So! How did this come to be?

Well, I had already been following Michel's work for a while when we "missed" our first opportunity to work together: that was for Carlo Presti's open collaboration on Smooth. Indeed Carlo had mentioned the possibility of Michel doing a solo on this track for which I'd written lyrics but in the end he got so many offers that Michel played on another version (but on the other hand it enabled me to discover Tom Adams's guitar maestria!).

Here are the two tracks if you're curious:
Spiderdrum – Fi-vre-lyrics-and-vocals-by
Spiderdrum – Camimi-jazz-carlo-presti

Then, one kind comment leading to another, I finally told Michel how I would love to work with him at some point and the timing was just right as he was precisely looking for a lyricist.
When he sent me the first draft of Happiness I immediately set to work taking the title - as I often do - as a starting point. Only, the most interesting angle it seemed to me was to go, in a way, against the music and the precise idea of happiness. It was not an easy job writing lyrics about depression and "mal être" around Michel's intricate melodic line but I loved doing it and was pleased when Michel told me he had been moved by my modest words.

Then, the piece went on to evolve in an unexpected way when Rudi and Kosmee brilliantly reappropriated text and music giving us this very personal interpretation. Hats off to them as well as to Mario for doing a truly great mixing job!

If you enjoyed Happiness, be sure to check their respective clouds:

Michel Martineau @michel-martineau
Rudi Lockefeir @ruud-lockefeir
Noémie Costa @kosmi-1
Mario Mauer @mario-mauer

Happiness

You got it all, as they say
They don't see any calls for you to feel that way
They don't see any reason why
You sometimes feel like you have died

You have someone and you have kids
Then why would anyone slide off the road?
Why should you feel so lost and scared?
Why feel so scarred and unprepared?

So you pretend and you smile and you sing
Around the bend you feel a new thing
Coming your way but you can't see
You only know there'll be a day
When you have to be
The one to face the real
Alone to try and deal
With this terrible mess
They call happiness

You take a pill, when you feel down,
There on the window sill, as if already drowned
You feel so bad when you can't smile
You wish you were not so fragile

So you pretend and you smile and so you burn
Around the bend you feel a new turn
Coming your way and you will freeze
And you will fall,
There in the way of all, 
Cos you can't seize
The day, as they do all
all you can do is collapse in the hall
Right there and curl up like a ball...

And you are young! And you're ninety!
And when you hear that song you're sure that you are empty.
Afraid to talk, afraid to sleep,
To slip into a night so deep...

So you pretend and you smile and you sing
Around the bend you feel a new thing
Coming your way but you can't see
You only know there'll be a day
When you have to be
The one to face the real
Alone to try and deal
With this terrible mess
That they call happiness




Happiness - collaboration with Michel Martineau, Rudi Lockefeir, Kosmee and Mario Mauer

A couple of days after I started publicizing my new page "Non Sapiens and Ko", Luis sent me a message, telling me he had some instrumentals over at his cloud and maybe we could collaborate. I hopped over to https://soundcloud.com/luismarcano where I found a lot of interesting stuff and a little gem of apparent simplicity but above all bewitching beauty.

As I currently am in the middle of many collaborations (some of which the collaborators aren't even aware of yet), I first told Luis it might take a while but actually after a couple of days I set down to work. About an hour and four voice tracks later there was the result which, even if it isn't perfect has, I believe, a certain ring and catchiness...

You'll find the lyrics below but I won't say anything about them nor about the title or cover picture: feel free to add your own interpretation(s).

We hope you'll enjoy this tune (which will be best listened to with headphones, I think).

M

Original music composed and played by Luis Marcano.
Lyrics written and sung by Yann Vienne.

Morning comes, you wake up slowly, take your time...

Turn around, back to your dream, you hear a crowd, you see a mime...

Memories and fantasies overlap, you don't know where you are now...

You are a child
Eight or ten
Back in time
As if insane
You're going out
Into the sun
There is no cloud
And you just run

To the forest
To the shade
To your fortress
Castle made
Of twigs and rags
And hours spent
In making flags
Without a friend

Fire comes and takes it all,
You take the plunge, you take the fall,
You nearly drown 100 times,
Thrown around and left to die...

When you come to, you are lost,
As if discarded here and tossed,
About to find out on your own,
What it can mean to be alone...

Aaaaaaaaaaaah, aaaaaaaaaaaaah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaah...

In a second you will see,
Back to this reality,
In the end nothing is
But a trick of your senses...

In a second you will see...


M - Collaboration with Luis Marcano

First came the words...

Then came a melody. That sounded good so I recorded it...

Then came the nagging doubt... Hadn't I used that melody before? Like recently?

Indeed I had...

So I just found another melody (but kept the unoriginal bit for the outro, just adding some variations)...

