Biography
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Born
3 October 1958 (age 65)
Francis has been playing music since he was 5 years old. He started in classical way learning to play the piano. At the conservatory, he studied harmony, counterpoint, the fugue and orchestral leading. He won first prize in piano and moved onto Paris where he become a salesman, working in a music strore which by chance imported synthetizers, at a time when nobody had sold such before.
He become interested in those electronic instruments. In corporation with Korg, they created a new concept which had not existed ever before : Francis took the stage (Theatre des Champs Elysées – Paris) solo, surrounded by all his synthetizers (Bionic Orchestra, 1979). He will be the go-to man for both Roland and Ensoniq trades.
A talented musician, Francis wasted little time getting to meet another master of the synthetizer : Jean Michel Jarre, through their mutual friend : Michel Geiss. Meeting in 1979 for the concert in Place de La Concorde - Paris, they began a long collaboration. Since 1986 (concert in Houston), Francis has been at Jarre’s side on grand stages.
Aside from his work on various albums for Jarre, Francis has created several works of sonic illustration. Synthetizers are the prolongation of the fingers of a sensitive musician who who uses electronic instruments to articulate his melodic talent, a talent which helped him win first prize at the international festival of electronic music in Tokyo in 1988 (chaired by Isao Tomita).
In 1994, Francis Rimbert created music for some video games. In 1995 and 1996, Francis did some master classes but he was distracted by his involvement with Jarre’s concerts.
In 2003, Francis took on a new challenge: a new album, entitled Double Face.
In Double Face, Francis explored a mystique world, full of duality, in which each title has something to be discovered. Gaelick, for example, is an homage to Michael Flatley (Lords of the Dance) and the lightness of the Irish dancers in a highly physical choreography.
Musical colors evoke a parallel universe of duality in things and culture, most strongly realized in Dorian Gray. Conceived as a tableau with touches of Magritte or a poem with multiple meanings.
Follow the path of the artist through his reflections, his sensibilities. Visualize our Double Face; everyone is free to conceive their open and hidden side, their duality.
The duality of the soul (Devil Soul), the duality of emotions (What is Love), the duality of death (Adiago); each title delivers its double message.
In 2005, an American distributor discovered Double Face on line and proposed a contract of distribution for America.
The contract was signed with Atomic Quill Music and 10,000 units of Double Face were pressed. Francis Rimbert performed a showcase during the Fuse-In festival in Detroit and held a release party at Record Time, Detroit’s premier shop for electronic music. He also conducted interviews that were aired various stations (KLCC, ETN, Echoes) Various titles were remixed by American Djs, including Kenneth Thomas and D.Fuse and distributed by Moist Music.
September 2005, Double Face was released in France and throughout Europe. In November, Francis held a showcase, Le Divan de Monde, in Paris.
In 2006, Francis signed distribution contracts in Scandinavia and with digital distributor Wild Palms Music. His music is now available around the world.
Concerts, showcases, interviews, the release of a single, Mecanique du Temps, a duet with his friend, the hard rock guitarist, Patrick Rondat; this single was a limited edition release, to coincide with a performance at Salon de la Musique in September. In spite of all this, Francis found the time to release a compilation: Sound of Vintage Volume 1.
March 2007 saw the release of Sounds of Vintage Volume 2, followed by Snap Shots in October.
Francis has a band. And he has presented live some of the titles from this upcoming record. These live gigs gave him the privilege of sharing the stage with LOL – cult guitarist of the program “Nulle Part Ailleurs” on Canal +. Or rediscovering his friend Sylvain Durand for a synthesizer duel. Also on board are a percussionist Victo Paillet and a sound designer in the person of Nicholas Mills. Angy, singer and diva, makes various interventions on a variety of songs.
Snap Shots is completely different, more extravert, The participants will come from many different musical scenes including rock, electronic and even jazz.
Invited by his distributors, first in Spain and then the Netherlands before taking on the rest of Europe, Francis pursued a promotional tour, complete with private concerts.
After these performances, Francis was solicited to perform a concert in Lyon in November, to benefit Handicap International.
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