"This post is warmly dedicated to all who admire and love pylons, insulators, corona rings, power plants and everything else that is the electrical transmission grid that sustains and supplies our daily lives with precious electricity."
Last week, I got up early to catch the beautiful sunny day and was out shooting pylons and electrical lines for this post. It was a cold, windy a.m., but the autumn sun made up for it. I got busy getting these shots with one of my recently refurbished vintage Pentax digital cameras and am happy to report its performance was stellar.
I live in the outskirts of my city and my hood is a few blocks away from a behemoth power station which provides electricity to the entire south east side. Before our subdivision was developed in in the early 2000s, it was vast farmland and acreages, thus the wooden power line poles and aged electrical lines still exist in some areas of the hood.
They haven't been replaced with newer ones but but I'm okay with that. It's a statement to these poles and transmission equipment that they were solidly made and have passed the test of time. Why fix it if it's not broke!
Did you know the Eiffel Tower was designed like a large pylon? If you are interested, have a peek at the fascinating 'Origins and Construction of the Eiffel Tower'.
Unorthodox
musical behaviors. The encounter between a stray dog and a rebellious boy. A
love that kills its lover. Reminiscences on a legacy of the late Middle Ages.
Review of learning curves.
From 10pm to
11 pm CET on Diuffusione Stereo Digital Radio @diffusione_stereo.
Live on
www.diffusione.net or on the Diffusione Stereo app.
On
tonight's show, Sentieri Sonori will be airing Unanswered Prayers, Buoyancy and Do Be Disturbed, 3 tracks from Vava's latest album 'A Eureka Moment!'.
Sentieri Sonori's Narrative for the Show
'Vava Vol’s latest album ‘A Eureka
Moment’, has truly been her personal eureka moment in all aspects of its
production.Some days she would have an
idea for a track which never materialized as expected, as her instruments
hi-jacked the track and took control of their own voices. On other days,
recording flowed like the Nile! Combining the Yamaha no input mixer through a
Boss GT3 guitar processor, the Zoom 24 drum beats and a rare Theremin B2 was
challenging with respect to instrument amplitudes.Nevertheless, she overcame this beautiful
learning curve!
Over the summer, Vava redesigned her home
studio to welcome the Korg 2015 re-issue of the original ARP Odyssey synth and a
Boss VO-1 Vocoder effect pedal. This new
gear will add its own soul to her future sound while mixing in with other
instruments. A new album is presently underway to be released in October, with
each track having its own YouTube video.
Another fun piece of gear Vava has
acquired is a vintage Fostex multitrack cassette recorder, a new addition to
her no input mixer family. Good
news! Euphonious Music Vol. 3 is currently
in motion with recordings starting in December.
How does she do it? To maintain a balanced flow, Vava combines her
daily outdoor activities with yoga, meditation and Reiki. These practices power her artistic creativity
and provide a healthy body, mind and soul, as self-awareness and self-healing
are key to her wellness. As she dips
into the Universal infinite well of creativity, Vava’s audio/visual sensory
stimulations are on high alert and ahead of the curve. The perfect high voltage energy for future
projects!'
In the fall of 1982, our 80s electro band, Duotang travelled from Montreal to New York City to perform at the Pyramid Club's notorious Sunday night 'Whispers'. Thanks to my photographer friend Jacques Perron for snapping these amazing black and white shots of our show. It would be 2014 before I would see these photos when I received them from Erik Cimon, the producer of the documentary film 'Montreal New Wave'. The sound track is the electro noise 'Ribbon Man'. Enjoy!
Zïlon Lazer Photo courtesy of Zïlon Lazer Circa 2000
One year ago Zïlon died. He was discovered unconscious and unresponsive in his Montreal apartment. The news that he had died didn't hit the internet and news media until three days later on July 29th, 2023. The art world was upended. The lives of those who knew and loved him were instantly shattered and broken. Like being sucked into one of his screaming tableaux, trapped by anxiety, grief and mourning. No exit!
The Sign of the Times
Zïlon was born in the 1950s and grew up in his nuclear family in the French Canadian city of Laval, Quebec. These were conservative times and nonconformists were not looked upon kindly. You either fit in, or you were an outsider. While the Cold War still hovered over lives and the real presence of a nuclear war threatened our existence, this just added more fuel to the flames of the times. The young Raymond chose the latter.
Zïlon Lazer Photo courtesy of Zïlon Lazer
In 1984, he would express his defiance when he would write the cynical lyrics and music to 'Industrial Park', a tongue in cheek song about growing up in suburbia and having to conform to its unacceptable status quo.
In the late 1970s, Zïlon and musician Michel Smith crossed paths as they shared a common interest in the experimental music of Terry Riley, Tangerine Dream and Fripp and Eno's 'No Pussyfooting' album. This would mark the beginning of his journey into his own experiments using tape tape loops and synthesizers. His AKS Synthi would become his 'weapon of choice' in the studio, at jams and on stage.
In the early 1980s, Zilon liberally exercised his artistic right to express himself by embellishing Montreal's downtown core with cans of black spray paint. Under cover of night, he would leave his signature screaming face and short stylistic slogans on every wall, doorway, nightclub bathroom, alleyway, and abandoned building he could. Years later, this graffiti art would be recognized as a valid form of artistic expression.