And then Nick liked the song... And he made it 200% better by adding some perfectly fitting bass and keys over the original. Despite a little background noise this track is best appreciated with headphones, imho. You can check out Nick's sounds at https://soundcloud.com/667sounds

We hope you'll like it and if you do, don't be afraid to say so!

No choice?

Music, lyrics, guitar and vocals: Yann Vienne
Bass and keyboard arrangements: Nick Nolan

Deface your glasses,
Live your life blurred,
Don't try and go places,
Sit here, in the absurd.

If you don't move, don't think,
You might end up happy,
If you don't hurt, don't blink,
You'll never be sorry.

Just no touching, no yearning,
Just a numb and hazy haunting,
A ghost-like way of living
Which in the end amounts to... nothing...

No choice? - collaboration with Nick Nolan

This collaboration was a long time in the making. Following our first work together on "Une minute dans la vie" I wrote lyrics for Life Passing too (here's the link to the instrumental: https://soundcloud.com/peter-bennborn-project/life-passing-1).

Peter and I tried different approaches and mixes and finally we settled on two separate versions: he uploaded a version where I recite the English adaptation of the lyrics (https://soundcloud.com/peter-bennborn-project/life-passing-feat-yann-vienne) while I chose one in which I asked my wife to sing most of the original lyrics (in French).

In case you find there is too much noise on this version don't hesitate to say so in the comments: the mix is mine (and the one my wife prefers) but Peter did a cleaner one of his own, so maybe if I get a lot of audiogeeks complaining I'll upload his version instead in the end... ;)

The beautiful picture was taken by my friend Alain Rueff. You can visit his Flicker for more nice shots: https://www.flickr.com/photos/alain-rueff/sets/

Please, don't hesitate to leave a comment if you like this track: they're always greatly appreciated...

La vie qui passe

Music and piano: Peter Bennborn (https://soundcloud.com/peter-bennborn-project)
Lead vocals: Kennou Vienne
Lyrics and additional vocals: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Ici et assis sur ta vieille chaise rouge en bois,
Celle qui dure depuis l'école et même l'école de papa,

Tu regardes autour, le temps qui reste... La vie qui passe,
Tu remontes le cours au fond d'ta tête, tu cherches des traces,

Les jeux et les rires, les yeux, le soleil qui dore,
Les sourires et les soupirs, le feu et les morts,

C'est l'automne qui joue, autour de ton cœur,
Comme un rêve soul, tu revis les heures,
Tu cherches les morceaux semés en chemin,
Tu cherches ta raison comme on cherche un train...

1972... 1982... 1992... 2002...

Pas peur de vieillir, pas peur... de t'en aller, pourtant...
Tu aimerais revenir, partir, sortir... quitter ton présent...

Un peu nostalgique, surtout dérouté,
Si peu de magie et tous ces ratés,

C'est l'automne qui joue, autour de ton cœur,
Comme un rêve soul, tu revis les heures,
Tu cherches les morceaux semés en chemin,
Tu cherches ta raison comme on cherche un train...

Ici et assis sur ta vieille chaise rouge en bois,
Tu essaies de saisir aussi ce "je ne sais quoi"...

Tu sondes le sens ascensionnel, tu scrutes les cieux,
La vie qui trépasse et l'éternel tapi dans le bleu...

---

Here is the accurate translation into English (slightly different from the version Peter uploaded on his cloud):

Sitting here in your old red wooden chair,
The one dating back to your school days, even your dad's school days,

You look around, at the time that's left... At life passing,
You walk back the track inside your mind, looking for traces,

Games and laughter, eyes and sun shedding gold,
Smiles and sighs, the fire and the dead,

It's just fall at play, twining round your heart,
As in a drunken dream, you relive those hours,
Looking for the pieces scattered on the way,
Looking for your reason as one looking for a train...

1972... 1982... 1992... 2002...

Not afraid of getting old, not scared... of going away, and still...
You'd like to come back, to go away, to break out... and leave your present...

Slightly nostalgic, mostly confused,
So little magic and all those failures,

It's just fall at play, twining round your heart,
As in a drunken dream, you relive those hours,
Looking for the pieces scattered on the way,
Looking for your reason as one looking for a train...

Sitting here in your old red wooden chair, you
try and grab here too that elusive thing...

You scan an upwards sense, you search the skies,
Search life a passing and eternity lying low in the blue...


La vie qui passe (aka Life passing) - Collaboration with Peter Bennborn, with Kennou on lead vocals

Pendant ces vacances dans le sud-ouest, le propriétaire du logement que nous louions, voyant que j'avais une guitare et jouant lui-même de l'accordéon, a proposé de faire un petit bœuf... Une très bonne soirée !

During our summer holidays in the South of France, the owner of the flat we rented, seeing I had brought my guitar with me and playing the accordion himself, suggested we could have a little jam... Which turned into a fab evening!

