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Stéphane Gervais (aka PsychNerD)


Post Posted Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:40 pm
Jote


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Stéphane Gervais has just released the final installment of his Triptych series. Highly recommended listen (the entire series). For those unaware Stéphane worked with JMJ as production assistant between ≈2013 and 2018 and he's quite obviously the person responsible for JMJ's big style shift during that era (E1/2, O3, EI, Hexagone, HSBC) - much like Geiss shaped JMJ's style until 1994. If you crave for more of that sound you'll definitely find it in Triptych (especially Part 3 IMO) and his other works. "Neuroland" is my favorite track of his*. You can check out more detailed info on him here

Triptych series:

https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/steph ... 1390714869

Spotify

Neuroland:



* (I liked it so much that I did a replica of it, and since I only ever do JMJ replicas (except Airwolf, that is) that should tell you a lot ;) )

Electrogenesis:

https://psychnerd.ca/category/main/rele ... rogenesis/

Other releases as "PsychNerD":

https://psychnerd.ca/category/main/releases/psychnerd/
Post Posted Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:09 pm
plate of chips


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I wanted to ask Stephane exactly what he did for JmJ.
Sound design for sure. Sequencing to some extent.

Jote wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:40 pm For those unaware Stéphane worked with JMJ as production assistant between ≈2013 and 2018 and he's quite obviously the person responsible for JMJ's big style shift during that era (E1/2, O3, EI, Hexagone, HSBC) - much like Geiss shaped JMJ's style until 1994.
Michel Geiss himself refuted in a detailed interview everything you wrote.
I really don't know why you persist with such nonsense Jote.
Did JmJ hurt you ignore you is this why.

Things that shaped JmJs style :
1.JmJ's brilliance.
2.JmJ's broad mindedness open mindedness towards music from various parts of the World,
music from various genres baroque, classical, to jazz to folk to funk to rock to pop to tv themes.
3. Synthesizers hardware and software.
4. Samplers.
Post Posted Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:18 pm
Dr_Jones


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plate of chips wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:09 pm Jote this is such a stretch. Michel Geiss himself refuted in a detailed interview everything you wrote.
I really don't know why you persist with such nonsense.
Did JmJ hurt you ignore you is this why.
IMHO, it's no nonsense. It makes perfect sense. It's like a producer producing a record for an artist. If Mark Ronson produces a record, you can hear his style, if Trevor Horn works with Seal, Robbie Williams or Tatu you know he worked on it.
The same goes for Geiss and Gervais, with the difference that there's a more equal cooperation than the producer/artist relationship. They have their own style (sound design) and input and that goes well with JMJs work..

On topic: I've once talked to Stephane, after the Amsterdam Electronica concert. He's a very friendly guy. Too bad he left the team.
Post Posted Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:33 pm
plate of chips


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Stephane is superb. I have a lot of time for Stephane.
Dr_Jones wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:18 pm
plate of chips wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 10:09 pm Jote this is such a stretch. Michel Geiss himself refuted in a detailed interview everything you wrote.
I really don't know why you persist with such nonsense.
Did JmJ hurt you ignore you is this why.
IMHO, it's no nonsense. It makes perfect sense. It's like a producer producing a record for an artist. If Mark Ronson produces a record, you can hear his style, if Trevor Horn works with Seal, Robbie Williams or Tatu you know he worked on it.
The same goes for Geiss and Gervais, with the difference that there's a more equal cooperation than the producer/artist relationship. They have their own style (sound design) and input and that goes well with JMJs work..


Listen I don't want to get into this rehash.
Just this once :

JmJ is his own Producer it's on all the records it's legally binding.

Did Michel Geiss produce anything compose anything Nope.

Michel Geiss laughed at these suggestions you and Jote made in his detailed interview.
Shirley (don't call me Shirley) you are aware of this interview.

