevate his own music as an example to others, improve his own performances, and how he developed his unique and special skills in music. The following are the questions and answers from the interview:
When did you start playing music and why?
I started to play guitar when I was 15. My best school friend was a huge Beatles fan. Thanks to him I discovered a magic universe of sounds, voices and instruments. The Beatles broke up one year ago. Until that moment I did not know too much music but some French hits and some classical music that my father sometimes played at home. I then requisitioned the family turntable and installed it in my bedroom. Little by little I listened to a wide range of pop-music from Jimi Hendrix to Pink Floyd, not forgetting Mike Oldfield, Queen, Supertramp and at least a thousand more…
What types of music genres do you favor?
I used to worry that I need two "legs to walk" and in the field f music I need pop-rock (in a very wide understanding) and classical music. I still love the Beatles and most of their solo works, I admire Paul McCartney who is still a fantastic creator despite his age. I still love everything I listened to in my teen years. John Lennon once said that our discoveries during our adolescence impregnate our spirit deeply. I agree with that. There is always some special magic when I listen today the stuff I enjoyed when I was young. The early Mike Oldfield is still great to my ears. All Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The Who, the Kinks, Manfred Mann, Wishbone Ash but also Muse, American folk singers such as CSN&Y, Dylan, Hendrix of course, Randy Newman, Bruce Springsteen… On the classical side I can’t live without JS Bach, Sir Henry Purcell, Haendel and Vivaldi besides great other classical masters.
Where do you get your music inspiration?
I guess like many other composers I want to express myself through music: emotions, ideas, stories, good or bad experiences. My elder son told me that there are two races of musicians: the creators and the experts. I’m definitely among the first group. I like to play guitar and bass but my pleasure is not to practice hours everyday. Instead I use them as simple instruments to express my need to create. It could be pots or sticks…
What have been some of your special music experiences? Have you performed professionally and if so in what type of venues?
I started a band with my schoolfellows. Of course, our aim was to be as famous as the Beatles. Soon I played bass. That was my temperament at that time (express something but not too under the spotlight). We played several years, improving slowly But it happened that I realize we would never be good enough to earn our life with music, not speaking to be as good as the Beatles. So I had to keep my energy to have a good job and create a family. The dream was over. We made some disastrous public performance. Not a very good memory. Well, after nearly 30 years I started a new band with other musicians. That was a lot of fun. We made several great concerts (we were not too bad this time). But in 2008 I decided to keep my free time for composing and I left the band. Since then I made the equivalent of 10 albums with my small home studio.
What does it mean to be successful in music? What counts as success? Money? Fun? Meeting new people? Self satisfaction? Creative outlet?
I guess the answer depends on what age we have. In my case my answer would be very different when I was a dreamy adolescent. Of course, now, I believe that the most important is to have fun and give pleasure to the audience. Personally my best pleasure is when I accomplish a new work and when I’m satisfied with the result. I never think of what other people will say of my song, if they’ll like it or not. It would be paralyzing to me to think that way. I started to make music on my own, playing all instruments and programming those that I can’t play. My experience of composing with my band was not very satisfying as I realized that my need to compose something original was not shared. The other members preferred to cover well-known hits. But soon I found it very agreeable to invite other musicians to play some parts of my songs, joining their talent to my ideas. That was certainly a good operation to have great singers and soloists with me. Thanks to the Internet I could play with people from various places in the world. I shared my songs on Jamendo for nearly 4 years. Then I discovered Fandalism. The feedback of listeners was great, and it surprised me a lot. Whether they are simple listeners of music experts, I have a great satisfaction in saying how my works are welcome.
Shakespeare once said music is the fruit of love. What does that mean to you?
I agree with that when it comes to the point of sharing my music with other people. In my case it’s always a gift. That happens to when some collaborators help me make some new song. When I receive their parts I always receive it as a great gift and I’m grateful for that. I respect what I’m given and all new ideas are very welcome. In my case I would like to add that music is made with our life, our emotions, our pains and our joys. I can’t make a music that means nothing to me.
What are your future ambitions when it comes to music?
I just want to continue to create new songs and I hope they will be better than everything I’ve already made. I often dream that I manage to break my own limits and create surprising original pieces in different styles than ordinary. I also have some ambition in the field of classical music. I have several baroque pieces that I hope I’ll be able to play in a better way that what I could do previously. Where do you see the future of music?
Sometimes I’m pessimistic when I state that in today’s world the music is slaved to profits at various times by the music industry. Fortunately sometimes a great original artist or band can appear despite the race to the bottom. Sometimes I’m rather optimistic considering the huge amount of original artists who expressed themselves in the domain of free music. Probably what we’ve known during the 20th century will end: huge artists making a lot of money through disks and TV shows. We don’t have to wait that somebody tells us what to listen (unless we’re slave of commercial music industry and medias). We can find a lot of free music with an incredible quality. But I have no solution to the problem of how to allow an artist to live correctly with its creations; otherwise I would apply it to myself.
What advice would you give young people starting out with the idea of having a career in music?
So many young people want to become stars! I can understand that, as I was young too. I think the whole paradigm will change a lot, it’s already changing. I would not be the one to shower the heat. After all I did not succeed myself. And who knows, circumstances, meeting the right person, a great idea could bring fame… Obviously everything is done in the economic system to prevent new real talent to emerge. Of course there are exceptions… That feeds the dream...
You perform a lot with other musicians. What do you look for in collaborations? How can people learn from these and what are the value of them? The basis is humility: I don’t pretend to be a great musician, but I still want to do something that sounds good to my ears! Despite incredible tools that are given to amateur musicians I still favor the warmth and the richness to have real instruments and good vocals in my songs. When I started to ask for help I was very afraid that I would receive negative answers or laughs! But instead I had only good experiences and the results were always beyond my expectations. Well, sometimes singers are real divas, very hard to satisfy. Today I can’t imagine not asking for external contributions to make new song. I always learn from others. I’m often dazzled by their work and their ideas. Then I’m very happy to promote our common work and my best pleasure is to read a compliment for my partner(s).
Offer a few anecdotes about yourself. What makes you the musical you?
When I was a young boy I already created songs that I sung or myself, in my head. But I did not realize that. I remember that I used to go to the grocery store with a list of things to purchase for the family dinner, every evening after school. I watched the other boys screaming, playing soccer in a field. I thought to myself “what kind of boy am I, what makes me different than others?” I had only negative words with which to answer, the same that I heard at home. Now I know: I was preparing my future passion, that irrepressible need to express myself in the best way, I mean to show some beauty from inside me to those who did not believe in me.
Yvalain's music can be found here: http://fandalism.com/yvalain