Les Marquises - avec J-C Lambure à l'accordéon

This second collaboration with Derek Fine came to life when I chanced upon an instrumental of his entitled Lost Demo (https://soundcloud.com/derek-f/lost-demo-instrumental).

Something in the title and the atmosphere prompted me to develop lyrics directly referring to Orwell's masterpiece "1984".

One of the most vivid descriptions in the novel for me remains that of the rallies where the citizens are forced to listen to speech after speech and submitted to propaganda films destined to instil into them total obedience and sheer hatred of the "enemy".

That is what I've tried to recapture here, albeit in a very subdued way: as Derek, himself put it, it sounds a little bit like some early Cure. We hope you'll like it.

Music, guitar and bass: Derek Fine (@derek-f)
Lyrics and vocals: Yann Vienne (@non-sapiens)

Lost in the mob, marching on, I don't know where I am,
Don't know my name, call me Rob, what if all is a sham?

People around scream and frown, they shout, will not answer,
Stamping the ground, rounding the town, they know nothing either,

I could not get out if I wanted to.
I've started to shout and scream... Just like you.

Walking aside, you seem mad, look aglow with hatred,
I sing your name, stupefied, Julia, demented...

Hurling abuse, you look and smile, I don't know what's going on,
In the news that I file, don't know where we're getting on... ward

Towards black-end skies,
Onward, towards a world that dies.

I know the date, I know the year that you're looking for...
I know the date, I know the year: nineteen eighty-...


Lost Demo - Collaboration with Derek Fine

Cette chanson est venue d'un statut Facebook de Margaux Badermann : quelques jolies lignes empreintes d'une certaine nostalgie de l'enfance.

L'enfance, c'est une période bien sûr idéalisée mais, en fin de compte, le meilleur parti qu'on puisse prendre est peut-être de la continuer de temps en temps, souvent, passionnément, voire à la folie dans nos vies de (plus ou moins) jeunes adultes.

La superbe photo de ma fille Saràn a été prise par Manon, la sœur de Margaux. Vous pouvez découvrir son travail sur son site : http://www.manonbadermann.fr/galerie/

For those of you who don't speak French, this is basically a song about staying young (and foolish) at heart. You'll find a translation of the lyrics at the end.

Paroles : Margaux Badermann
Musique, guitare et chant : Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Courir à en perdre ses jambes ; manger des bonbons au repas
Du poulet rôti au gingembre au goûter...

Jouer dehors, surtout quand il pleut ; colorier en dépassant
Se raconter des histoires trop mieux; danser

Mais surtout pas danser en rythme et porter un pantalon brun,
Des chaussettes rayées bien horribles et puis des chaussures rouges

Un pull bleu à pois blancs, un ciré jaune, une écharpe verte
Et (surtout) s'en foutre complètement.

S'attacher à un objet, et le remplacer le lendemain
Se faire de nouveaux amis et pleurer

Et puis passer à autre chose dès la minute d'après
Ne plus voir que les belles choses et puis s'en contenter...

Et puis s'en contenter...
Et puis s'en contenter...

* * *

Run till you drop, eat candy for lunch
Roast ginger chicken for snacks…

Play outside, especially when it’s raining,
Colour in pictures messily…

Tell each other brilliant stories, dance…
But make it a point NOT to dance to the music and wear brown trousers...
And really dreadful striped socks, and red shoes,
A blue sweater with white polka dots, a yellow raincoat, a green scarf
And above all, don’t give a damn about it.

Get attached to an object and then replace it the next day,
Make new friends and cry
And then immediately move on to something else

Just see the beautiful things and be happy with that,
And be happy with that…
And be happy with that…


Comme un gosse - Collaboration avec Margaux Badermann

Second collaboration of the week with Brian Wilson, aka the great Rex.

There are many talented people on SC and Brian is definitely one of them and one of those I keep coming back to: his cloud is so rich I could spend my time over there writing plenty of other songs like this one!

Music, all intruments and genius for feeling: Brian Wilson (https://soundcloud.com/rexgoliath-1)
Lyrics and vocals: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Drop out without a trace, a doubt,
Off the wagon and on the trail...

Showdown is not what you wanted,
Leave it to rot, reach out, set sail...

Into the west, horizon round,
Take your own test, make your own sound...

Don't you be fooled, nothing's harder,
Outside the rules, to live and differ...

Drop out, fly up, spread in, towards,
The path you choose, never backwards,

Plough on, hand in, you'll be laughed at,
Know how to grin and tip your hat...

Drop out without a trace, a doubt,
Off the wagon and on the trail...




Drop Out - Collaboration with Rex

And here is another version of Fiery Bites. Still the same as far as music is concerned but much more interesting (imho) thanks to Trixie Delight's delightful voices. Now it sounds like three people about to jump out the window together, how about that?

Seriously, many thanks again to Trixie for making this richer. Many thanks as well to Peter Bennborn and Pretzels Malone for their advice while mixing the song (albeit very quickly and roughly).