*Michel Geiss clearly said Oxygene was almost complete before he met JmJ.
*Equinoxe it was the Matrix Sequencer an instrument just as any synth any drum machine that enabled the sequences.
Michel suggested JmJ keep Equinoxe 7. These and making some rain sounds is Michel Geiss contribution.
*Magnetic Fields is clearly shaped by Fairlight and Oberheim.
*CinC nothing to do with Michel Geiss.
*MFS Fairlight and JmJs brilliance.
*Zoolook the only thing Michel did was introduce JmJ to Ethnologist Xavier Belinger. The Brilliance of Zoolook is down to JmJ. I have already discussed Zoolook.
Yep there were other musicians playing on it, JmJ lists them on the record.
*Rendezvous clearly shaped by Elka Synthex, Fairlight, JmJs previous compositions from 1970s, Baroque, Jazz of John Coltrane. Yep there were other musicians playing on it, JmJ lists them on the record. JmJ wanted to bin Rendezvous 4, Michel suggested not to.
*Revolutions clearly shaped by Roland D50 and JmJs love of World music, Waltz, Jazz, The Shadows. Yep there were other musicians playing on it, JmJ lists them on the record.
*WFC Michel suggested Calypso Steel drummers as JmJ loves World music. The rest is JmJ, Technos Axel, Atari, D50, Kurzweil. Yep there were other musicians playing on it, JmJ lists them on the record.
*Chronology the album I'm most embarrassed about for JmJ. It belongs in 1982 that's how backwards it is especially compared to what was going on in Electronic music at the time. Chronology 3 compositionally is a brilliant JmJ track.
Post Posted Tue Aug 24, 2021 11:02 pm
Dr_Jones


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Wait, I'm not implying Geiss (nor Gervais for that matter) composed anything, but both Geiss and Gervais helped shape JMJs sound by assisting him. That's not that strange or uncommon at all.
Post Posted Wed Aug 25, 2021 5:23 am
plate of chips


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I will listen to these Stephane tracks as I enjoy Stephane's music.

##

Remember on the internet anyone can say anything. Without evidence without specifics it's hogwash.

Instead of throwing things around, you both need to be specific. You both need to have evidence.

(Remember someone could make up things about you, jote, me, yet without specifics, without evidence it's hogwash).

##

Electronica 1&2 was shaped by those Electronic musicians music JmJ made tracks with.
This is clear.
It wasn't JmJ saying do covers of my music.
Instead it was JmJ making covers of their music,
the genesis of ideas in the style of those Electronic musicians, then they complemented with their parts.

However in Electronica 1&2 in the over use of sequences something JmJ never did I can hear clear influence of Stephane.
In the sound choices I can hear influence of Stephane.
Elec 1&2 have an overall thinness in the sounds that is prevalent in much of modern Electronic music.
I'm glad JmJ moved away from Elec 1&2 style in his subsequent albums.

##

Oxygene 3 is very JmJ improvisational 14 15 18 20.
The structured tracks 16 17 19 are clearly JmJ.

Equinoxe Infinity is JmJ through and through. Compositionally it's JmJ.
Style, JmJ is still the only current Electronic musician layering blending interweaving as many synth sounds.

Only things would be in some sound design on these two albums I can hear Stephane, movement 8 still has some of that Electronica 1&2 style,
also possibly as a sounding board hey Stephane what do you think of this.

HSBC has a subtle depth to it that is so JmJ.

##

There is usually an Otherness in much of JmJ's music that is so subtle I recognise it.
It's not in your face otherness : oh look how mystical I am, none of that, JmJ intentionally sidesteps any such connection.
This Otherness is lacking in most of Electronica 1&2 mostly because it was imitating those Electronic musicians.
It is present in Oxygene 3, Equinoxe Infinity, even in HSBC.
Post Posted Wed Aug 25, 2021 6:31 am
Finaero


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Dr_Jones wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 11:02 pm Wait, I'm not implying Geiss (nor Gervais for that matter) composed anything, but both Geiss and Gervais helped shape JMJs sound by assisting him. That's not that strange or uncommon at all.
Oh yeah. PSB à la Bobby Orlando v. Julian Mendehlson* comes to mind.

