Category: Blog

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Lull

I’m happy to share this little sound miniature called “Lull”

“Lull” is the first in a series of micro-albums that I will release in the future. The main characteristic of these works is to focus the essence of an album into the duration of an EP. Each track will be conceived as small musical haiku, compositional sketches aimed at the search for purity and poetry. I like the idea of ​​working by enhancing the small, the little, and spontaneity, in a world where instead the exact opposite is desperately sought. “Lull” is a dedication to my daughter and her first months of life, when sleeping was still her primary activity. Thanks to anyone who desires to be lulled by this first sound miniature.

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While in Igloo Magazine

A beautiful review of my last work written by Philippe Blanche: https://igloomag.com/reviews/francis-gri-while

Francis Gri, mastermind behind the indie label Krysalisound but also alchemist of micro-electronic thrills / ambient miniatures in minimalist mode has recently published a quite noticeable body of recordings soberly titled While. The music is clearly lodged at the confluence of ambient sweetness for lush textures and modern classicism. It carries on the path he already approached in terms of compositional technics and emotional motifs. Written as an inner soundtrack where delicately moving melodies rise from velvet-like abstract electronics. The melodic component is mostly piano/guitar centric with detached aerial repetitive notes falling like calm sparse water drops. It emotionally captures fragile introspective moments with a sense of vague reveries and grieving solemnity.
While evokes continuously serene and impressionistic sound motifs for long sustained chords, cyclical echoing minimal melodic scintillations—apparently static sound forms—but which admit a palette of nuances and acoustic colors as well. Slowly enveloping and glit-esque ambient ballads under a velveting imaginary garden of infinite quietness. This can perfectly be associated to the sorrowing neoclassical quietness of some reflective ambient works from Anthené, Peter Broderick, Hakobune, and Ghost & Tapes.

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The end of labels?

It will probably seem strange to read these words coming from someone who has run a label for several years, but I am quite convinced that the time for labels is coming to an end. Or perhaps the reader may think it’s normal for me to say this, otherwise I wouldn’t have decided to permanently close Krysalisound but simply to take a small break.
In reality, first of all, I have always struggled to consider myself a label. In my own small way, I have only tried to help talented emerging artists by offering what I already did for myself, but for me, a label is, perhaps ideally, something more. It’s a home where artists should feel safe, be valued with promotion, marketing operations, live performances. But in reality, it’s not like that anymore, except perhaps for labels of a certain importance.
Nowadays, there is a thicket of tiny labels that simply release albums and do little more, even giving the artist a measly handful of physical copies. Promotion is almost non-existent also because fanzines and webzines have lost the value they once had. If there was already little space for concerts before the pandemic, imagine now.
So what’s the point of continuing with the old logic of contacting labels to be published? I don’t find it meaningful except out of habit or mechanization… or perhaps to feed one’s self-esteem that needs to hear from a label, “Your album is amazing, I want to publish it!”
I think it’s time for the artist to start thinking like a freelancer, gradually increasing their fan base and earning 100% from their own art. Perhaps what many musicians have not realized is that labels fundamentally enrich themselves with the art of others, giving very few crumbs to the artists. I am aware that not all artists are inclined to self-promote, but I think that in the long run, it is an effort that can bring great satisfaction, much more enduring than being published by a label. And those who will not find satisfaction perhaps is a clear sign that it is time to do something else, making room for those who truly have talent.
Perhaps I am speaking with too much cynicism, omitting many points that I cannot see, but at the moment this is my point of view which I believe will become increasingly consolidated in the future. A future where music is losing all reference to the past and MUST therefore change its skin, stepping out of the comfort zone, otherwise the risk is that AI will rightfully replace human mediocrity even in the world of music. But this is another point that maybe I will reflect on later…