Vocals: Trixie Delight (https://soundcloud.com/trixie-delight)
Vocals, lyrics, music and guitar: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

A fiery bite surges up and out
Wakes you down at night, biting bile and doubt

You will not see how dumb you always are
You'll keep on and be going at your scar

Eat and burn and steal
Go on, will not heal
Go on, gobble and amass
Always feeling crass

Eat and burn and steal
Go on, will not heal
Go on, gobble and amass
Always feeling crass

Dig your grave, feelin' sorry for
Your sorry self: you'll scratch to the core

Bloodied fingers and bleeding tongue
Bloody whiner, got it all so wrong.

Eat and burn and steal
Go on, will not heal
Go on, gobble and amass
Always feeling crass

Eat and burn and steal
Go on, will not heal
Go on, gobble and amass
Always feeling crass

Fiery Bites - Collaboration with Trixie Delight

New collaboration with Peter Bennborn and many other talented soundclouders. Only the words are mine, hope you like it all, though!

This is the first of two different versions. The second one will have another singer and so another style...

Here's Peter's description: 

Blue Passion: "A man and a woman staring out in the moonlit blue darkness, on the deck overlooking the ocean, the party behind them. They haven't spoken , hardly glanced at each other but they know the night belongs to them."

Alas, the somewhat naively, youthful vision I had, making this track many years ago; giving Yann the opportunity to go make some great lyrics, Rudi to bring his jazzy side, Daniele to do his funk and introducing a new collaborative super combo; Manuel Muzzu on bass and Manuel Muzzu on drums - you really bring it.

Enjoy a naive romantic dream together with us ;-)!

Music: Peter Bennborn (https://soundcloud.com/peter-bennborn-project)
Lyrics: Yann Vienne 

Vocals: Rudi Lockefeir (@ruud-lockefeir)
Guitars: Daniele Turani (@danieleturani)
Bass: Manuel Muzzu (@manuel-muzzu)
Drums: Manuel Muzzu (@manuel-muzzu)
Keys/Synths: Peter Bennborn

Mixed & Mastered: Peter Bennborn

Lyrics:

I know I don't know you
Can't see, your eyes are lost in blue
Black waves are rolling out
Flashes of us touching about
Light music far away
But I don't feel like keeping track
here and gone in a way
My blues is goin' forth and back...
Two out of time...
Two out of the blue
I look up at the stars,
As if all about to explode
Running along the scars
Black and blue we laid down in code
Yet I believe I might
Find something true here for a change
Something so outta sight
Blue angel coming down, so strange
Two out of time
Two out of the blue
Wait... oh, colour me now blind, give me a clue
Wait... I'm out of my mind, looking anew
Wait... I will reach for the sign, go with the view,
Wait... let's get outta line, you and me too...
I can hear a chime
We might be on time
Ready for no future
No final answer

The moon is blue but I don't feel like we've already met,
Yet I'm more than inclined, more than inclined to take a bet
Vision of darkened room, image of your hands on my skin,
Now I know very soon, we'll lock ourselves in silent din,
Two out of time
Two out of the blue
Wait... we will colour the night, give me my cue
Wait... I sense it will be right for me and you,
Wait... we're suspended in time, forever do, 
Please, wait... let us come out and shine: kill the grey too...
Who did see us leave, now? Who, when we flew?
Who would have believed how? Lost into the blue...

Blue Passion - Collaboration with Peter Bennborn, Rudi Lockefeir, Daniele Turani and Manuel Muzzu

Here's my second collaboration with Viking Dragon after So Strong. This one has a sort of space journey / armageddon feel to it : hope you'll "enjoy". You can check out the original instrumental there: https://soundcloud.com/vikingdragon/daughter-dookie

Makin' one

Music and all instruments: Viking Dragon (https://soundcloud.com/vikingdragon)
Lyrics and vocals: Non Sapiens

I'm making one for you to see
Million miles of open sea
On an ocean planet there
Red giants warm the air
Making one for all time past
All love gone and all outcast

Tell me: what is new?
I'm fucking up and you are too!
Killing light and burning signs
Cross the land I see the lines...

Making up the crazy lies
Like see-through alibis
Making out a distant spot
Spreading outward like a rot
Making in the fear supreme
Superlative in my scream
Making of: you know it all
Witty yet you will not call

Tell me: what is new?
I'm fucking up and you are too!
Killing light and burning signs
Cross the land I see the lines...

Making it don't mean a thing
Some contraption in the wind
Making money, making sound
In the darkness all around
Making noise for all to hear
Alien love will come and clear
Making fire of history
No more Earth for them to see...

For them to see...
For them to see...


Makin' One - Collaboration with Viking Dragon

Here's a new piece where I have joined with Quebec guitar masters Sylvain Renaud and A.G. aka The Al Alone Band. I have favourited a lot of their tracks but this is only our second collaboration "à trois": will have to come back to their clouds more often, I guess...