Photo courtesy of Zïlon Lazer Circa 1980
These were important times for the young assertive Zïlon and they would shape and define who he was in the burgeoning Montreal counterculture movement. Art and music meshed at his Graffiti Cocktail parties, the Piss Tunnel, the abandoned Queen's Hotel jams, random art installations, while working on his music at home and gigging as Vava & Zilon. The invincible Zïlon would put down his roots in this no holds barred movement. It would eventually propel him into his future with hopes, dreams, desires and inevitably, success.
Zïlon was a frontline pioneer of the art and post punk/new wave scene that was growing across North America, the UK and Europe. He was firmly entrenched in Montreal's charged counterculture scene. He rubbed shoulders with Montreal's forward thinkers, as the up and coming artists and musicians descended upon Montreal's nightlife and held it for one decade. The 80s was the beginning of an intensely chaotic and improvise-as-you-go approach to music, art and lifestyle. Every man for himself, every band for themselves, do it yourself. The competition for gigs, exposure, press coverage, interviews, photo ops, tv appearances, music videos and the like was fierce. Zïlon, being a very savvy artist, took advantage of every opportunity the times had to offer.
Courtesy of Zïlon Lazer Circa 1980
Who is this Zïlon guy?
I'll never forget the night in 1983 when Zïlon walked into Les Foufounes Électriques while I was at work. He casually walked up to the bar and asked me if I would like to make music with him. I had never met him face to face but had heard chatter of his bad boy persona, the jams in dilapidated buildings and his nocturnal late night escapades, spray cans at the ready. While he was out on the streets doing his thing, I was gigging with The Essentials, Popstress and Duotang. I was finally taking a well-deserved break after 3 years of all this. I said "Yes"!
Zilon was amazing to work with! We had so much fun together cracking jokes, naming our song with crazy titles like 'I've Got Gas" and making fun of the bridge and tunnel crowds who invaded our beloved Foufounes Électriques every weekend.
Our recordings and mix-downs were live, intuitive one-take songs. The first song we recorded together was 'Fettucini Alfredo'. That day, the apartment studio had been emptied for some renovations, and our gear, the TEAC and the PA were in the hallway. We set up, did a quick soundcheck and hit 'record/play', vocals and all. The rest is history!
Zïlon had a natural sense of where he was going with music and an extremely sharp ear. He loved mixing lo-fi with hi-fi. At that time, he had a drum machine which he ran through a digital delay, his Synthi AKS synth, a 2-track Fostex cassette Portastudio and a few mics. I had a Pro-One, a Korg PS-3300, a Korg VC-10 Vocoder and a 4-track Fostex cassette Portastudio cassette. It was a match from noise hell!
When we jammed, there was no 'just a minute while I find my sound" delays. He jumped in with gusto and nailed it. Every sound he programmed was out of this world. He knew his instruments inside/out and it was obvious he had worked extensively with them.
Zïlon Lazer at work in the 1970s Photo courtesy of Diane Béatrice Lassonde Circa 1978
We had the good habit of picking up metal junk from the streets and mixed those improvised beats and sounds into our music. Often times, we enhanced our live shows with our beautiful finds. We both liked to pound on metal. It was a great way to release our frustrations!
Vava Vol & Zilon Lazer at Les Foufounes Électriques in 1984
Zïlon also had an incredible singing voice He was very fond of Gregorian Chants and incorporated his take of them into our songs. He stunned a warehouse full of midnight jammers one night when he broke out into a Gregorian Chant soprano. We were absolutely stunned as no one had ever heard him sing like that! That's how he was. Intuitive, spontaneous and right on. You couldn't help but love him!
Zïlon sings is one of a series of jams he recorded in an
abandoned warehouse. Photos courtesy of Zïlon Lazer circa 1980.
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Zïlon reminded me of The Hermit, an old soul in the body of a strong young man, mysterious and arcane, talented and luminescent. He lived in the now and relied on his inner self for guidance. There is only one time that is important and that time is now!
He had a confident calmness and a strange controlled energy buzzing around him. His strong inner light fueled his determination to overcome obstacles on his quest for success. His dazzling blue eyes glistened with great intelligence. They reflected his acute knowledge and skillfulness of the 'do it yourself' self made culture to which he adhered to his entire life. Zïlon renamed it 'do it for yourself'. He was easily misunderstood by many, but admired and loved by those who did. With a generous, warm-hearted and huge hart, there was nothing he wouldn't for those whom he loved.
The page turned when the 1990s eclipsed the 1980s. A stable full of new musicians, chomping at the music business bit eagerly burst through the floodgates. Anxious to get their cut of the explosive new music scene, they jockeyed for their places in the hall of fame and fortune. The influential 80s were gone, but never forgotten.
By then, Zïlon's notoriety had grown fast and furious as his provocative paintings caught the attention of the art world. His dream was about to come true!
Zïlon with Pierre Dorion at his 2005 show at René Blouin! Photo by Vava Vol 2005
Zïlon, Georges and myself as Sensitiv Organz live at Les Foufounes Électriques in 1986. In the middle of the show, George broke a string on his guitar but didn't miss a single note as he kept on playing til the bitter end! What a trooper! Vava Vol 1980s archives
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