Pianos

I spent a long time playing the piano before really getting into it… Of course, I started taking lessons at 15, but at home, I only had a Bontempi-type electric wind organ, which made it a bit difficult for me to practice! Then, I went down the path of organ or synthesizer-type instruments. This caused a big shift from the start, which caused me some difficulties when I really wanted to tackle the instrument. But thanks to the purchase of my first digital piano in 1988 (the Roland H800), I started working and modestly began to write a few pieces for piano. Compared to composing group music, piano music requires great rigor.

A thorough reflection on the arrangement and distribution of notes and parts on the keyboard. We are in the orchestral world, and this requires a lot of knowledge and technique… which I don’t necessarily have! But, with my own recipes, I ended up developing a personal cuisine. This led me to realize the project Dans la maison vide, which is essentially presented as a suite of pieces for piano, based on a common theme. If I put aside digital pianos, the most representative instruments that I have encountered are the following:

Pianos

Hohner Pianet T

Soft and Smart

Not an actual piano, certainly, but a real electro-acoustic instrument, purchased in 1982. The “poor man’s Fender Rhode”? Yes, no doubt, but nevertheless a charming little instrument, rather soft, not very powerful, but which sounds real. Indeed, the sound is produced by real metal strips set into vibration by the release of a piece of rubber connected to each key, and associated with an electromagnet. I probably didn’t use it enough (on models, and in our early days with Concept).

I ended up selling it for financial reasons (sometimes you have to make choices), and because I had trouble getting it to stand out in the band, at a time when the drummer was making a lot of noise! It is very sought after today. Note that Tony Banks used an older version (the pianet N) on Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot in particular, but with a preamp, which gave it more presence.

Pianos

Kaway KX-21

A beautiful upright piano that was given to me by my wife in 2006. I had a little trouble getting used to it at first, because the feeling is very different from that of a digital piano, but it’s another world! I often switch from the digital piano to the upright piano, to see the reality of what a musical idea really sounds like. For the album Dans la maison vide, I initially planned to record everything with it, but I told myself that I had neither the sufficient equipment to do it, nor the space. So I opted for an alternative solution thanks to a studio that uses a grand piano controlled by a MIDI controller, all the parts having been played on my Yamaha P90 digital piano.

The result is very satisfying, but I think there would have been more intimacy, even with modest technical means, using my upright piano, as in the short home-made film, with just two microphones placed at the bottom of the soundboard (videos Le vieux cahier, and Nocturne). I use it from time to time on recordings, like the cover of Üdü Wüdü, and a little on the new album.

Finally, a real one!

Thierry Payssan À Auxerre, avec un piano à queue — À Auxerre, avec un piano à queue

video: Nimbus, Thierry Payssan

video: Le vieux cahier, Thierry Payssan