Well, the music compelled, the title gave a direction and I just followed it through the woods. Hope you like this little stroll. Be sure to let us know if you do, please! You'll find the French lyrics below with an English translation.

The fantastic picture comes from Mat Pringle's site, don't hesitate to pay him a visit too, his stuff is just great! http://www.matpringle.co.uk/

Blue Bear Blues

Music and guitars: Sylvain Renaud (https://soundcloud.com/sylvain-renaud-2) & The Al Alone Band (https://soundcloud.com/alain-gibeau)
Lyrics and vocals: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Prends le temps d'essayer,
De t'oublier encore,
Dans le vent, efface-toi et
Perds le nord.

Derrière toi, comme un bruit,
Grandi par la nuit,
Reste là, pas de magie
Si tu t'enfuis.

Il est là, si tu le veux,
Si tu y crois un peu,
Près de toi, ferme les yeux
Vois l'ours bleu.

Pas un ami,
Ni très gentil au fond,
Ni méchant : just un esprit
Qui s'en vient d'un bond
Te regarde d'un œil un peu étonné,
Toi qui as franchi le seuil de sa forêt...

Un moment, suspendu,
Puis il s'en ira,
Se fondra, l'ours parti,
Te plantera là.

Et toi jamais tu n'oublieras
Même devenu vieux
Que dans le secret d'un sous-bois
Tu as vu l'ours bleu...
Tu as vu l'ours bleu...
Tu as vu l'ours bleu...

* * *

Take the time to go and try,
To forget yourself some more,
In the wind, erase yourself and
Lose all bearings.

Behind you, like a noise,
Made louder by the night,
Stay here, there'll be no magic,
If you run and take flight.

It is here, if you want,
If you believe a little,
Close to you, close your eyes,
See the blue bear.

Not a friend,
Neither very nice, to be fair,
Nor very nasty : just a spirit
Taking one leap to approach
And watch you, sort of surprised,
To see you here in its forest...

Just a second, suspended here,
Then it will go away,
Will melt away, will disappear,
The bear will leave you here.

And you will never forget,
Not even in your very old age,
That in the secret of the underwood,
The blue bear once you've seen...
The blue bear once you've seen...
The blue bear once you've seen...


Blue Bear Blues - Collaboration with Sylvain Renaud and The Al Alone Band

So when Peter approached me about a year ago we then had no idea we would be crazy enough to submit both English and French version of this song for the 2015 Eurovision contest.

Yes, we did that. We're that crazy and we had great fun imagining ourselves wearing tuxedos and waving at cameras from the green room. Of course, we were turned down but the song remains. Or rather the songs...

Peter's already posted the 3 minute Eurovision version (Peter-bennborn-project – Stronger-ft-michelle-yaneza), then there was the longer one which you can listen to on this page as well and here is now the French version (much better in my opinion than a lot of France's EV submissions from the last 20 years).

I guess the title says it all: this is an emotional roller-coaster about a woman rising from her ashes... finding herself stronger in the end. The power of love... Cos, deep down Peter and I are not much more than carebears.

Many thanks to Cécile Ribouleau for joining us so spontaneously and bringing her own touch of "folie" to this... Like Michelle, she is gloriously backed by Florian's epic guitars and Anders rockin' drums. And the (synth) bass and piano are not bad either, Peter!

Music: Peter Bennborn (@peter-bennborn-project)
Lyrics: Yann Vienne (@non-sapiens)
Vocals: Cécile Ribouleau (https://www.youtube.com/user/musicwayofthought/videos)
Guitars: Florian Mueller (@flohbold)
Drums : Anders Grönlund (@powerhell)
Keys/Synths: Peter Bennborn
Mixed & Mastered: Peter Bennborn

The lyrics below are more an adaptation than an exact translation of the English ones.

Tu es dans l'air : depuis toujours autour de moi,
Dans les silences et les souvenirs, enfouis au fond déjà,

Tu es cet air qui joue à effleurer ma peau,
Qui sait si bien retenir le temps, retenir mes maux,

Tu frappes au cœur, tu vas, tu erres,
Tu ne fuis jamais bien loin,

Je te respire, t'espère,
Alors pourquoi, prendre un autre chemin,

Une autre fin...

De l'air, je veux vivre sans nous, je veux...
De l'air... Pas aimer à genoux,
Je veux de l'air, de l'espace et du temps, je veux...
De l'air, plus vivre comme avant...

Le feu s'emballe, a dévoré mes yeux,
Les flammes ont dévasté l'espoir et m'ont cassée en deux

Puis vient la mer, emportés les débris,
La mer qui tue encore, l'enfer, insoumis,

J'étais la terre, terre condamnée
A ne plus jamais bouger

Pierre, fossile de vie et qui maintenant,
Ne saurait rien sentir que le néant

De l'air, et tu m'as retrouvée, je veux...
De l'air... tu m'as tant donné mais,
Je veux de l'air, et toi ne m'en veux pas,
Je veux de l'air, je veux vivre sans toi...

