Variations. Vitalic x EmelVariations. Vitalic x Emel

For its sixth season, the Variations team brings together Pascal Arbez-Nicolas, aka Vitalic, the master of the French electronic scene, and the composer-activist Emel Mathlouthi, whose first album released in 2011, Ma parole est libre, has become an emblem of the Tunisian Jasmine Revolution. Filmed on September 30, 2021, this recording is a rare moment of symbiosis between two artists who normally have very different viewpoints, exchanging a few smiles between harmonic progressions. The first interpretation of poetic texts in the history of Variations, this concert updates the repertoire of the Syrian writer and journalist Ghada al-Samman who, inspired by the notions of freedom and self-expression, has made herself known as a lyricist of the civil war that broke out in Lebanon in 1975. Audacious, creative, and disturbing, the set transcribes the surrealist dimension on the border between plausibility and nightmare that characterizes the writings of al-Samman. Similar to a ritual officiated between Arabic and French, the concert alternates powerfully hypnotizing passages and more rhythmic sections. The public is captive, as if bewitched by this "hungry harmony" born from the beats of the producer accustomed to dancefloors and charismatic singers. Between voice loops and electronic dissonances, the lights oscillate in the Théâtre du Châtelet for a futuristic set ending with a well-deserved standing ovation. Laure Marlot.