Probabilmente risulterà strano leggere queste parole proprio da chi ha portato avanti un’etichetta per diversi anni, ma sono abbastanza convinto che il tempo delle label stia per finire. O forse chi legge può pensare che sia normale che io dica questa cosa altrimenti non avrei mai deciso di chiudere definitivamente Krysalisound ma semplicemente di prendere una piccola pausa.
In realtà per prima cosa ho sempre fatto fatica a considerarmi un’etichetta, nel mio piccolo ho solo cercato di aiutare artisti emergenti di talento offrendo quello che già facevo per me, ma per il sottoscritto una label è, forse idealmente, qualcosa di più. E’ una casa dove gli artisti devono sentirsi al sicuro, essere valorizzati con promozione, operazioni di marketing, live. Ma in realtà non è più così, tranne forse per le label di una certa importanza.
Ormai esitste un sottobosco di piccolissime etichette che semplicemente pubblicano album e fanno ben poco di più, regalando addirittura all’artista una misera manciata di copie fisiche. Promozione quasi nulla anche perchè ormai le fanzine e le webzine hanno perso il valore che una volta avevano. Se di spazio per i concerti ce n’era già poco prima della pandemia figuriamoci ora.
Quindi che senso ha continuare nella logica antica di contattare le etichette per essere pubblicato? Io non lo trovo un senso se non per abitudine o meccanicità….o forse per alimentare la propria autostima che ha bisogno di sentirsi dire da una label “ il tuo album è stupendo, lo voglio pubblicare!”.
Io penso che sia arrivato il momento in cui l’artista debba iniziare a pensare come un libero professionista, cercando di aumentare piano piano la sua cerchia di fan e guadagnare il 100% dalla propria arte. Quello che forse tanti musicisti non si sono resi conto è che le etichette fondamentalmente si arricchiscono con l’arte degli altri dando poi agli artisti ben poche briciole. Sono consapevole che non tutti gli artisti sono propensi a sponsorizzarsi, ma penso che alla lunga sia uno sforzo che possa regalare grandi soddisfazioni, molto più durature di essere pubblicato da un’etichetta. E chi di soddifazioni non ne avrà forse è un segnale chiaro che è tempo di fare altro, lasciando spazio a chi di talento ne ha veramente.
Forse sto parlando con troppo cinismo, omettendo tanti punti che non riesco a vedere, ma al momento questo è il mio punto di vista che credo diventerà sempre più consolidato nel futuro. Un futuro dove la musica sta perdendo ogni riferimento col passato e DEVE per questo cambiare pelle uscendo dalla comfort zone altrimenti il rischio è che l’AI sostituisca (giustamente) la mediocrità umana anche nel mondo della musica. Ma questo è un altro punto di cui magari rifletterò più avanti…

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News 2024 #1

Dear followers, I am happy to share some news with you. 
In the coming months, I will be releasing a new collaboration on my personal page. This project marks my first work with Anthony Elfort (aka Toàn), and I couldn’t be prouder of the result. The mix is nearly complete; we’re just finalizing the mastering and artwork. My goal is to launch it in April—fingers crossed!
Additionally, I have a couple of smaller projects lined up for release before my new album, which I am currently composing. These include a little EP and a collection of tracks that have never found a home on any previous albums.
Lastly, there are only two copies remaining of my album “While.” If you enjoyed it, consider grabbing a physical copy of this limited edition:  francisgri.bandcamp.com/album/while

Thank you for your continued support!

Francis

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Bye bye social?

I admit, I’ve never been a lover of social media. I’ve always had a rejection since the days of Facebook’s birth, and since then things have changed a lot, and for the worse. Surely there are those who can take advantage of these tools, which indeed have excellent potential, but I am one of those who have never seen major changes from being active or not on social media. Most likely I’ve always approached it wrong, and the fact of never being consistent hasn’t generated that positive flow to make my art more visible. But it doesn’t matter. Social media has now become pure marketing without a soul, where everyone tries to promote their talent or say something through the massive use of images. Even Twitter, born as a microblog, has now become the faded copy of Instagram if you notice. Ego is a dangerous characteristic of modern times and must be kept in check like a lion on a leash, otherwise there is a risk of drowning. And that’s exactly what I’m noticing more and more, continuous posts from people who don’t want to sink into the abyss of anonymity. Becoming “nobody” is scary in this era of pure appearance. And it’s sad to see how much real life time is wasted trying to emerge. Sure, someone could argue that real life sucks, and they’re right, but I think it’s always less sad than spending the day staring at a colorful monitor in total hypnosis.
That’s why I’ve decided to look for alternative ways in the coming months to make myself known, even at the cost of realizing that what I do isn’t really interesting enough to capture people’s attention. Because maybe the answer could be that I simply don’t have the necessary talent to emerge with or without social media. We’ll see what the future will tell me. For now, I’m leaving my two accounts active with this final post. Anyone who wants to follow me can do so through my website’s blog or directly through Bandcamp or Youtube.