De l'air...
De l'air... 


De l'air - collaboration with C. Ribouleau, P. Bennborn, Flohbold and A. Grönlund

Sir Tom Adams posted this open collab - https://soundcloud.com/ytlblues/open-blues-collabvocals-or-instrument-blues-mid-week-jam - and as it had been quite a while since our previous tango, here goes...

The lyrics are kinda semi-automatic writing with rhymes. I penned them down in the 10 minutes it took to convert the original AIFF backing into mp3. And then they seemed not to fit too badly so I left them pretty much unchanged.

I was also bold (or pretentious) enough to add a few guitar notes over my vocals. Of course they can't compare with Tom's maestria so they're mixed in quite low.

Hope you'll enjoy this but if you don't, with all due respect, of course, it won't matter that much cos it was really great fun making anyway! Peace.

Brilliant guitar: Tom Adams (https://soundcloud.com/ytlblues)
Vocals and hidden guitar: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Lazy lying in a heart of storm
I twitch and slide and leave the air open inside
I guess the sky will never let out where I'm from
But sunset... And night swallows me in for the ride!

Gotta keep on rising,
Keep on cruising... Keep on piercing through!

Shout the blade through and out,
Bleed the sheets and shoot the doubt,
Show me soaring in the seas and stands,
Bolt me up... Don't make amends...
Lovely liquid firing up in the doze land,
Gotta liven the shack of dust...
You are like sentient rock, like living sand,
You will jump out and on, just cos you must...

Gotta keep on dreaming,
Coppin' a load of nothing,
Capturing the glitch in you...

Lazy Lying - Blues collab with Tom Adams

Thanks to Mark for allowing me to use his superb instrumental track Paper Cuts to produce this collaboration... Which, I hope, won't be the only one for us!

Music, all instruments and mixing: Mark C Todd (https://soundcloud.com/theweightytree)
Lyrics and vocals: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

For more amazing paper cut art, visit the Peter Callesen's page at http://www.petercallesen.com/

Here are the French lyrics followed by a rough translation into English.

Tu prends le temps d'entrouvrir la porte
Mais il n'est plus temps que l'amour s'en sorte
Hier est loin, elle n'est plus là,
Les mots en rouge coulent sur le canevas,

Le papier glisse, le papier tranche,
Sur sa peau lisse, sur ses mains blanches,
Les adieux tonnent mais n'atteignent pas,
Son cœur raisonne comme si t'étais là,

Comme si tu pouvais revenir,
Une foi aveugle en l'avenir,
Une foi aveugle...

Elle colle les photos et puis les lettres,
En tapisse chaque centimètre,
Comme des icônes, souvenirs papier,
Qu'une étincelle ira enflammer,

Comme si tu pouvais revenir,
Une foi aveugle en l'avenir,
Comme si tu pouvais...

Elle fait un temple des certitudes,
Perdu sous d'anciennes latitudes,
Elle dit ton nom, rêve de toi,
Elle te fait Dieu, elle te fait Loi,

Elle pleure les phrases, les enveloppe
De rubans roses mais elle sanglote,
Elle t'envoie tout dix mille fois,
La même lettre toujours pour toi...

Et tu les lis, tu déchires,
Et tu les jettes dans un soupir,
Les mots froissés, comme sa vie,
Et tu te sauves et tu t'enfuis car

Toi, tu t'en fous : tu cicatrises,
Les p'tites coupures, quoique t'en dises,
C'est des douceurs pour ton égo,
Mais sa douleur, c'est pas ton lot...

Le papier glisse, le papier tranche,
Sur sa peau lisse, sur ses mains blanches,
Les adieux tonnent mais n'atteignent pas,
Son cœur raisonne comme si t'étais là,

Comme si tu pouvais revenir,
Comme si tu pouvais revenir...


* * *

You take the time to half-open the door,
But it's far too late now for love to pull through,
Yesterday's so far away, she is gone,
The red words are dripping down on the canvas,

Paper slips, paper cuts,
On her smooth skin, on her white hands,
Farewell's a thunder but she won't hear,
Her heart's pretending you're still here,

As if you could return,
Blind faith in the future,
Blind faith...
She sticks the pictures and the letters,
She covers every inch of the wall,
Like holy icons, memories made of paper,
A single spark will burn it all,

As if you could return,
Blind faith in the future,
As if you could...

She builds a temple of certainties,
Somewhere in ancient lost places,
She says your name, dreams about you, for
You are the God she made, the law,

She cries out sentences, wraps them up
With pink ribbons but she keeps crying,
She sends it all ten thousand times,
The same letter to you, over and over again...