Now, if only we could get rid of Dadwater's shaping of JMJ's sounds ;)

* = Stephen Hague, actually - thanks Dr_Jones ;)
Last edited by Finaero on Wed Aug 25, 2021 3:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Post Posted Wed Aug 25, 2021 6:31 am
Finaero


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Jote wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:40 pm Neuroland:

Oh yeah, that's a good one. Got to take a listen to the rest asap
Post Posted Wed Aug 25, 2021 8:34 am
Dr_Jones


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Finaero wrote: Wed Aug 25, 2021 6:31 am
Dr_Jones wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 11:02 pm Wait, I'm not implying Geiss (nor Gervais for that matter) composed anything, but both Geiss and Gervais helped shape JMJs sound by assisting him. That's not that strange or uncommon at all.
Oh yeah. PSB à la Bobby Orlando v. Julian Mendehlson comes to mind.
That's an excellent example (it was Stephen Hague, by the way ;-)). PSB parted with Orlando because they thought his way of working didn't fit with them and decided to look somewhere else. It resulted in the 2nd version of West End girls being much more polished and much more fitting in the style PSB themselves wanted. In its core, it's the same song, but clearly different in terms of sound design, layers, mood.

Creativity is a wonderful process. And it always helps to have a sparring partner to shape the ideas you have. In case of Electronica, Oxygene 3 and Equinoxe Infinity, JMJ simply sparred with Gervais to get into the direction he wanted. That's what Jote (probably) means in his first post.
Post Posted Wed Aug 25, 2021 9:57 am
plate of chips


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#One important thing to appreciate is JmJ's generosity openness in all this.

JmJ clearly mentioning Michel on albums, having Michel prominently in Houston, Lyon, Docklands, LaDefense.

JmJ didn't have to be this generous open. JmJ could have hidden Michel away if JmJ had anything to hide.

Similarly Stephane.


#Another important even more significant to understand : the Universe chose JmJ to be the torch bearer for Electronic Music with good reason.

I have already written Oxygene is the most important album in history of Electronic music, as Oxygene opened up the minds of Public at Large Worldwide to embrace Electronic music, thereafter Every Electronic musicians success upto now can be traced to what Oxygene did.


##


Let's just return to Stephane appreciate Stephane's music, Stephane's talent.
Post Posted Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:54 am
Richard-Eastham


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Jote wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 3:40 pm Stéphane Gervais has just released the final installment of his Triptych series. Highly recommended listen (the entire series). For those unaware Stéphane worked with JMJ as production assistant between ≈2013 and 2018 and he's quite obviously the person responsible for JMJ's big style shift during that era (E1/2, O3, EI, Hexagone, HSBC) - much like Geiss shaped JMJ's style until 1994. If you crave for more of that sound you'll definitely find it in Triptych (especially Part 3 IMO) and his other works. "Neuroland" is my favorite track of his*. You can check out more detailed info on him here

Hey Jote! Thanks for posting this. I hadn't realised that Stephane was releasing his own music. I've now got all 9 x Triptych tracks and they are great. He definitely has a signature sound. Sometimes the tracks lack melody and structure (in my view, anyway) but they have bags of atmosphere. Thanks!
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Post Posted Tue Aug 31, 2021 1:53 pm
Jote


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Richard-Eastham wrote: Tue Aug 31, 2021 9:54 am Hey Jote! Thanks for posting this. I hadn't realised that Stephane was releasing his own music. I've now got all 9 x Triptych tracks and they are great. He definitely has a signature sound. Sometimes the tracks lack melody and structure (in my view, anyway) but they have bags of atmosphere. Thanks!
Given Stéphane's background (psy-trance) it's understandable that his music won't be that melodic, although Neuroland is one marvelous gem. Peak "melodic JMJ" IMO. Also, Triptych 3 was originally supposed to be unreleased training material for the neural network of aimi.fm, so that could also explain its lack of melody or faint structure. When I heard it a year ago or so I instantly loved it (easily my favorite part of the series) and urged him to release it, and so a couple of weeks later he told this is going to be the final part of the series. 3.01 and 3.02 are almost identical to what they were last year, 3.03 had the biggest alterations (it definitely has a darker atmosphere now, the older one was much more dreamy). I also love the hypnotic atmosphere of 2.01 which would've been so much better if there weren't drums (but I guess the track needed to go somewhere...)







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