Lo ammetto, non sono mai stato un amante dei social. Ho sempre avuto il rifiuto già dai tempi della nascita di Facebook e da allora le cose sono cambiate molto e in peggio.
Sicuramente c’è chi è capace di trarne vantaggio da questi strumenti che effettivamente hanno delle ottime potenzialità, io però faccio parte di quelli che invece non hanno mai visto grossi cambiamenti dall’essere attivi o meno sui social. Molto probabilmente ho sempre sbagliato l’approccio e il fatto di non essere mai stato costante non ha generato quel flusso positivo per rendere la mia arte più visibile.
Ma non importa. Ormai i social sono diventati puro marketing senza anima dove ognuno cerca di sponsorizzare il proprio talento o dire qualcosa attraverso l’uso massiccio di immagini. Anche Twitter, nato come microblog, è ormai diventata la copia sbiadita di Instagram se ci fate caso.
L’ego è una caratteristica pericolosa dei tempi moderni e bisogna tenerla a bada come un leone al guinzaglio, altrimenti si richia di affogare. Ed è appunto quello che sto notando sempre di più, continui post di persone che non vogliono sprofondare nell’abisso dell’anonimato. Diventare “nessuno” fa paura in questa epoca di pura apparenza.
Ed è triste vedere quanto tempo di vita vera viene sprecata per cercare di emergere. Certo, qualcuno potrebbe obiettare che la vita reale fa schifo e ha ragione, ma credo sia sempre meno triste che passare la giornata a fissare un monitor colorato in totale ipnosi.
Per questo ho deciso di cercare nei prossimi mesi strade alternative per farmi conoscere anche a costo di rendermi conto che quello faccio non è poi così interessante da poter cattura l’attenzione delle persone. Perchè forse la risposta potrebbe essere che semplicemente non ho il talento necessario per poter emergere con o senza social. Vedremo cosa mi dirà il futuro.
Per ora lascio attivi i miei due account con questo ultimo post. Chi volesse seguirmi può farlo attraverso il blog del mio sito oppure direttamente tramite Bandcamp o Youtube.

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SOUNDstories

Often, listening to voices that come from afar, I find myself thinking that human life is nothing but a continuous intersection of stories. Each person a tale, the planet a large container. An immense jar overflowing with stories that intertwine like shades of colors that, observed from afar, trace a defined sense. If in the past I associated poems with some albums, I would like instead in the next works to include short stories, little tales that can give three-dimensionality to the new compositions. I would like to give a voice to the notes with poetic narrations that can regenerate my creativity in one of my greatest passions after music. If this is my story, I want to see myself writing music and playing words, and I would like those few dreamers like me, crushed in a materialistic world, to be moved and continue my story in their own way in an endless trail of indissoluble poetry.

Spesso, ascoltando le voci che vengono da lontano mi trovo a pensare che la vita umana non sia altro che un incrocio continuo di storie. La persona un racconto, il pianeta un grosso contenitore. Una immensa giara che trabocca storie che si intrecciano come sfumature di colori che osservati da lontano tracciano un senso definito.
Se in passato per alcuni album ho associato delle poesie, mi piacerebbe invece nei prossimi lavori inserire brevi racconti, piccole storie che possano regalare tridimensionalità alle nuove composizioni.
Vorrei dare una voce alle note con narrazioni poetiche che possano rigenerare la mia creatività in una delle mie passioni più grandi dopo la musica.
Se questo è il mio racconto voglio vedermi scrivere musica e suonare parole e vorrei che quei pochi sognatori come me schiacciati in un mondo materialista possano emozionarsi e proseguire il mio racconto a modo loro in una infinita scia di indissolubile poesia.

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The art of disappearing

Very likely, it is quite common for those engaged in an unusual activity to feel out of place in social contexts. Every day for years, it has been a tough challenge for me to interact with ordinary people and approach daily life. It’s not a matter of presumption, as many might think, but simply a fact that I constantly feel out of place. When I was younger, I thought that at least I could feel comfortable with those who make music, but unfortunately, I had to quickly reconsider. Being a musician or composer does not mean having a common language for everyone in the field; on the contrary, it is often easier to find common ground with people who do completely different things.
In fact, I have reached the point where I understand that it’s not the “outer appearance” that matters, but rather the way one approaches life that truly counts. As for me, I have always found an endless list of things trivial, which later led me to discover minimalism, both in music and in life. During the period of the label’s activity, I dealt with many musicians, and in reality, I felt truly in tune with only a few. Again, it’s not a matter of presumption, but of emotional language that then carries over into the small things of everyday life and one’s talents.
I have realized that a part of me, increasingly important, is inevitably isolating itself from the world. I have less and less interest in following what others do, and very often, I have great difficulty even understanding the meaning of what I see them do. The only thing that truly matters to me now as a musician is to continue making music, exploring new worlds in what is my most natural way to communicate with others.
Some time ago, I had a story in mind to write, which I never did. The main character was a musician who lived only for music, and slowly his body began to disappear until the point where he vanished completely, becoming music in the air. Who knows if I never wrote this story because it would have become my destiny.