And you will read, you'll tear them too,
Throw them away and you will sigh,
They're crumpled words like her crumpled life,
And you will run and disappear,

And you don't care for you will heal,
Those little cuts, no matter what you say,
Are so sweet to your ego,
As for her pain, you've let it go...

Paper slips, paper cuts,
On her smooth skin, on her white hands,
Farewell's a thunder but she won't hear,
Her heart's pretending you're still here,

As if you could return,
As if you could return...


Le Papier Tranche - Collaboration with The Weighty Tree

Jiawei Chiang is a Taiwanese artist and designer who does a little music on the side. I immediately got hooked to the syncopated hesitations of Disc Girl the first time I heard it on his cloud (https://soundcloud.com/jiawei-chiang/disc-girl).

I came back to it quite some time later because I always felt it would not be easy to graft lyrics over the song's structure but in the end I managed to end up with something both Jiawei and I like.

We hope you will enjoy this short sentimental trip too!

Original music composed and performed by Jiawei Chiang (https://soundcloud.com/jiawei-chiang)
Lyrics written and sung by Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Disc girl, looking at me,
Disc Girl, why won't you see?

Lost in the songs,
Gone from the wrong
Ways of the world,
You are my Disc Girl...

Goin' this way,
Far from today,
Humming along,
Tell me: how long?

Hé! T'es où, là ?

T'es dans quel rêve ?
T'es dans quelle ville ?
T'es dans quelle nuit ?
T'es dans quelle vie ?

T'es où ?

T'es dans les étoiles ?
T'es dans la lune ?
T'es dans le futur ?
T'es à la une ?

T'es où ?

Hé ! T'écoutes quoi ?	

Disc girl, looking at me,
Disc Girl, why won't you see... me?

(Translation of the passage in French:

Hey! Where are you now?

What dream are you in?
What city are you in?
What night are you in?
What life are you in?

Where are you?

Are you lost in the stars?
Absent-minded girl in the moon?
Are you in the future?
Are you making the headlines?

Where are you?

Hey! What are you listening to?)


Disc Girl - Collaboration with Jiawei Chiang (2nd mix: more discreet vocals)

Last summer found us again in Bayonne where we enjoyed a little jam with Jean-Claude on accordion, Kennou on the fife and yours truly on guitar and vocals. As I said this was a jam and though I know the song relatively well, it was a first for the other two (Hell, J-C had never even heard it before!). So it's not perfect but we still hope you'll like it.

Say Yes (Elliott Smith cover) - With Kennou and Jean-Claude

This is my second collaboration with Florian and my first with NayJ. Many thanks to the two of them. Peace to all.

Music: Florian Mueller (https://soundcloud.com/flohbold)
Vocals: NayJ (https://soundcloud.com/nayj-2)
Lyrics: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Lying there and I just stare,
Like arrested in mid-air... the planes, the waves, the bullets...

Cannot stop the pain inside
Cannot turn away the tide... we are but misfits...

So I lie down next to you and I sing this song,
Lie down next to you... and I lie...

Child and mother on the sand,
Rising sun, still holding hands... but dead...

Music stops as guns come out,
Terror overcoming doubt... Blood-red...

And I hear the bombs go off, killing even more,
Do we get the meaning of shutting down all doors?

Lying low, not knowing half of it,
No way to go: you can't find out who started it...

Who fuels the fire, keeping people dumb,
This greatest liar's making us all numb...

What a world if it must be a world of fear,
World of money, world of petty comforts here,
They're lying there!
Will the madness end?
They're lying there...

-

Cannot keep (on) lying here in vain,
I'll get up, cos some sanity remains,

Open up, don't let them think they've won,
We'll live together though we'll never be as one...

What a world if it must be a world of hate, a...
World that won't care, until it is all too late,
They're lying there!
Still, it all can end,
They're lying there...

Lying There - Collaboration with Flohbold and NayJ

This is an old collab that's already got over 2,000 plays at Orion's but I've just realized I'd never posted it myself.

Long story short, this is Orion's haunting remix of my first collaboration with Fivos Valachis (and I think Fivos's first collaboration with anyone ever).


original music and piano: Fivos Valachis (https://soundcloud.com/fivosvalachis)
sample ,cello and violin : orion (https://soundcloud.com/orion-live-set)
lyrics and vocals: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Here are the French lyrics with a translation:

On est montés dans ce train, 
On s'tenait encore la main.

Assis, on s'est regardés 
Sans voir que le temps filait... que le monde défilait...

On a sans doute trop parlé 
Sans... le silence apprivoiser. 
Sacrifié nos libertés 
Pour un petit peu moins grelotter

Je semble amer et fatigué 
Mais ce fut un beau voyage, une belle journée

Sa mort était inévitable, 
Sur le quai, tu m'as quitté... 
Une belle journée.

Il y a tant de temps de cela 
Mais je pense toujours à toi

Quelle que soit la gare 
Je cherche l'ombre de tes bras...

---

We got on that train 
We were still holding each other's hands

Sitting, we looked at each other, 
Not noticing time passing... world passing by...

We probably spoke too much 
Without... trying to tame silence 
Sacrificed our freedom 
So that we would not shiver so much

I seem bitter and tired 
But it was a beautiful trip, a beautiful day

Its death was inevitable, 
On the platform, you left me... 
A beautiful day.

It was so long ago 
But I still think about you

No matter the station I'm in 
I'll be looking for the shadow of your arms...


Starting Terminus - collaboration with Fivos Valachis and Orion Live

A few days ago Fivos Valachis uploaded a new open collaboration (https://soundcloud.com/fivosvalachis/upside-down) and as it had been a while since we had last worked together I jumped on the bandwagon this time.

The funny thing is that the text I've used here was first written for a collaboration with another very dear and talented Soundcloud friend, Peter Bennborn. As the collaboration with Peter may still be some time in the making, he kindly gave me his blessing to use the lyrics over Fivos's track. Thus, one day you may find the same text on my cloud but with a very different music... and after all why not? Many thanks to both of them!

As for the contents, they just happened to fit the picture and title but I'd seen them before writing for Peter so maybe, unconsciously...

Hope you'll enjoy this little trip up in the air!

Original music and piano: Fivos Valachis (https://soundcloud.com/fivosvalachis)
Lyrics and vocals: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Let me get off here and fly again,
Let me close the door for now,
Let me please lose myself in the rain,
You're not listening anyhow...

I will leave this little town behind,
Let the noise recede today,
I will walk, will not try to find,
Let me live out of the way.

I will climb the mountain rising here,
See if I can touch the clouds,
I will walk and there will be new fears,
New ways, new sounds.

Nature is nothing like paradise,
I'm not fooled or mad or dumb,
Quite surely here too everything dies,
Yet I do not feel as numb...

Out there at the top, let me breathe in the air,
Let me rake in the crop of being one, which is rare,
And let me cast to the winds this weariness I felt,
This despair which is a sin: let it all fly away and melt.

For a while let me pretend,
I am so completely alone,
Otherwise I will go round the bend,
Let me disconnect the phone.

I will climb the mountain rising here,
See if I can touch the clouds...



Fivos Valachis - Upside Down - With Lyrics And Vocals By Non Sapiens

Fivos's great music and my humble lyrics meet Rudi and Florian's touch!

Hope you'll like this...

Original music and piano: Fivos Valachis (https://soundcloud.com/fivosvalachis)
Guitar and other musical arrangements: Florian Mueller (https://soundcloud.com/flohbold)
Vocals: Rudi Lockefeir (https://soundcloud.com/ruud-lockefeir)
Lyrics: Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Fivos Valachis - Upside Down - Rudi Lockefeir, Flohbold, Non Sapiens

Richard Hawkins, aka Chardhawk, is both a painter and a musician and in a way he seems to me to bring these two art forms together with a third one which is sculpture. Indeed both his music and his paintings appear to my eyes and ears to be carved out of improbable materials: thin air, water, fire, earth and you could probably add time and love to it all.

So, to cut a long story short I was indeed very pleased when he told me he liked the lyrics I'd written for his instrumental track "Hollow" and I hope you will too. Be sure to like, share and - above all - comment if you do.

The cover art is one of Richard's works entitled "Los Alamos - As The Crow Flies". You can find his gallery, containing lots more, at: http://www.pbase.com/chardhawk/ard_hawkins_gallery

Hollow
=====

Music composed and performed by Chardhawk (https://soundcloud.com/chardhawk)
Lyrics written and sung by Yann Vienne (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens)

Take me into the sky,
Up in the air, round the storm,

Throw me into the sea,
Down below to its floor,

Bring me to the chasm,
Inside the earth, to the core,

Lure me in the fire,
Getting higher, through the door,

See them all: the parts of you,
Breaking and building anew,
Same game on and on again...

See them, the parts of you,
Hollowed right through and insane...



Hollow - Collaboration with Chardhawk

Hi!

This account has reached its limit: find my newest collaborations at https://soundcloud.com/ns-hugo

My name's Yann Vienne and I'm an amateur singer, songwriter and (bad) guitar player. My main alias is Non Sapiens (https://soundcloud.com/non-sapiens) but as I'm running out of time on my regular SC page and cannot really afford to go unlimited at the moment (Hey! Anyone out there wanna sponsor me? Aaaaw, come on!), I'm "outsourcing" most of the many collaborations I've done in the past year or so here, on this basic free account.

The collaborations I do with Carlo Presti  on drums are to be found at https://soundcloud.com/spidersapiens.

I have been privileged to work with really talented people on Soundcloud and I thank them all so much for it!

If you like what you hear, don't hesitate to say so (constructive criticism is also welcome).

Non Sapiens and Ko

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