Molto probabilmente è piuttosto comune, per chi svolge un’attività inconsueta, sentirsi fuori luogo nel contesto sociale.
Ogni giorno da anni per me è una dura sfida riuscire a confrontarmi con le persone comuni e approcciarmi alla vita quotidiana. Non è un discorso di presunzione, come molti potrebbero pensare, ma semplicemente è un fatto che io mi senta costantemente fuori luogo. Quando ero più giovane pensavo almeno che avrei potuto trovarmi a mio agio con chi fa musica ma purtroppo mi sono dovuto ricredere velocemente. Essere musicista o compositore non significa avere un linguaggio comune per tutti gli addetti del settore, anzi molto spesso è più facile trovare più punti di incontro con persone che fanno tutt’altro.
Infatti sono arrivato al punto in cui ho capito che non è il “vestito” la chiave di tutto ma il modo in cui ci si approccia alla vita che realmente conta.
Per quanto mi riguarda, ho sempre trovato futili un innumerevole elenco di cose che mi hanno poi fatto scoprire il minimalismo, sia nella musica che nella vita. Durante il periodo di attività dell’etichetta ho avuto a che fare con parecchi musicisti e con pochi in realtà mi sono sentito veramente in sintonia. Ripeto, non è un discorso di presunzione, ma di linguaggio animico che poi si trasporta nelle piccole cose della vita quotidiana e nei propri talenti.
Mi sono accorto che una parte di me, sempre più importante, si sta inevitabilmente isolando dal mondo. Ho sempre meno interesse nel seguire quello che fanno gli altri e molto spesso ho grosse difficoltà a capirne addirittura il senso di quello che vedo fare.  L’unica cosa che per me davvero conta adesso come musicista è continuare a fare musica, esplorando nuovi mondi in quello che è il mio modo più naturale per comunicare con gli altri.
Tempo fa avevo in testa una storia da scrivere che poi non ho più fatto. Il protagonista era un musicista che viveva solo per la musica, e lentamente il suo corpo cominciava a scomparire fino al punto in cui svaniva definitivamente, trasformandosi in musica nell’aria. Chissà se non ho mai scritto questo racconto perchè sarebbe diventato il mio destino.

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While:::::the concept

Often, when I work on a new album, I reach a point, usually well past the halfway mark, where I manage to give an identity to the new project. In this case, probably due to a series of events that occurred throughout the year, I was able to find meaning only in the end. “While” is an album that encapsulates black and white in equal measure. On one hand, there is life (the white) represented by the birth of my daughter, and on the other hand, there is death (the black) represented by the death of both of my parents within a span of two months. It’s difficult to forget such a particular year, and it’s hard not to hold a special place in my heart for this work that accompanied me over these twelve months. Sometimes it even served as a crutch, keeping me balanced in the most challenging moments.
As already mentioned in the press release, “While” is also the first album I recorded without the use of a computer, which brought me particular pleasure in the process of composition. I could work in a more abstract manner, following instinct and knowing that I wouldn’t have great possibilities for modifications later.
Being in love with Japanese art for years, I was able for the first time to transport this style into my music, drawing small sound sketches and leaving the interpretation of the created images to the listener.
For this reason, I wanted the artwork to be something indefinite, like a sumi-e that tells, in black and white, an experience of instinct and purity. Perhaps with “While,” I have finally found the right path after years of searching for my own personal sonic language.

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While ::: NEW ALBUM 2023

I’m happy to present my new album called ‘While’. Available now in digital format and for pre-order in physical format.

Release date: December 31, 2023 

Press release:

After ‘Lieve’ and ‘Argine,’ I am happy to present my new album ‘While,’ a collection of tracks produced in a year that I will hardly forget, both for better and for worse. It often happens to me when I conclude a new album to have the (ephemeral, to tell the truth) feeling of having produced the best work up to that specific moment. For various reasons, this was not the case for ‘While.’ It probably won’t be my best work, but for a long time, it will remain my favourite because it helped me in moments of vulnerability and gave me the opportunity to escape from heavy thoughts and remain in balance without falling. 
Recorded almost entirely without the use of a computer, I consider ‘While’ the most intimate album produced so far. 
Continuing the sonic language started with the last two albums and the ‘Drop Series,’ it continues my search for a dreamlike and poetic musical form through the usual fusion of acoustic and electronic instruments. 
In the physical format, you will also find images and words that, along with the music, represent the concept in its entirety. 
‘While’ is the first self-produced album and is exclusively released on my personal Bandcamp page. Thanks to anyone who has the desire to listen.

Credits:

– All music by Francis Gri 
– Composed, mixed and mastered in 2023 
– Cover artwork by FG 

Sound equipment: acoustic/electric/ebow guitar, electric piano, sansula, kalimba, melodica, harp, OP1, plastic cello, analogue gears and pedal effects